Barbary Coast (Algeria, 14th century - 1671)

Last modified: 2010-04-24 by ivan sache
Keywords: barbary coast | annaba | crescent (black) | bejaia | brischan | brisch | constantine | crossbow | hexagram (black) | hexagram (red) | hexagram (yellow) |
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• Historical outline
• Annaba
• Bejaia
• Brischan
• Constantine

See also:

• Algeria
• Ottoman Empire
• Algeria: Historical flags
• Regency of Algiers (Algeria, 1671-1847)

Historical outline

From the 14th century onward, the inhabitants of the Algerine coast devoted themselves to piracy, to which the European states tried to respond.
Algiers, Oran, Bejaia, Mers-el-Kebir and other cities of the Algerine coast were conquered by King Ferran of Catalonia in 1509 and attached to the dominions of the Catalan crown.
In 1515, the pirate Aruj Barbarossa, who had been called in by Emir Selim of Mitidja, captured the city of Algiers, which was defended by an Iberian garrison. But then he put the Emir to death and, with popular support, proclaimed himself the ruler, establishing a military despotism based on piracy. He quickly extended his domains throughout Algeria, conquering Miliana, Medea, Tenes, and Tlemcen, where he met his death in 1518 while besieging the Catalans.
His brother, Khaireddin Barbarossa, who succeeded him, declared himself a vassal of the Ottoman Sultan Selim for the purpose of restoring the situation that had been compromised by the death of the founder. With the Castilians expelled from almost all parts of his possessions, he continued exercising sure control over piracy from a fortress erected on on island near Algiers, the so-called Rock of Algiers. Barbarossa captured this fortress in 1529.
In 1533 he was appointed Kapudan Pasha, which is to say commander in chief of the Ottoman fleet, and left the administration of the country in the hands of beylerbeys appointed by the Sublime Porte.

As some of the rulers acted too independently, the system of beylerbeys was replaced in 1587 by pashas appointed for a term of three years. Starting in 1659 the pashas effectively lost power to the aghas commanders of the militia. All four of the aghas who ruled died by assassination, and in 1671 a system of deys was instituted.

Flags from this period and earlier are shown in portolanos and were reported in Vexilologie [vex] in 1967 and 1969, for Bejaia, Constantine and Tlemcen.

Jaume Ollé, translated by Joe McMillan, 19 January 2002

Annaba

Flag of Annaba - Images by Tomislav Todorović, 13 October 2007
Left, as shown in the "Catalan Atlas";
Right, as shown in the "Book of All Kingdoms"

The Catalan Atlas [c2q75] shows the flag of Annaba as a rectangular flag with the ending in form of a rounded point with concave top and bottom edges, a form similar to that of many other flags from the same source. The flag is white with a black crescent pointing upwards.

The "Book of All Kingdoms" [f0fXX], of 1350, tells the voyages of an anonymous Castilian friar and is illustrated with 113 flag images, referred to (though seldom described) in the text.
The 57th flag mentioned and illustrated in the "Book" is attributed to Bone, or Annaba / Hippo.
The 2005 Spanish illustrated transcription of the "Book" [f0f05] shows a white flag with a purple (or rather the shade of gray which is used for purple in this source) crescent pointing to the hoist; the flag is shown in the ogival default shape of this source.
The anonymous author of the "Book" describes the flag thusly: El rey d'ella á por señales un pendón blanco con una luna prieta atal (Its king has for device a white pendon with a black moon like this.) The flag is identical to the 53th ("Africa") and the 54th (Tunis) flags shown in the Spanish transcription of the "Book".

Tomislav Todorović & António Martins, 24 November 2007

Bejaia

Flag of Bejaia
Left, as shown in the "Catalan Atlas" - Image by Tomislav Todorović & Jaume Ollé, 23 August 2008;
Middle, as shown in the "Book of All Kingdoms" - Image by Eugene Ipavec, 7 January 2010;
Right, as shown in an unspecified portolano - Image by Tomislav Todorović & Jaume Ollé, 23 August 2008;

The "Catalan Atlas" [c2q75] depicts the flag of Bejaia as red with a crossbow all in gold, as shown by D. Wigal (Historic maritime maps used for historic exploration 1290-1699, 2000).

The 59th flag mentioned and illustrated in the "Book" is attributed to Bejaia.
The 2005 Spanish illustrated transcription of the "Book" [f0f05] shows a red flag with an upright crossbow on it (yellow, black-lined body, white bow, black string, crank and string); the flag is shown in the ogival default shape of this source.
The anonymous author of the "Book" describes the flag thusly: E el rey d'esta Bugia á por señales un pendón bermejo con une ballesta amarilla atal (And the king of this Bugia has for device a red pendon with a yellow crossbow like this).

The flag is attributed to Bejaia, in current Algeria, though the text in the source says pasa por ella un río que dizen Guadalquevir (it is crossed by a river named Guadalquevir). Now "Wadi al kabir" means "a large river", a hardly unique toponym, but the only notable river with such a name flows in southern Spain, a region under Moorish control in the time of the "Book of All Kingdoms".

Tomislav Todorović & António Martins, 23 August 2008

Brischan / Brisch

Flag of Brischan / Brisch - Images by Tomislav Todorović, 14 January 2008
Left, after the "Book of All Kingdoms"
Middle, after the "Catalan Atlas"
Right, after the London facsimile of the "Catalan Atlas"

The 60th flag mentioned and illustrated in the "Book of All Kingdoms" is attributed to Brischan, a town located on the Mediterranean coast near Bejaia.
The 2005 Spanish illustrated transcription of the "Book" [f0f05] shows a white charged charged with a black hexagram with two small rings attached to each of its points. In fact, there are six lines beginning at the eight-o'clock point of the hexagram and spreading towards the right-side ring at the twelwe-o'clock point, so that they look like one thick line near the eight-o'clock point and six distinctive lines at the other end. It is difficult to decide if this was drawn intentionally or erroneously; it is probably an error, as there is a number of erroneous images in the book, and other sources (see below) show a simple hexagram, so the attached image shows just a single line there; the flag is shown in the ogival default shape of this source.
The anonymous author of the "Book" describes the flag thusly: El rey d'ella á por señales un pendón blanco con un signo tal commo aquíest (And its king has for device a white pendon with a sign like this one here).