User:Mccapra/Offices of state in the Regency of Tunis

Ottoman and Muradid periods
From the Ottoman conquest of Tunis (1574), the majority of positions in the administration and the army were occupied by Turks or mamluks. This was the case for the positions of pasha and dey, and for all the members of the janissary militia. It often happened that these individuals, settled in Tunisia, allied themselves by marriage with indigenous Tunisian families. This was the origin of noted families such as the Daoulatli, Bornaz, Chaouch, Bach Hamba, Bach Tobji, Settari, Stamrad, Ben Jaafar and Belhaouane. A minority of wealthy native-born Tunisians also held makhzen positions, including families such as the Djellouli, caïds -governors since the time of the Hafsids and the Siala family also had caïds during the Muradid period.

Bey
In the 17th century, the Bey was the second official after the Dey, and was responsible for collecting taxes in the interior of the country. In 1705 the Ottoman soldier Kouloughli Hussein Ben Ali Turki was proclaimed bey by the elite of the capital (‘ahl al-hall wal aqd’) and confirmed by Sultan Ahmed III. The position was hereditary until its abolition in 1957 with the proclamation of the republic.

Grand vizier
Mustapha Khaznadar was the first grand vizier recognized as such. His predecessors, up to Mustapha Saheb Ettabaa, carried the title of "principal minister" since Tunisia was then a province of the Ottoman Empire; only its head of government bore the title of "grand vizier". This function was held exclusively by Mamluks until the establishment of the French protectorate in 1881, with the exception of Mohamed Larbi Zarrouk Khaznadar who came from a large indigenous family allied with the beys. It was subsequently held by indigenous Tunisians from distinguished families, the first being Mohammed Aziz Bouattour. The disappearance of the title in French dates back to the 1920s, when it was replaced by the designation “Prime Minister”, although it remained in use in Arabic until the disappearance of the post in 1957.

Minister of War
Established by Hussein II Bey after the dissolution of the Turkish militia in Tunis around 1828, the office of Minister of War was reserved for Mamluks. From the 1840s the minister had the rank of major general. With the establishment of the French protectorate, the resident general of France in Tunisia assumed the function of the Bey's Minister of War.

Minister of the Navy
The Minister of the Navy was third in the order of precedence after the Grand Vizier and the Minister of War. The ministry was reserved for those originating from the Ottoman Empire, and the first to near this title being fr:Mohamed Khodja, son of a Turkish officer, followed by his son and then a number of different Mamluks. It played both a military and a civilian role, ensuring the control of the entry and exit of people and goods, imported and exported, in Tunisian ports. It also supervised the navy, state military and merchant ships, La Goulette arms depots and checkpoints in ports, islands and lighthouses.

Foreign Minister
The creation of a Department of Foreign Affairs took place during the reign of Ahmed Bey. The post was placed under the authority of the Grand Vizier, and the first head of the department was Giuseppe Raffo, an Italian by origin. The last post holder was fr:Mohamed Baccouche, a Tunisian native.

Ambassador Extraordinary
The ambassador extraordinary was a diplomat sent by the bey to resolve political and commercial questions. In 1805, the regency of Tunis sent for the first time to the United States an ambassador, Slimane Malamalli, to settle the problem of a confiscated American boat. One can cite other ambassadors of the 19th century such Hashem Othman, Mahmoud Djellouli, Kheireddine Pasha, General Hussein and Mohamed Baccouche.

Grand Customs Officer
Equivalent to the Minister of Trade, the great customs officer (“qumrugi”) had a monopoly on the main exports and holds the seal applied to export licenses (“teskérès”). For sums paid annually to the treasury, the right to levy customs charges was acquired by wealthy privateer shipowners or tax farmers of indigenous origin such as Mahmoud Djellouli, Rajab Ben Ayed or Slimane Belhadj.

Saheb Ettabaa
The saheb ettabaa (“keeper of the seals”) was a Mamluk in charge of keeping the Beylical seals. Over time, this office grew in importance and the Keeper of the Seals eventually became the first official of the State, acting as Prime Minister of the Bey. The best known holders of the title were Youssef Saheb Ettabaa, Mustapha Saheb Ettabaa, Ismaïl El Sunni and Chedly Saheb Ettabaâ.

Khaznadar
Treasurer of the bey and hence of the State, the khaznadar was always a Mamluk, except during the short interlude of Mohamed Larbi Zarrouk Khaznadar, a relative of the bey. Mustapha Khaznadar was the last and best-known holder of the title. The khaznadar as assisted by a collector in charge of the accounts.

Kahia (Dar El Pasha)
Originally, the kahia is an Ottoman officer from Tunis, lieutenant of the pasha who has for residence the Dar El Pasha, in the center of the medina of Tunis. He is responsible for the remuneration of the corps of janissaries and Ottoman soldiers stationed in Tunis, this being done in the name of the Ottoman sultan, suzerain of the bey. The charge continues and the incumbent remains in charge of the tax administration of the Beylical army. He is also responsible for receiving gifts, letters and ambassadors from the Ottoman capital to present them to the bey.

