Title:
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The government and army of Hammuda Basha, bey of Tunis (1777-1814) A study in the administrative and political relations of an Ottoman Arab eyalet with the Porte
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Contemporary historians have almost unanimously stated that one of the main
features of the political and administrative evolution of the Tunisian regency,
which was part of the Ottoman empire for more than three centuries (1574-
1881), was its increasing and irreversible autonomy from the central power of the
Porte in Istanbul. Against this categorical aSsertion, which has remained almost
totally undisputed, the present thesis aims at stressing the province's longneglected
Ottoman identity. Within the context of a study of the government and
policies of l;Iainmuda Bum, bey of Tunis (1777-1814, corresponding to 1191-
1229 of the hiim), it will probe the administrative and political relationship
between province and center. Two main inter-related aspects of this relationship
will be investigated in particular, i.e.: how closely did the structures, sources of
recruitment and organisation of the army and administration of the Regency
confonn to the model represented by those of the heart of the Empire? and to
what extent did· the specific policies of l;Iammuda Basm mirror the policies and
concerns of the Ottoman Porte at that period ? As a related issue to this last
aspect, various elements are put forward to support an important postulate of this
thesis, concerning the existence of special links established between Hammuda
Basha and his contemporary, Sultan Selim III, author of the first vast refonns
program for the Ottoman empire at the end of the eighteenth century. The
comparative approach adopted in this study has necessitated drawing upon two
main types of sources: travellers' accounts, chronicles, archival documents and
studies on the Regency of Tunis on the one hand, and, on the other, the extensive
body of research that has been carried out on the Ottoman empire and its
provinces, particularly those of the Arab Mashriq.
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