ABSTRACT
The Tunisian central administration, whose offices were situated within the precincts of the Bård≠ palace, was divided into two sections: the accountancy (d⁄wån al-ªisbån) and the chancery (d⁄wån al-inshå). At its head stood the bey, as the counterpart of the grand vizier in the government of the Porte. Next to him came the ‚åªib al-†åbi (guardian of the seal), a maml≠k, and the båsh kåtib (head secretary), a Malekite, ranking first and second on Bayram’s list. Before proceeding to study the powers and prerogatives of these two officials, it is worth commenting on the occasional use, by Ibn Ab⁄l-¤iyåf, of the term ‘waz⁄r’, in reference to them, or to some of their predecessors (Ibn Ab⁄l-¤iyåf 1963-6: II, 165 and III, 13 and 78), particularly in the light of the assertion, by his contemporary, Bayram al-Khåmis, that the Tunisian wål⁄s were not entitled to have waz⁄rs (Bayram no date: I, part two, 6). I have already mentioned in this study, furthermore, that, in the central Ottoman government, the title of vez⁄r applied only to those dignitaries holding three tu©s – a rank that even the bey himself had not attained. We should conclude therefore that the term ‘waz⁄r’, whether applied to the bey or to his collaborators, by Ibn Ab⁄l-¤iyåf, is to be taken in its original Arabic meaning of ‘assistant, adviser’ and did not correspond to any official administrative reality. It was only in the mid-nineteenth century that the vicissitudes of Ottoman power in the region emboldened Ibn Ab⁄l-¤iyåf’s patron, Aªmad Bey (1837-53), to confer that title on one or two officials in his government; the bey, however, was careful not to use it in his correspondence with the Porte (Bayram no date:
The ‚åªib al-†åbi
The ‚åªib al-†åbi was undoubtedly the most powerful man in Óamm≠da Pasha’s government. This official stood as the exact counterpart of the Porte’s n⁄s¸ånci (guardian of the seal), who ranked second in the central Ottoman government, after the grand vizier (Gibb and Bowen 1950: I, 120-4). We should note, however, that the accession to pre-eminence in the Tunisian government of the ‚åªib al-†åbi (who was invariably a maml≠k) occurred during the period of our concern, since this official is only briefly and infrequently alluded to in sources prior to Óamm≠da Pasha’s period of rule.
