In
1755, Akko becomes the capital of Sidon whose domain extended
from Tripoli to Damascus under the authority of the Pasha Ahmad
al-Jazzar (1755 - 1804), an Albanian adventurer nicknamed the
Butcher or the Slaughter for his legendary cruelty. Laurence Oliphant
(1829 - 1888), an English traveler, writer and ardent partisan
of the return of the Jews to Palestine, reconstructed a portrait
of this personality based on the accounts he gathered about his
reign:
This
account comes from the son of the former private secretary of
this monster with a human face, known by the name of the Butcher.
While still a child, he had been sold to a slave trader from Constantinople.
The Egyptian, Ali Bey, bought him to be raised from the humble
rank of Mamluk to the office of governor of Cairo. In 1733, he
was named by the Druse emir to head Beirut. His first act was
to pillage 50,000 piastres that belonged to the emir; the second
was to declare that he did not recognize any other authority than
that of the Sultan. Making use of the Russian fleet, the emir
chased him out of Beirut, but he was immediately named the Pasha
of Akko and Sidon. Under his brutal reign, the pasha's domain
grew to extend from Baalbek in the north to Jerusalem in the south.
My
informant claims that Al-Jazzar was not born cruel. But one day
while playing with one of his little girls, she pulled his beard
and he scolded her in these terms: " That is not good! Where did
you learn to pull the beards of men of this kind? - Oh, she replied,
I am used to playing with those of the Mamluks who visit your
harem while you are away. " This discovery provoked him into a
fit of insane jealousy. Surrounded by an escort, he publicly announced
that he was making an official visit to a distant region. Once
out of Akko's sight, he left his escort, disguised himself and
secretly returned to his harem where he discovered his favorite
wives with his Mamluk guardsmen. Without hesitating, he drew his
scimitar and lashed out not so much against the men as against
the women. He had killed fifteen of them before getting tired,
entrusting the remainder of the carnage to his soldiers, sparing
none. My informant did not remember the exact number of women
that were slaughtered. The Mamluks took refuge in the large ammunition
storerooms, threatening to blow themselves up and to blow up the
entire city if anyone touched a single hair on their heads. They
were authorized to saddle their horses and to leave the premises
without harm. From that day on, the Pasha al-Jazzar changed radically,
making it a point to not allow a week to go by without conducting
executions.
Al-Jazzar's banker was a Jew of distinguished bearing. One day,
the pasha praised his appearance at great length before ordering
one of his servants to put out one of his eyes. Some time later,
noticing that the banker was wearing his turban at an angle to
hide his missing eye, he cut off his nose. In the end, the poor
Jew was to lose his entire head...
The Butcher would use his leisure time to play with his sword,
cutting off the ears and the noses of his favorites and family
members and, when he had the opportunity, their heads.