Sheikh El Medina
From the end of xix th century, there is the function of Cheikh El Medina, a sort of mayor appointed by the Bey of Tunis among the notables of the capital, mainly traders families of ulemas or landowners, even though 'there are no members of Makhzen families who live in the capital. From 1858, he shared his function with the president of the municipality of Tunis chosen from among the members of the Beylical administration. The day after the establishment of the French protectorate, the two functions were merged in 1885 and the mayor of Tunis therefore bears the title of Cheikh El Medina.

Mayor of Tunis
The function of mayor of Tunis was created in 1858, before being merged in 1885 with the function of Sheikh El Medina. The first to have occupied it is a Mamluk, General Hussein. In general, larger families tunisoises from diverse backgrounds - merchants, craftsmen, servants of old stock or Makhzen on the rise in the company of Tunis from the end of the xix th century - occupy this position. Among the best known is Mohamed Larbi Zarrouk who opposed the French protectorate.

Makhzen of the Chancellery
The chancellery makhzen is made up of secretaries from the Beylical chancellery, camp secretaries or private secretaries, the highest function being that of bach kateb. These different chancellery functions are held by the great indigenous Tunisian families, mainly the Lasrams, the Bouattour and the Boukhris 15.

Called bach kateb, the services of the Minister of the Pen include the diwan el incha. He is responsible for drafting and presenting the acts and decrees ( amr ) for the signature of the bey or his keeper of the seals ( saheb ettabaâ ). In addition, he is responsible for keeping the bey's correspondence with the administration and state institutions, such as the Sharaic councils or the diwan of Tunis, the Ottoman staff, etc. He is also required to send the Beylical orders to the various provinces of the regency of Tunis. The function is held by the great indigenous families and for several decades by members of the Lasram family alone. Sadok Beyappointed in 1860 a first secretary, Mohammed Aziz Bouattour. A few months later, during the constitution of the first modern Tunisian government, the Ministry of the Plume was created and Bouattour became its first holder.

Regional Makhzen
The post of caïd-governor is an office of the regional administration of the state. The caïd enjoys all the prerogatives of a provincial governor: he is responsible for general administration, the maintenance of justice and the very lucrative office of tax farmer. He is the executing agent of the Bey of Tunis, he presides over the destiny of the region, its tribes and the surrounding towns 16.

He is assisted in his function and more locally by the kahias, kinds of lieutenant-governors at the head of the main cities, and the khalifas , kinds of prefects. He holds the rank, in a civilian capacity, of brigadier general of the Tunisian army after the reforms of 1840, then of the Beylical guard under the French protectorate from 1881.

An elite of former indigenous families held key positions in power networks at the time, such as kingpins, state monopoly farmers, traders, financiers and privateer shipowners until the race was abolished. Among the most famous are the Djellouli, the Ben Ayed and the Belhadj 17, 16. To this elite are added other families of caïds-farmers who also constitute dynasties: the Sebaï, the Khayachi, the Nouira and the Mrabet followed by the Abdelwahab and the Ben Ammar. We are witnessing the release of Makhzen the circle of those guys-farmers lines at the end of the xix th century, except Djellouli and Mrabet 16, and the entry of new elites such as the Baccouche, the Sfar and the Zaouche 18. Several branches of large Tunisian families in shopping original annuitant or even religious, saw some members exercise this function boss Governor at the beginning of xx th century, like those of Mahmoud Lakhoua (family of craftsmen chaouachis ) or Bashir Belkhodja (family of religious scholars).

Military Makhzen
The bach agha is the commander of the Beylical army and heads several aghas, the garrison commanders of every major city in the country. Originally, it was the agha of the kasbah of Tunis which occupied this position, because it was the main Turkish garrison. Its holder is necessarily Turkish, like the rest of the janissaries, but the beys try to place their Mamluks. Moustapha Agha is one of the most famous holders of the title. Under the reign of Ahmed I er Bey, he was replaced by the Minister of War 19.

The agha of the spahis is the commander of the Beylical cavalry. He is placed under the orders of the bach agha but plays an important protocol role. The best-known holder is Hussein I er Bey, founder of the Husseinite dynasty.

The Turkish bach hamba is the head of the Turkish mounted gendarmerie. Having about 300 horsemen under his command, he is responsible for palace security service Bardo and police concerning Turkish original subjects of the Bey, who can not undergo an indigenous authority, because of their status 19. The Arab bach hamba, equivalent to the previous one but secondary in terms of protocol, is at the head of the indigenous gendarmerie. The staff under his command are greater than those of the Turkish bach hamba 19.

The agha of the Zouaouas is the commander of the Berber cavalry regiments, assisted by the khodja of the Zouaouas, in charge of the stewardship, and the kahia of the khodja of the Zouaouas.