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TheTurks in Algeria, also commonly referred to asAlgerian Turks,^{[1][2][3][4][5]}Algerian-Turkish^[6][7]Algero-Turkish^[8] andTurkish-Algerians^[9] were the ethnicTurkish and renegades who emigrated to Algeria during the Ottoman period. A significant number of Turks intermarried with the native population, and the male offspring of these marriages were referred to asKouloughlis (Turkish:kuloğlu) due to their mixed Turkish and centralMaghrebi heritage.^[10][11] However, in general, intermarriage was discouraged, in order to preserve the "Turkishness" of the community.^[12] Consequently, the terms "Turks" and "Kouloughlis" have traditionally been used to distinguish between those of full and partial Turkish ancestry.^[13]

The foundation ofOttoman Algeria was directly linked to the establishment of theOttoman province (beylerbeylik) of theMaghreb at the beginning of the 16th century.^[14] At the time, fearing that their city would fall intoSpanish hands, the inhabitants ofAlgiers called upon Ottomancorsairs for help.^[14] Headed byOruç Reis and his brotherHayreddin Barbarossa, they took over the rule of the city and started to expand their territory into the surrounding areas. SultanSelim I (r. 1512–20) agreed to assume control of the Maghreb regions ruled by Hayreddin as a province, granting the rank of governor-general (beylerbey) to Hayreddin. In addition, the Sultan sent 2,000 janissaries, accompanied by about 4,000 volunteers to the newly established Ottoman province of the Maghreb, whose capital was to be the city of Algiers.^[14] These Turks, mainly fromAnatolia, called each other "yoldaş" (aTurkish word meaning "comrade") and called their sons born of unions with local women "Kuloğlus", which implied that they considered their children's status as that of the Sultan's servants.^[14] Likewise, to indicate in the registers that a certain person is an offspring of a Turk and a local woman, the note "ibn al-turki" (or "kuloglu") was added to his name.^[15]

The exceptionally-high number of Turks greatly affected the character of the city ofAlgiers and that of the province at large. In 1587, the province was divided into three different provinces, which were established where the modern states ofAlgeria,Libya andTunisia were to emerge. Each of the provinces was headed by aPasha sent fromConstantinople for a three-year term. The division of the Maghreb launched the process that led eventually to the janissary corps' rule over the province.^[16] From the end of the 16th century, Algiers' Ottoman elite chose to emphasise its Turkish identity and to nurture its Turkish character to a point at which it became an ideology.^[16]

The lifestyle, language, religion, and area of origin of the Ottoman elite's members created remarkable differences between the Algerian Ottoman elite and the indigenous population.^[17] For example, members of the elite adhered toHanafi law while the rest of the population subscribed to theMaliki school.^[17] Most of the elites originated from non-Arab regions of the Empire. Furthermore, most members of the elite spokeOttoman Turkish while the local population spokeAlgerian Arabic and even differed from the rest of the population in their dress.^[17]

From its establishment, the military-administrative elite worked to reinvigorate itself by enlisting volunteers from non-Arab regions of theOttoman Empire, mainly fromAnatolia.^[15] Hence, local recruiting ofArabs was almost unheard of and during the 18th century a more or less permanent network of recruiting officers was kept in some coastal Anatolian cities and on some of the islands of theAegean Sea.^[18] The recruitment policy was therefore one of the means employed to perpetuate the Turkishness of the Ottoman elite and was practiced until the fall of the province in 1830.^[18]

During the 18th century, the militia practiced a restrictive policy on marriages between its members and local women. A married soldier would lose his right of residence in one of the city's eight barracks and the daily ration of bread to which he was entitled. He would also lose his right to purchase a variety of products at a preferential price.^[18] Nonetheless, the militia's marriage policy made clear distinctions among holders of different ranks: the higher the rank, the more acceptable the marriage of its holder.^[12] This policy can be understood as part of the Ottoman elite's effort to perpetuate its Turkishness and to maintain its segregation from the rest of the population.^[12] Furthermore, the militia's marriage policy, in part, emerged from fear of an increase in the number of the kuloğlus.^[20]

