Sultanate of Tuggurt


The sultanate of Tuggurt extended over Tuggurt, the oases of the neighbouring region and the wadi Ghir valley between 1414 and 1881. It was governed by sultans of the dynasty.

History

The sultanate was founded by a certain Soliman el Djellabi in the fifteenth century. According to some he was a pilgrim of Maghrib al-Aksa, a descendant of the Marinids, or a sharif. Another version asserts that, tired of rivalry, the local clans decreed that whoever first entered the town of Tuggurt would be recognized as chief; Soliman, a simple shepherd was the first to set foot in the city.
The region of Tuggurt was in a state of anarchy. Even the markets - traditionally places of trade and peaceful exchange - were places of confrontation between the members of the various oases and tribes. Soliman el Djellabi, knowing the local political dynamics and the resources of the region, called around him the most popular men of the country to establish order.
He felt secure enough to retain local political structures, including the djemaa to which he could appoint members. He equipped at his own expense a deira of five hundred horsemen who became the nucleus of his army. He then patrolled the neighborhood chastising rebels, restoring peace and levying tax. Sheikh Soliman came to terms with the Douaouda feudal family, who commanded the “Riah” - nomadic tribes controlling the plain from the to Ouargla, by marrying his daughter to the head of this family, Ben Sakheri, who bore the title of sheikh el Arab.
As early as the sixteenth century, the Sultanate of Tuggurt had to face the hegemony of the regency of Algiers. Salah Raïs, beylerbey of Algiers, led an expedition against Tuggurt in 1552. The Ben Djellab surrendered in the face of enemy artillery; politically they became vassals of Algiers and paid it tribute.

List of rulers

The known Sultans were: