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.