THE OTTOMAN TURKS

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As the Ottoman Turks were fighting for control of the Mediterranean , another regional conflict came from Muslim corsairs , or pirates , the most famous of whom are the Barbarossa brothers , Aruj and Khair ed-Din , who took control of the island of Jerba . Aruj captured Algiers from the Spanish however , when was later killed when they regained the city in 1518 . Khair ed-Din sought help from the Turks , who exploited the chance to get involved . They gave him the Turkish title of beylerbey (governor) and supplied him with troops .

Tunis came under the Ottoman rule when Sinan Pasha finally claimed it for the Turks in 1574 , arresting the last of the Hafsids into exile . In 1598 Othman Dey seized power , reducing the Ottoman pasha to a mere figurehead . The war and struggle for power went on until the early 18th century , when Hussein ben Ali founded the Hussei¬nite line of beys , who ruled Tunisia at least in title - until the country became a republic in 1957 , although the Arab world's first constitution (destour) was announced in Tunisia in 1861 .