Thekuloğlus refer to the male offspring of members of the Ottoman elite and the local Algerian women.^[20] Due to their link to the local Algerian population via his maternal family, the kuloğlus' loyalty to the Ottoman elite was suspected because of the fear that they might develop another loyalty and so they were considered a potential danger to the elite.^[20] However, the son of a non-local woman, herself an "outsider" in the local population, represented no such danger to the Ottoman elite. Therefore, the Algerian Ottoman elite had a clear policy dictating the perpetuation of its character as a special social group, which was separated from the local population.^[20]

Nonetheless, John Douglas Ruedy points out that the kuloğlus also sought to protect their Turkishness:

"Proud and distinctive appearing, Kouloughlis often pretended to speak onlyTurkish and insisted on worshipping inHanafi [i.e. Ottoman-built] mosques with men of their own ethnic background. In times of emergency they were called upon to supplement the forces of the ojaq."^[21]

In the neighbouring province of Tunisia, the maintenance of the Turkishness of the ruling group was not insisted upon, and the kuloğlus could reach the highest ranks of government. However, the janissary corps had lost its supremacy first to theMuradid dynasty (Murad Bey's son was appointed bey), and then to theHusainid dynasty. The Tunisian situation partly explains the continuation of the Algerian janissary corps' recruitment policy and the manifest will to distance the kuloğlus from the real centres of power.^[22] Nonetheless, high-ranking kuloğlus were in the service of the ocak, in military and in administrative capacities, occupying posts explicitly considered out of bounds for them; although there were no kuloğlus who wasdey during the 18th century, this seems to be the only exception.^[23]

Once Algeria came under French colonial rule in 1830, approximately 10,000 Turks were expelled and shipped off toSmyrna; moreover, many Turks (alongside other natives) fled to other regions of the Ottoman realms, particularly toPalestine,Syria,Arabia, andEgypt.^[24] Nonetheless, by 1832, many Algerian-Turkish descended families, who had not left Algeria, joined a coalition withEmir Abdelkader in order to forge the beginning of a powerful resistance movement against French colonial rule.^[6]

Due to the three centuries of Ottoman rule in Algeria, today many cultural (particularly in regards to food, religion, and dress - and to a lesser extent language), architectural, as well as musical elements of Algeria are of Turkish origin or influence.

During the Ottoman era, theOttoman Turkish language was the official governing language in the region, and theTurkish language was spoken mostly by the Algerian Turkish community.^[17] However, today most Algerian Turks speak theArabic language as their mother tongue. Nonetheless, the legacy of the Turkish language is still apparent and has influenced many words and vocabulary in Algeria. An estimated 634 Turkish words are still used in Algeria today.^[26] Therefore, inAlgerian Arabic it is possible for a single sentence to include an Arabic subject, a French verb, and for the predicate to be in Berber or Turkish.^[27]

Moreover, families of Turkish origin have retained their Turkish family surnames; common names include Barbaros, Hayreddin, Osmanî, Stambouli, Torki, Turki, and Uluçali; job titles or functions have also become family names within the Algerian-Turkish community (such as Hazneci, Demirci, Başterzi, Silahtar).^[28][29]

The Ottoman Turks brought the teaching of theHanafi law ofSunni Islam to Algeria; consequently, their lifestyle created remarkable differences between the Ottoman Turks and the indigenous population because the ethnic Arabs and Berbers practiced theMaliki school.^[17][30]

Today, the Hanafi school is still practiced among the Turkish descended families. Moreover, the Ottoman mosques in Algeria - which are still used by the Turkish minority - are distinguishable by their octagonal minarets which were built in accordance with the traditions of the Hanafi rite.^[31][32]

Today the Turkish heritage in Algeria is most notably present in theircuisine which they have introduced to Algeria (such asTurkish coffee,Lahmacun,Böreks, desserts and pastries).^[28][33]

