Battle of Oued AslafBattle of Agueddin Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhyi al-Din (6 September 1808 – 26 May 1883; Arabic: عبد القادر ابن محي الدين ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn Muḥy al-Dīn), known as the Emir Abdelkader or Abd al-Qadir al-Hassani al-Jaza'iri, was an Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggle against the French colonial invasion of Algiers in the early 19th century.

As an Islamic scholar and Sufi who unexpectedly found himself leading a military campaign, he built up a collection of Algerian tribesmen that for many years successfully held out against one of the most advanced armies in Europe.

His father, Muhieddine (or "Muhyi al-Din") al-Hasani, was a muqaddam in a religious institution affiliated with the Qadiriyya tariqa[6] and claimed descendence from Muhammad, through the Idrisid dynasty.

A gifted student, Abdelkader succeeded in reciting the Qur'an by heart at the age of 14, thereby receiving the title of ḥāfiẓ; a year later, he went to Oran for further education.

He also traveled to Damascus and Baghdad, and visited the graves of noted Muslims, such as ibn Arabi and Abdul Qadir Gilani, who was also called al-Jilālī in Algeria.

[9] The appointment was confirmed five days later at the Great Mosque of Mascara where a proclamation was read[9] calling in deeply religious terms on tribal leaders to join him.

And he has unfurled the banner of jihad, and bared his forearm to the task, for the welfare of the servants of God, and the prosperity of the land'[9]But within a year, through a combination of punitive raids and careful politics, Abdelkader had succeeded in uniting the tribes in the region and in establishing security – his area of influence now covered the entire Province of Oran.

[6] France's response was to step up its military campaign, and under new commanders the French won several important encounters including the 1836 Battle of Sikkak.

[1] The period of peace following the Treaty of Tafna benefited both sides, and the Emir Abdelkader took the opportunity to consolidate a new functional state, with a capital in Tagdemt.

[9][4] The state he created was broadly theocratic, and most positions of authority were held by members of the religious aristocracy; even the main unit of currency was named the muhammadiyya, after the Prophet.

Abdelkader attempted to enter the town of Aïn Madhi but was beaten back and instead he laid siege until when December 1839 Sidi Muhammad al-Tijani accepted exile.

[1] The peace ended when the Duc d'Orléans, ignoring the terms of the Treaty of Tafna, headed an expeditionary force that breached the Iron Gates.

This time, his approach was one of annihilation, with the conquest of Algeria as the endgame:[1] I will enter into your mountains, I will burn your villages and your harvests, I will cut down your fruit trees.Abdelkader was effective at using guerrilla warfare and for a decade, up until 1842, scored many victories.

The French armies brutally suppressed the native population and practiced a scorched earth policy in the countryside to force the residents to starve so as to desert their leader.

His failure to get support from eastern tribes, apart from the Kabyles of western Kabylie, had contributed to the quelling of the rebellion, and a decree from Abd al-Rahman of Morocco following the 1844 Treaty of Tangiers had outlawed the Emir from his entire kingdom.

[12] Abd al-Rahman of Morocco secretly sent soldiers to attack Abdelkader and destroy his supplies, six months after the emir routed the Moroccans and imprisoned them.

[14] The nephew of Abd al-Rahman, Mawlay Hashim was sent along with the governor of the Rif, El Hamra in command of a Moroccan army to attack the Emir, however the Moroccans were severely defeated in battle, El Hamra was killed, Mawlay Hashim had barely escaped with his life and Abd al-Rahman accepted this defeat.

[14] On 23 December 1847, Abdelkader surrendered to General Louis Juchault de Lamoricière in exchange for the promise that he would be allowed to go to Alexandria or Acre.

His request was granted, and two days later his surrender was made official to the French Governor-General of Algeria, Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale, to whom Abdelkader symbolically handed his war-horse.

[12] Ultimately, however, the French government refused to honour Lamoricière's promise: Abdelkader was shipped to France and, instead of being allowed to carry on to the East, ended up being kept in captivity.

[1][12] Abdelkader and his family and followers were detained in France, first at Fort Lamalgue in Toulon, then at Pau, and in November 1848 they were transferred to the château of Amboise.

[1] Damp conditions in the castle led to deteriorating health as well as morale in the Emir and his followers, and his fate became something of a cause célèbre in certain circles.

Lord Londonderry visited Abdelkader in Amboise and subsequently wrote to then-President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (whom he had known during the latter's exile in England) to appeal for the Emir's release.

Abdelkader's knowledge of Sufism and skill with languages earned Burton's respect and friendship; his wife Isabel described him as follows: He dresses purely in white...enveloped in the usual snowy burnous...if you see him on horseback without knowing him to be Abd el Kadir, you would single him out...he has the seat of a gentleman and a soldier.

[13] His eldest sons were sent into the streets to offer any Christians under threat shelter under his protection, and Abdelkader himself was said by many survivors to have played an instrumental part in saving them.

He was on horseback and without arms: his handsome figure calm and imposing made a strange contrast with the noise and disorder that reigned everywhere.Reports coming out of Syria as the rioting subsided stressed the prominent role of Abdelkader, and considerable international recognition followed.

In 1843 Jean-de-Dieu Soult declared that Abd-el-Kader was one of the three great men then living; the two others, Shamil, 3rd Imam of Dagestan and Muhammad Ali of Egypt also being Muslims.