Battle of Chelif

As early as the 1690s, a change of course was made in the foreign policy of the Regency of Algiers by the dey Hadj Chaabane; the latter diverted Algiers from the wars of sea racing against the Europeans and sought to federate the entire Maghreb under his authority. His policy was pursued by the dey Moustapha who confronted the joint armies of Tunis and Tripoli in October 1700 before facing the Cherifian Empire of Moulay Ismaël.[1]

Moroccan troops entered the war against the Algerians[2][3] during the Hegirian year 1111 (1699-1700). This time, this attempt was coordinated with an offensive by the Bey of Tunis on the province of Constantine. An initial campaign was led by Ismail Ibn Sharif's son Zeïdan, who had some success: he took Tlemcen and drove the Turks from Algiers out of the city, then Mascara, where he even pillaged the bey's palace. However, to save his booty he concluded a truce with Algiers and returned to Morocco. Sultan Ismail Ibn Sharif is furious about this peace because it allows the Regency of Algiers to concentrate on its eastern front and to defeat the army of Tunis between Setif and Constantine.[4]

Ismail Ibn Sharif dismissed his son Zidan from his command and returned to campaign against Algiers. He then advanced as far as the Chelif valley. The dey Hadj Moustapha, victorious in the east, gathers troops of tribal auxiliaries on his way to face up to it. The meeting of the two armies takes place in the valley of Chelif, more precisely on the banks of a tributary, the Djidouia.

The battle took place on 28 April 1701 and the engagement of the two armies began at noon.[5] In the face of the 20,000 men of Ismail ben Cherif, Dey Hadj Mustapha had 10,000 regulars and tribal troops, including Kabyle Igawawen auxiliaries, whose number is not specified. The battle ended around 4 p.m. with a rout of Ismail Ibn Sharif.[2] The latter, wounded in the fighting, had to escape on horseback and narrowly escaped capture. This battle put an end to Ismail Ibn Sharif's Algerian campaign and, temporarily, to his territorial aims.

An anonymous Algerian wrote on May 2 to a French correspondent, sending him a copy of Dey Mustapha's letter to his khodja dated 18 April 1701 in the camp. These Letters from Algiers recount the "great advantage that the Algerians gained over the King of Morocco" by tackling the victory of the wadi Djidiouia where Moulay Ismail lost 3000 men, including 50 kings.[6] The Algerian-Moroccan war of 1701 initiated an unexpected and ephemeral rapprochement between the regency of Algiers and Spain.[7]