The Battle of Chelif or Battle of Djidouia took place on 28 April 1701 on the banks of the Chelif River. It was fought between the armies of the Alaouite Sultan Ismail Ibn Sharif and those of the Regency of Algiers commanded by the Bey of Mascara, Mustapha Bouchelaghem. It took place in the context of an attempt by the Alaouites to conquer the west of the Regency of Algiers, coordinated with an offensive by Tunis on the east of the Regency of Algiers in 1700 and 1701. Background As early as the 1690s, a change of course was made in the foreign policy of the Regency of Algiers by the dey Hadj Chaabane; the latter diverted Algiers from the wars of sea racing against the Europeans and sought to federate the entire Maghreb under his authority. His policy was pursued by the dey Moustapha who confronted the joint armies of Tunis and Tripoli in October 1700 before facing the Cherifian Empire of Moulay Ismaël. Moroccan troops entered the war against the Algerians during the Hegirian year 1111 (1699-1700). This time, this attempt was coordinated with an offensive by the Bey of Tunis on the province of Constantine. Moulay Zidan mounted a raid into Algerian territory which resulted in a peace treaty between the two sides, it was claimed that he expelled the garrison at Tlemcen and raided the Bey’s palace, however these achievements are apparently unknown to contemporary comment and may be assumed to be fiction. During the same year an Algerian battalion defeated an Alaouite prince in September while he was on a minor tax raid. Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif was furious about the peace because it allowed the Regency of Algiers to concentrate on its eastern front and to defeat the army of Tunis between Setif and Constantine. Ismail Ibn Sharif dismissed his son Zidan from his command and returned to campaign against Algiers. He then advanced as far as the Chelif valley. The dey Hadj Moustapha, victorious in the east, gathered troops of tribal auxiliaries on his way to face up to it. The meeting of the two armies took place in the valley of Chelif, more precisely on the banks of a tributary, the Djidouia. Battle The dey Mustapha left Algiers during the month of April, after his return from his campaign against the Ottoman Tunisia. He did not neglect any preparation for his attack,