Abu l-Hasan Ali I was the second leader of the Husainid Dynasty

Husainid Dynasty

The Husainid Dynasty is the former ruling dynasty of Tunisia originally of Cretan origin. They came to power under Al-Husayn I ibn Ali at-Turki in 1705 replacing the Muradid Dynasty. After taking power the Husainids ruled as Beys with succession to the throne determined by age with the oldest...

 and the ruler of Tunisia from 1735 until his death.

Biography

He was a grandson of Ali Turki, governor of Kef

KEF

KEF is a British-based loudspeaker manufacturer with international distribution.It was founded in Tovil, Maidstone, Kent in 1961 by electrical engineer Raymond Cooke and named after Kent Engineering & Foundry which previously occupied the site....

, and the nephew of Husayn I Bey. After the latter came to power in 1705, he was appointed governor of Sousse

Sousse

Sousse is a city in Tunisia. Located 140 km south of the capital Tunis, the city has 173,047 inhabitants . Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which is a part of the Mediterranean Sea. The name may be of Berber origin: similar names are found in Libya and in...

 and then named heir apparent

Heir apparent

An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....

 (1706). In 1724 he obtained the title of pasha

Pasha

Pasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...

 by the Ottoman sultan.

Two year later, Husayn replaced him as heir with his son Muhammad; Ali therefore revolted, and, with the help of the dey of Algiers, defeated Husayn in 1735. Soon after his entrance in Tunis

Tunis

Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....

, however, he was forced to pay a large indemnity to the Algerian troops camped under the city's walls, amounting to the load of 35 mules in silver, and to promise a yearly tribute of 50,000 rials

Tunisian rial

The rial was the currency of Tunis until 1891. It was subdivided into 16 kharub , each of 13 fals . The fals was further subdivided into 6 qafsi . The nasri was worth 2 fals. The denomination was often either not given on coins or only indicated by a numeral...

 to the dey.

Husayn, who had fled to Kairouan and tried to keep governing on Sousse

Sousse

Sousse is a city in Tunisia. Located 140 km south of the capital Tunis, the city has 173,047 inhabitants . Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which is a part of the Mediterranean Sea. The name may be of Berber origin: similar names are found in Libya and in...

 and the Tunisian Sahel. Ali ordered his son Younes to besiege him. Husayn was captured and executed in 1740, but the latter's sons, Muhammad

Muhammad I ar-Rashid

Muhammad I ar-Rashid was the third leader of the Husainid Dynasty and the ruler of Tunisia from 1756 until his death.-Biography:Muhammad had been named heir apparent by his father, Husayn I, Bey of Tunis, in 1725...

 and Ali, fled and continued the civil war, one from Constantine

Constantine, Algeria

Constantine is the capital of Constantine Province in north-eastern Algeria. It was the capital of the same-named French département until 1962. Slightly inland, it is about 80 kilometres from the Mediterranean coast, on the banks of Rhumel river...

 and the other from Algiers

Algiers

' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...

.

In 1741 Ali conquered the island of Tabarka

Tabarka

Tabarka is a coastal town located in north-western Tunisia, at about , close to the border with Algeria. It has been famous for its coral fishing, the Coral Festival of underwater photography and the annual jazz festival. Tabarka's history is a colorful mosaic of Phoenician, Roman, Arabic and...

 from the Republic of Genoa

Republic of Genoa

The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....

, deporting 1,500 Christians to Tunis. In the same year he sent an expedition against the French Cap Nègre, which was captured by his son Younes.

In his late years Ali had to face two rebellions. The first one was that led by Younes himself, who was able to seize Tunis, having the local authorities to proclaim him bey. Ali besieged him in the citadel, and forced him to flee to Algiers. The second came from the sons of Husayn, who were able to gain support from the dey of Algiers and invaded Tunisia with an army led by the dey of Constantine. The army reached Tunis, whose walls Ali had restored and stranghtened with a ditch in the meantime. However, this did not prevent the Algerians to storm the city on 31 August 1756. Ali was deposed on the following 2 September and brought in chain to Algiers, where he was strangled twenty days later by partisans of his successor Muhammad I ar-Rashid.