| Omar Agha | |
|---|---|
| Dey-Pasha of Algiers Sultan of Algiers Dey of Algiers | |
 Omar Agha (Sitting on the couch) | |
| Reign | 11 April 1815 – 8 September 1817 |
| Predecessor | Mohamed Khaznadji |
| Successor | Ali Khodja |
| Born | Omar ben Mohammed c. 1773 Lesbos[1] |
| Died | 8 September 1817 Algiers |
| Arabic | عمر آغا |
Omar Agha was theDey of theDeylik of Algiers from April 1815 to September 1817, after the assassination of his predecessorMohamed Khaznadji on 7 April 1815, who had been in office for only 17 days.
He was born on the island ofLesbos.[2] His name was Omar ben Mohammed. He left forAlgiers at an unknown date, and first became a privateer, then a janissary. He soon becameAgha of theOdjak of Algiers.
He launched a war against Tunis, and led the attacks ofBarbary privateers on American ships. An expedition of the US Navy led by CommodoreStephen Decatur in command of a squadron of nine ships, was conducted in 1815 against theRegency of Algiers. The episode is known as theSecond Barbary War. The operation forced Dey Omar to sign a treaty ending attacks of piracy, a treaty that he denounced shortly thereafter.
The Congress of Vienna, which addressed the problem ofChristian slaves from Barbary piracy, charged the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to negotiate with the Dey of Algiers and the Beys of Tunis and Tripoli. Although the latter two were agreeable, Omar Agha was not. It would take the 9-hourBombardment of Algiers (1816) on 27 August 1816, by an Anglo-Dutch naval force commanded by British AdmiralLord Exmouth, to compel the Dey to abolish Christian slavery. However, the bombardment of Algiers did not destroy Barbary power. Despite the signing of the treaty and the release of 3,000 Christian slaves, Dey Omar set to rebuilding the city's defences, putting itsJewish inhabitants to forced labour in the place of Christian slaves.[3] Moreover, the problem remained such that it was one of the main areas of contention at theCongress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818).
Thanks to the series of defeats at the hands of Europeans, he was strangled on September 8, 1817, and he was buried within an hour.[4] His successor wasAli ben Ahmed.[5]
| Preceded by | Dey of the Regency of Algiers 1815–1817 | Succeeded by |
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