Battle of Mers-el-Fahm

Part of Ottoman–Habsburg wars
| Date| 1603

|

Location|

Azeffoun, Kingdom of Kuku

Result|  Algerian–Kuku victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Kuku
Regency of Algiers|  Spanish Empire
Commanders and leaders
Prince Abdallah
Soliman Pasha|  Viceroy of Majorca
Father Matthew  †
Strength
Unknown|  4 Galleys[1][2][3]
100+ men[1][3]
Casualties and losses
None|  80 killed[2]

* v
* t
* e

Ottoman–Habsburg wars

Hungary and the Balkans

* Mohács (1526)
* Hungarian campaign (1527–28)
* Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War (1527–1593)
* Hungary (1529)
* Vienna (1529)
* Little Wars in Hungary
* (1529–1533) (1540–1547) (1551–1562) (1565–1568)
* Győr (1577)
* Bicske (1578)
* Long War (1593–1606)
* Bocskai uprising (1604–1606)
* Austro-Turkish War (1663–64)
* Great Turkish War (1683–1699)
* Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718)
* Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739)
* Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791)

Mediterranean

* Cephalonia (1500)
* Balearics (1501)
* 1st Algiers (1516)
* 1st Tlemcen (1518)
* 2nd Algiers (1519)
* 3rd Algiers (1529)
* Formentera (1529)
* Cherchell (1531)
* Coron (1533–1534)
* 1st Tunis (1534)
* 2nd Tunis (1535)
* Mahón (1535)
* 1st Apulia (1537)
* Preveza (1538)
* Castelnuovo (1539)
* Girolata (1540)
* Alborán (1540)
* 4th Algiers (1541)
* 2nd Tlemcen (1543)
* 1st Mostaganem (1543)
* Nice (1543)
* Lipari (1544)
* Naples (1544)
* 2st Mostaganem (1547)
* Cullera (1550)
* Mahdia (1550)
* 1st Gozo (1551)
* Tripoli (1551)
* Ponza (1552)
* Corsica (1553–1559)
* Viste (1554)
* Béjaïa (1555)
* Oran (1556)
* Balearics (1558)
* 3rd Mostaganem (1558)
* Djerba (1560)
* Lipari (1561)
* Orán and Mers-el-Kébir (1563)
* 1st Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (1563)
* Granada (1563)
* 2nd Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (1564)
* Malta (1565)
* 5th Algeria (1567)
* 3rd Tunis (1569)
* 2nd Gozo (1570)
* Lepanto (1571)
* Navarino (1572)
* 2nd Apulia (1573)
* 4th Tunis (1573)
* 5th Tunis (1574)
* Cadaqués (1575)
* Lanzarote (1586)
* Mers-el-Fahm (1603)
* Monastir (1603)
* Hammamet (1605)
* 1st La Goulette (1609)
* Kerkennah Islands (1611)
* 2nd La Goulette (1612)
* Cape Corvo (1613)
* Messina (1613)
* Malta (1614)
* 3rd La Goulette (1615)
* Cape Celidonia (1616)
* Constantinople (1616)
* 4th La Goulette (1617)
* Sousse (1619)
* Chios (1621)
* Palermo (1624)
* Gulf of Tunis (1624)
* Dalmatia (1624)
* San Pietro (1624)

The Battle of Mers-el-Fahm, otherwise known as the Massacre of Mers-el-Fahm was a surprise attack planned by Soliman Pasha and the King of Kuku's Nephew, Abdallah, against the Spanish Empire, in which Abdallah promised to let the Spanish install garrisons in the village of Azeffoun only to massacre them after being promised money by Algiers.

## Context

[edit]

A religious man by the name of Father Matthew was a slave in Kuku for a long time, even learning the local language, and he grew close with the Governor of Zeffoun (Azeffoun) Abdallah, who was also Nephew of the King of Kuku. Exploiting the independence of Kuku from Algiers, Matthew devised a plan with him to let Spanish garrisons military access. To which Abdallah promised to give the Spaniards entry at Mers-el-Fahm (Arabic: مرسى الفحم, romanized: Marsā al-Faḥm) However, the Divan of Algiers found out about this plot from spies, and Soliman Pasha took an army and besieged Azzefoun, to which Abdallah surrendered. Soliman asked Abdallah to massacre the Spanish garrison on their arrival at Oued-el-Fahm, promising him 1 sultani for each Christian's head and 200 sultani for Matthew's head, to which Abdallah accepted.[1][2][3]

## Massacre

[edit]

Father Matthew arrived with 4 Galleys commanded by the Viceroy of Majorca, and 100 men. When they arrived Abdallah made sure to give them a honorable welcome to make them feel safe, Matthew asked about the son of the King of Kuku, who was gonna be taken by the Spanish as a hostage, Abdallah told them that his cousin was confined in a fortress to which Abdallah tells Matthew to follow him into the fort to retrieve the hostage. Matthew got suspicious and tried to go back to his galleys only to be attacked by the Kabyles and massacred, the Viceroy of Majorca retreats from the shores leaving Matthew and his 80 men to be killed by Abdallah and his army.[1][2][4][3][5]

## Aftermath

[edit]

After bringing the heads to Algiers, Soliman Pasha did not give Abdallah anything,[1][2][3] with the pretext that Abdallah 'had to bring the slaves alive so they could be held captive or sold as slaves'.[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e Berbrugger, Adrien (1857). Les époques militaires de la Grande Kabilie (in French). Bastide. pp. 106–109.106-109&rft.pub=Bastide&rft.date=1857&rft.aulast=Berbrugger&rft.aufirst=Adrien&rft_id=https://books.google.com/books?id=WqtXAAAAcAAJ&dq;=Zeffoun+1603&pg;=PA106&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Battle+of+Mers-el-Fahm" class="Z3988">
2. ^ a b c d e Fournel, Henri (1854). Richesse minérale de l'Algérie: accompagnée d'éclaircissements historiques sur cette partie de l'Afrique septentrionale (in French). Imprimerie nationale.
3. ^ a b c d e Liorel, Jules (1893). Kabylie du Jurjura: Races berbères. Préf. de Émile Masqueray (in French). Leroux.
4. ^ a b Mercier, Ernest (1891). Histoire de l'Afrique Septentrionale (Berbérie) depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à la conquête française (1830) par Ernest Mercier (in French). Ernest Leroux.
5. ^ Grammont, H. D. de (1887). Histoire d'Alger sous la domination turque (1515-1830) (in French).

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template