Back More
Salem Press

Table of Contents

See Also

See Also in
Notorious Lives

Genghis Khan.

Great Lives from History: Notorious Lives

‘Aruj

by R. Scott Moore

Muslim pirate and governor of Algiers

Cause of notoriety:ȯAruj’s maritime activities in the western Mediterranean Sea against Christians and on behalf of the Ottoman Turks earned him a fearsome reputation in Europe.

Active: 1505-1518

Locale: Tunis and Algeria

Early Life

ȯAruj (AH-roozh) was the eldest of four sons born to a Christian woman and a retired Janissary (taken as a child by the Ottomans and raised in the Muslim faith) on the Greek island of Lesbos around 1473. ȯAruj began his maritime career by working on his father’s boat as a merchant and privateer. Early in his career, his ship was attacked and captured by the Knights of St. John, Christian raiders operating from their base on the island of Rhodes. In the attack, ȯAruj’s brother Isaac was killed, and ȯAruj was forced into service as a galley slave. He eventually escaped (or was ransomed), obtained another ship, and began raiding in the Aegean Sea.

Naval Career

Operating out of Alexandria, Egypt, ȯAruj attacked Christian ships and Christian-controlled islands in the eastern Mediterranean. During this period he acquired the nickname Barbarossa, meaning “the red-bearded.” In 1505 ȯAruj, now accompanied by his younger brother Khi@Ńr, began operating in the western Mediterranean along the coast of North Africa, mainly out of Tunis. They attacked shipping as well as towns along the Spanish and Italian coasts and in the Aegean Sea. ȯAruj was able to disrupt shipping in the western Mediterranean and capture many Christians, who were then sold into slavery. Within only a few years, ȯAruj accumulated a vast fortune and a fleet of eight ships. Wanting more freedom, in 1510 the brothers moved their fleet to the nearby island of Djerba (modern Jerba, off the coast of Tunisia), where they could operate without the interference of local North African rulers.

Prisoners of Barbarossa.

ph_0111307936-Barbarossa.jpg

(F. R. Niglutsch)

In 1512ȯAruj led an attack on the Spanish-held coastal town of Bougie (Bejaïa, in modern Algeria), an important North African trading center. In leading the assault on the city walls, ȯAruj was knocked down by a shot that severed his left arm. This injury caused ȯAruj’s forces to abandon the attack and withdraw. After recuperating from his wound, ȯAruj worked to expand his control over the North African coastline.

In 1516, ȯAruj launched a series of attacks that resulted in the capture of Shershell (Cherchell) and Algiers, which allowed ȯAruj to become known as the sultan of Algiers. The following year, he continued his expansion by capturing the city of Tlemcen. His successes led the Ottoman sultan, Selim I “the Grim” (r. 1512-1520), to recognize him officially as the Ottoman ruler of the Algerian region.

The Spanish governor of Oran, fearing that ȯAruj would eventually attack his city, secured support from King Charles I of Spain and led an assault on Tlemcen in 1518. When reinforcements failed to reach ȯAruj, he withdrew from the city and attempted to reach Algiers overland. The Spanish cavalry was able to catch his forces before they reached the safety of the walls of Algiers, and in the ensuing battle ȯAruj was killed. With the death of ȯAruj, his brother Khi@Ńr (the future Turkish admiral Khair al-Dīn) dyed his beard red and took the name Barbarossa as his own.

Impact

The maritime activities of ȯAruj and his brother helped create the Barbary States (Algeria, Morocco, Tripoli, and Tunisia), which served as a haven for pirates in the western Mediterranean from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. The outposts also gave the Ottoman Empire a toehold in North Africa. After ȯAruj’s brother Khair al-Dīn assumed the mantle of Barbarossa, he became one of the most famous naval commanders of his day, helping to extend the Ottomans’ reach and solidifying their empire as a world power that would last well into the twentieth century.

Further Reading

1 

Bradford, Ernle. The Sultan’s Admiral: The Life of Barbarossa. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1968. While this book focuses mainly on the life of Khair al-Dīn, ȯAruj’s youngest brother, it also includes many details about the life of ȯAruj.

2 

Davis, Robert C. Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500-1800. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. An examination of the slave trade practiced by the Muslim corsairs of North Africa and its impact on Europe.

3 

Heers, Jacques. The Barbary Corsairs: Warfare in the Mediterranean, 1480-1580. Translated by Jonathan North. London: Greenhill Books, 2003. An examination of the formation of the Barbary pirates and their early successes.

4 

Soucek, S. “The Rise of the Barbarossas in North Africa.” Archivum Ottomanicum 3 (1971): 238-250. A brief description of the rise to power of ȯAruj and Khi@Ńr Barbarossa.

Citation Types

MLA 9th
Moore, R. Scott. "‘Aruj." Great Lives from History: Notorious Lives, edited by Carl L. Bankston III, Salem Press, 2007. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=GLN_1021.
APA 7th
Moore, R. S. (2007). ‘Aruj. In C. L. Bankston III (Ed.), Great Lives from History: Notorious Lives. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Moore, R. Scott. "‘Aruj." Edited by Carl L. Bankston III. Great Lives from History: Notorious Lives. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2007. Accessed March 21, 2026. online.salempress.com.