Ali Khodja

Ali V Ben Ahmed, nicknamed Ali Khodja, Ali-Meguer, or Ali Loco (the mad) a mamluk of Georgian (Mengrelian) origin.[1] He was the dey of the Regency of Algiers from September 1817, just after the assassination of his predecessor Omar Agha the 8th. He remained so until his death in February 1818. His sobriquet Ali-Meguer may indicate his Mingrelian background.

Ali Khodja, surrounded by the severed heads of vanquished enemies after the bombardment of 1816

Fearing plots against his rule he at one point had more than 1500 soldiers executed.[2]

A few days after his arrival, and to better ensure his safety, he left the Palace of the Djenina located in the lower part of the city of Casbah and offering small defences, to move to the fortress of the Casbah where he put the treasure safe. He died of the plague on February 28, 1818.[3]

After his death in 1818, he was buried in the Thaalibia Cemetery of the Casbah of Algiers.

References
  1. Temimi, Abdeljelil (1978). Le Beylik de Constantine et Ḣadj 'Ahmed Bey (1830-1837). Tunis: Publications de la Revue d’histoire maghrébine, Vol. 1. p. 32.
  2. Georges Fleury, Comment l'Algérie devint française (1830-1848), Perrin, 2008, pp. 25-26, ISBN 978-2-262-02914-2
  3. Camille Rousset, La Conquête d'Alger, Paris, E. Plon et Cie, 1879, pp. 7-10 online version
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