During the Ottoman era, urban society in the coastal cities of Algeria evolved into an ethnic mix of Arabs, Berbers, Turks and Kouloughlis as well as other ethnic groups (Moors, and Jews).^[34] Thus, the Turks settled mainly in the big cities of Algeria and formed their own Turkish quarters; remnants of these old Turkish quarters are still visible today,^[35] such as inAlgiers (particularly in theCasbah)^[36][37]Annaba,^[38]Biskra,^[39]Bouïra,^[40]Médéa,^[41][42]Mostaganem,^[42] andOran (such as in La Moune^[37] and the areas near theHassan Basha Mosque^[43]). Indeed, today, the descendants of Ottoman-Turkish settlers continue to live in the big cities.^[44] In particular, the Turks have traditionally had a strong presence in theTlemcen Province; alongside the Moors, they continue to make up a significant portion ofTlemcen's population and live within their own sectors of the city.^[45][46]

The Turkish minority have traditionally also had notable populations in various other cities and towns; there is an established Turkish community inArzew,^[47]Bougie,^[48]Berrouaghia,Cherchell,^[49]Constantine,^[48]Djidjelli,^[48]Mascara,Mazagran^[47]Oued Zitoun,^[50] andTebessa.^[48] There is also an established community inKabylie (such asTizi Ouzou^[51] and Zammora).

Moreover, several suburbs, towns and cities, which have been inhabited by the Turks for centuries, have been named after Ottoman rulers, Turkish families or the Turks in general, including: theAïn El Turk district (literally "Fountain of the Turks") inOran, the town ofAïn Torki in theAïn Defla Province, theAïn Turk commune inBouïra, the town ofBir Kasdali and theBir Kasd Ali District in theBordj Bou Arréridj Province,^[52][53] the town ofBougara and theBougara District located inBlida Province,^[54] the suburb ofHussein Dey and theHussein Dey District in theAlgiers Province, as well as the town ofSalah Bey and theSalah Bey District in theSétif Province.^[55]

There are many Algerian Turks who have emigrated to other countries and hence make up part of Algeria's diaspora. Initially, the first wave of migration occurred in 1830 when many Turks were forced to leave the region once the French took control over Algeria; approximately 10,000 were shipped off toTurkey whilst many others migrated to other regions of theOttoman Empire, includingPalestine,Syria,Arabia, andEgypt.^[24] Furthermore, some Turkish/Kouloughli families also settled inMorocco (such as inTangier andTétouan).^[56]

The following list are examples of Turkish origin surnames which express an ethnic and provenance origin fromEastern Thrace andAnatolia - regions which today form the modern borders of theRepublic of Turkey:

The following list are examples of Turkish origin surnames which express a provenance settlement of Turkish families in regions ofAlgeria:

The following list are examples of Turkish origin surnames traditionally used by Turkish families inConstantine:

Acheuk-Youcef,^[55] Ali Khodja,^[55] Bachtarzi,^[55] Benabdallah Khodja,^[55] Benelmadjat,^[55] Bestandji,^[55] Bendali Braham,^[55] Bentchakar,^[55] Bensakelbordj,^[55] Bentchikou,^[55] Khaznadar,^[55] Salah Bey,^[55] Tchanderli Braham.^[55]

The following list are examples of some Turkish origin surnames which express the traditional occupation of Turkish families which settled in Algeria:

• Algeria–Turkey relations
• List of Algerians of Turkish origin
• Kouloughli
• Ottoman Algeria
• Aïn El Turk
• List of Pashas and Deys of Algiers
• Turkish minorities in the former Ottoman Empire
  • Turks in Tunisia
  • Turks in Libya
  • Turks in the Arab world
  • Turks in the Balkans
  • Turkish Cypriots
• Turks in France

^ a: "Kouloughlis" refers to the offspring (or descendants) of Turkish fathers and Algerian mothers.^[21]

• Ethnic groups in Algeria
• Ethnic Turkish people by country of citizenship
• Algerian people of Turkish descent
• Turkish diaspora by country
• Turkish diaspora in Africa

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• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles containing Turkish-language text
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