Mohamed Larbi Zarrouk Khaznadar
Mohamed Arbi Zarrouk Khaznadar | |
|---|---|
| Grand Vizier of the Beylik of Tunis | |
| In office 1815 – October 29, 1822 | |
| Preceded by | Youssef Saheb Ettabaâ |
| Succeeded by | Hussein Khodja |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1760 Le Bardo, Beylik of Tunis |
| Died | October 29, 1822 Tunis, Beylik of Tunis |
Mohamed Arbi Zarrouk Khaznadar (born 1760 in Le Bardo - October 29, 1822 in Tunis) was Prime Minister and Khaznadar (minister of Finances) of Beylik of Tunis.
Family
He was born to a wealthy feudal Sharifian family from Béja.[1] The family had close ties to the beylical court: his paternal grandfather Ahmed Zarrouk was the secretary of the cheikh Youssef Bourtaghiz, the Hanafi chief mufti, and the power broker of Hussein Bey I). His maternal grandfather was the influential minister fr:Radjab Khaznadar. Mohamed Arbi Zarrouk was also the foster brother of the princess Amina Baya, sister of Hammuda Pasha and the future wife of Mahmoud Bey. He was educated by his father who was controller of restoration works of the Beylicla palace.
Rise to power
Like his father, he entered the service of Hammouda Pasha as supervisor of major works, such as the construction of the fortress at El Kef, near the Algerian border. After 1800, he accompanied Minister fr:Youssef Saheb Ettabaâ on the tours (mhalla) of pacification and tax collection in the tribal areas, as his advisor and treasurer.
Plot against Youssef Saheb Ettabaâ
In 1814, he plotted with his sister Amina Baya to encourage the princes Hussein and Mustapha to assassinate Osman Bey and his sons and to restore legitimacy in the person of their father, Mahmoud Bey.[2] After this coup was carried out, Mohamed was frustrated at not taking Youssef Saheb Ettabaâ’s place, and he temporarily assumed the position of Minister of Finance (khaznadar).[3] Eventually however the suspicions of the new bey, maintained by Zarrouk, his wife Amina Baya and Prince Hussein, got the better of Saheb Ettabaâ. Zarrouk, helped by a powerful party eager to shed Saheb Ettabaâ’s influence, organized his assassination in the Bardo Palace. He then finally took the post of principal minister of the regency
Prime minister
Khaznadar then tracked down the allies of the former minister: some were imprisoned, all were dispossessed of their property, including the father of the chronicler Ibn Abi Dhiaf, former secretary of Saheb Ettabaâ.
Taking advantage of his dominant position and having cleared the court of the former strongmen of the time of Hammouda Pasha, Zarrouk enriched himself considerably. He actively participated in the olive oil and wheat trade and built one of the largest palaces in the medina of Tunis, in the rue des Juges district. He also saved the ruling family during the revolt of the Turkish militia in 1816. However, he failed to contain the European powers who were pushing for an end to the long-established practice of corsairing.
Assassination
Zarrouk took more and more umbrage at his brother-in-law Mahmoud Bey. The sovereign then decides to make him take sole responsibility for the assassination of Saheb Ettabaâ: Zarrouk is eliminated in the same circumstances as Saheb Ettabaâ, in front of one of the doors of the Bardo palace. He was strangled by the Mameluke guards of the bey leOctober 29, 1822, without his nephews intervening, and buried the same day in the cemetery of Djellaz . His young son Mohamed, father of Mohamed Larbi Zarrouk , is imprisoned for several months as well as his allies; his sister Amina Beya died two months later. Young Ahmed , a Circassian Mamluk whom Zarrouk had adopted and raised, is taken to the seraglio of Hussein Bey. He will make a career in Sadok Bey's army and make himself known as Minister of War .
Hussein Khodja , head of the Bey's Mamluk guard, succeeds Zarrouk as principal minister.
References
- ^ السكوحي, وجيدة. "المعـــالم التاريــخــــية بــــولاية منــــوبـــــة". inp.entry.tn. National Heritage Institute, Tunisia. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ Mahmoud Bouali (1976). Le temps de la non-révolte, 1827-1832. S.T.D. p. 582. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ Azzedine Guellouz (1983). Les temps modernes. Société tunisienne de diffusion. p. 248. Retrieved 8 April 2021.