ABSTRACT
Óamm≠da Pasha’s period of rule was a period of intensive military reforms, within the context of the large-scale policy followed by the Ottoman Porte at that period in order to strengthen the military capacities of the Empire in the face of the growing threat of European expansionism. The bey’s reforms included, as in the heart of the Empire, important military building works, with the assistance of European experts and engineers. A new gunpowder factory was built in Tunis with the help of French technicians, while naval and fortification works in the harbour of Óalq al-Wåd were carried out under the supervision of French and Dutch engineers. Several new fortifications were constructed: a few Turkish inscriptions engraved on the gates of several forts in the capital have remained until today, to attest that these forts had been built ‘by Óamm≠da Pasha on the orders of Sultan Sel⁄m Khån’ (Ibn Ab⁄l-¤iyåf 1963-6: III, 38; Saadaoui 2001: 232-7).
