Heg. 941,

J.C. 1535. ftantinople, enèmies more dangerous than those & 942. that he had met on the confines of Perfia.

Rox

alana, after an absence of near two years, refumed all her influence over the heart of Solyman. The Turkish women are at the fame time flaves and abfolute mistreffes. The obedience and fear in which they are brought up from their infancy render them only more powerful when they find means to please their tyrants. Roxalana, after having exaggerated to her mafter the torments which his abfence and dangers had coft her, affured him, that his minifter had a fecret correfpondence with the European powers, and that the intereft of Ferdinand of Auftria was the fole caufe of this unfortunate war. The valid fultanefs, Zulema, furnished the emperor with writings true or false, which the careffes of the fubtil Roxalana made him believe fuch as they wished; among others, the dying declaration of the defterdar of the army, ftrangled a few days before for his misdemeanors. This officer, either thro' vengeance or the hopes of meriting forgiveness in the other life, had written at his death, that every thing with which he was reproached had been done by order of Ibrahim. The Turks place great confidence in the confeffion of a man who dies by the hands of the executioner. The grand vizier's death was determined on in fecret between three perfons, one of whom had loved, and the other two had feared him all their life.

But

Heg. 941,

But the emperor never thought of confronting J.C.1535. his favorite, or furnishing him with the means of ex- & 942. culpating himself. Ibrahim had always had, and still preserved at the time of his condemnation, fuch an ascendency over his mafter, that the fultan dreaded the presence of this fervant whom he believed a traitor, and whom he confented to have put to death. The grand vizier was ftrangled while afleep, and never knew that his mafter had condemned him.

comes to

nople. His

The Perfian war and the death of Ibrahim Barbarofla were not the only remarkable events of this Conftantiperiod. Whilft Solyman was feeking conquefts origin. in Afia, kingdoms in Africa were conquered and loft in his name. This prince had always been jealous of the Chriftian marine, greatly fuperior to his, and particularly of the fuccefs of Andrew Doria, Charles V.'s admiral, who had taken Coron from him, a very important maritime place. Solyman had in vain fought among his subjects a rival to oppose to this celebrated mariner: not one of his feamen united the qualifications fo neceffary in this profeffion. length, before his expedition to Perfia, he found, among the Moors of Africa, what his own dominions had been unable to furnish him with. This great feaman was Aliaden, celebrated under the name of Barbaroffa, fovereign, or rather ufurper, of Algiers. We should give fome account of this Moor, who acted fo great a part in the 3A 2 history

At

Heg. 941,

J.C. 1535. hiftory of Solyman. Aliaden or Barbaroffa was &942. the fon of a potter of Metelin; he had one bro

ther, and both, from their earlieft years, had quitted the trade of their father for that of a pirate. They had both fuch great talents and courage, that, after having for a long time defolated the coafts of Spain and Italy, they fubdued Algiers, which was only a receptacle of freebooters like themselves. Barbaroffa's eldest brother became fovereign of thefe pirates, but died foon after without children. Barbaroffa had no difficulty to fucceed him, and he continued with his fubjects, or rather accomplices, the piracies which formed the fole revenues of his fovereignty. Sinan bafhaw and. Ibrahim prevailed on this fovereign to come and ferve their common mafter. Solyman promifed to raise him inftantly to the dignity of bafhaw of the bench and captain bafhaw, or fole bafhaw of the fea. Barbaroffa, who would rather ferve the fultan than fight him, confented to leave Algiers to come to Barbaroffa Conftantinople. He brought with him another Contanti adventurer, whofe pretenfions might prove ufeful to the Turkish emperor. This was Alrafchid to the the fon of the ufurper of Tunis. This petty kingdom, fituated on the coast of Barbary, between Tripoli and Algiers, had formerly been purloined from the authority of the king of Morocco, by a governor, called Mahomet, who, having taken advantage of the Spaniards' victories

brings to

nople the pretender

throne of

Tunis.

Heg. 941,

over the Moors, had made himfelf independent. J.C. 1535 This Mahomet had had thirty-four fons by dif- & 942. ferent concubines. The youngeft, called Muley Hafcen, in confequence of the abfolute power which his mother had found means to ufurp over a filly, unjuft old man, was publicly declared his father's fucceffor. On the death of the old ufurper, Muley Hafcen, being mafter of the liberty of his brothers, ordered them all to be put to death. One of them found means to escape, and filed to Algiers to folicit the protection of Barbaroffa, who was already preparing to go to Conftantinople. Alrafchid, that was the name of the fugitive Moor, was obliged to follow the fovereign of Algiers to Conftantinople, who promised him the protection. of the most powerful of all the followers of Mahomet. Barbaroffa's fleet was compofed of forty-three veffels, part pinks, part galleys, which, throughout the voyage, pillaged the coafts. On his arrival at Conftantinople, he prefented the emperor with several young girls richly dreffed and of uncommon beauty; he gave him likewise lions, leopards, and other African wild beasts; but the most confiderable prefent of all was the perfon of Alrafchid, whofe pretenfions furnished Solyman with a pretext for making

himself master of Tunis.

with the

The Moorish prince was received by Ibrahim, He fails and even by the grand feignior, in the moft flat- Ottoman tering manner, fo much fo, that Alrafchid did feize on

not

fleet to

Tunis.

J.C.1535. not doubt but an armament which was prepared

Heg. 941,

&942 at a great expence, immediately after the arrival

of Barbaroffa, was defigned to place him on the throne of Tunis. All his followers, and even the principal officers of the fleet, believed it as well as himself. But, the evening before the embarcation, Alrafchid was arrested in the feraglio, fo fecretly, that only Barbaroffa and three of his intimate confidents knew that the Moorish prince would not be in the fleet. The day of the embarcation, Barbaroffa, going on board his veffel, followed a kind of covered litter, in which the officers whispered to one another that Alrafchid was concealed. Thus, there were in the fleet three different opinions on their destination. Barbaroffa and his moft intimate confidents alone knew that they were going to feize on Tunis in the name of Solyman. A great many officers believed that the fovereign of Algiers was going to re-establish Alrafchid on his throne, and the majority of the army thought, that it was intended only to ravage the coaft of Italy. Barbaroffa, who put to fea at the fame time that Solyman fet out for Perfia, paffed at first the phare of Meffina, and caufed fo much terror in the kingdom of Naples, that all the peafants forfook the coaft. He took fome maritime places along the coaft of Calabria; and having fpread terror as far as Naples, and even Rome, he turned all of a sudden towards Africa.

The