Murad III Bey al-Muradi

Murad III Bey, nicknamed 'Bou Bala' (The Man of the Saber) for his terrifying temperament, seized power in 1699. A warlike and unpredictable ruler, he launched aggressive military campaigns against the Deylik of Algiers, defeating Algerian forces in Constantine in 1700.

His volatile purges terrified the Tunisian military establishment. While marching an army toward the Algerian border in June 1702, he was ambushed and assassinated on the banks of the River Zarga near Béja by his general Ibrahim Sharif, bringing the Muradid dynasty to an end.