Usta Murad

After converting to Islam, he took the name Murad (Turkish: Morat)[3] and began to build a comfortable position in Tunis by becoming a corsair of the beylik.

An act delivered by the French consulate on 1 November 1594 indicates in effect that the "patron" of a ship from Salerno had declared himself to owe Mourad 90 gold crowns.

In 1628 he was named "supreme commander" of the Tunisian army during a short war against the Eyalet of Algeria and, although defeated, he preserved the prestige which he enjoyed thanks to his prowess.

Initially he was rejoined by his father who, thanks to his son's intercession, became an important intermediary working with the magistrate for the redemption of slaves, an institution founded in 1597 to promote the freeing of Ligurian prisoners held by Barbary pirates.

He controlled the beylic alongside Hammuda for three years, maintaining good relations with France and expanding the corsair port of Porto Farina (later Ghar el-Melh), located at a strategic coastal site, which increasingly supplanted Bizerte.