The corsair, thus established in Tunis, was enabled to carry on his depredations against the Christian states to a greater extent, and with more destructive violence ; and the outrages committed against his subjects, both in Spain and Italy, roused the resentment of Charles, to whom all Christendom seemed to look for deliverance from the oppression of these infamous pirates. Moved at the same time by the entreaties of Muley Hascen, who had applied to him as the only monarch able to re store him to his dominions, Charles resolved to invade Tunis with the whole force of his empire. On the 16th of July, 1535, he set sail from Cagliari, with a fleet of 11Cal• 500 N 111g WI ;11J1),C I•, 7111;1; ; and alter lands ri a 1111:1• sight of Tunis.
Ilayradin, apprised of his preparation:;, end gut his design, pro \ ided N51111 11 pl'11(1C11, e and %igol, for the defence of his newly in-Tor:el dominion -,. I I called in his corsairs from their dithn rut station• from Algiers what forces could lie spared ; and by lo presenting Milky I 11111(211 as apo.,•atc. leagued Is ith a Christian prince lor the sub% er,ion 1,1 the Mahometan faith, he instigated the ignorant and bigot ed Arabian chiefs to arm as in a common all his activity was unavailing. The army of Cherie .. composed of Germans, Itelians, and Spaniard:, MIL:Jowl with equal religions zeal ap:linst the infidels, were still farther excited by the ardour or national emulatioi. They quickly reduced the strong Cm t of Colette, e\iii( commands the bay of ; and as the walls of di. city were extensive awl extremely \leak, and the fidelit) of the inhabitants doubtful, Ilevradin determined to ad vance with his army, consisting of 50,no0 men, toward.; the Imperial camp, and decide by one great battle tlo: fate of his kingdom. At that time he had 10,000 Chris tiara slaves shut up in the citadel ; and fearing lest ing his absence they should rise in mutiny, he proposed to massacre them all before he set out on his march. His officers, inured as they were to cruelty and blood shed, heard this proposal with horror ; and Barbarossa, influenced more by the fear of irritating them, than by any motive of compassion, consented to spare the lives of the captives.
The hostile armies soon met, and a furious conflict ensued. The Aloors and Arabs, though vastly supe rior in number, could not lung withstand the disciplined courage of the Imperial troops. Barbarossa did all that could be expected from a wise and experienced gene ral contending for a kingdom and for life ; but his army was routed in all directions, and he himself was hurried back to the city along with them in their flight. Tunis could no longer afford him shelter. The Turkish sol diers, alarmed for their safety, AN 'CM preparing to re treat ; the inhabitants Were ready to throw open their gates to the conqueror ; and the citadel, which in such circumstances might still have afforded him some re fuge, was already in the possession of the Chi istian slaves. These unfortunate men, seizing the opportunity
of Hayradin's absence, had gained over two of their keepers ; and, knocking off their fetters by their assist ance, burst open their prisons, overpowered the Turkish garrisons, and turned against their oppressors the artil lery of the fort. Mortified and enraged at funding his affairs in this situation, exclaiming sometimes against the mistaken compassion of his officers, and sometimes condemning his own facility in listening to their remon strances, Barbarossa fled With precipitation to Bona. The authority of Charles could not restrain the violence and rapacity of his soldiers. Rushing without orders into the town, they began to kill and plunder without distinc tion, and committed every which hostile fury, inflamed by- religious hatred, could suggest. On that dreadful day, not fewer than 30,000 of the inhabitants were massacred, and 10,00o carried away as slaves. Amidst the deep regret NN hich Charles felt for an acci dent, which sullied the honour of victory, one circum stance alone consoled and delighted him. The Chris tian skives, who had recovered their liberty, many of them persons of high distinction, went out to meet him as he approached the town ; and falling upon their knees before him, thanked and blessed him as their deliverer.
ilaNing thus reinstated uley Ilascen in the sove reignty 01 Tunis, the emperor concluded a treaty on the follow ing- conditions ;—That he should hold the king dom of Tunis in fee of the crown of Spain, and do homage to the emperor as his liege lord ; that all the Christian slaves now within his dominions, of whatever nation, should be set at liberty without ransom ; that none of the emperor's subjects should in future be detained in servitude ; that no Turkish corsair should be admit ted into the ports of Tunis ; that free trade, with the exercise of the Christian religion, should be allowed to all the emperor's subjects; that the emperor should retain the Goletta, and that all the other fortified sea poi is in the kingdom should be put into his hands ; that Nulty Haseen should pay annually 12,000 crowns for the maintenance ol the Spanish garrison in the Goletta; that lie shomd enter into no alliance with any of the emperor's enemies, and should present to him every year, as an acknowledgment of his vassalage, six Aloor ish horses, and as many hawks. Alter these transactions, by which Charles attained a greater height of glory than by any otht r event of his reign, he embarked again for Liu op, , (August 7th,) as the tempestuous weather and thy sickness ol his troops prevented him from pursuing Barbarossa.