Aḥmad II Bey (1862–1942) was Ḥusaynid bey of Tunisia (1929–42) under the French protectorate. His reign is generally seen as a period of courtly intrigues and submission to colonial rule, but his goal upon ascending to the throne was to regain real political power. Despite a character weakened by illness and the malign influence of his advisers, he discreetly resisted French rule, independent of Destour, the Constitutional Liberal Party, whose political views he did not share.

Born on 13 April 1862, a son of ʿAlī (III) Bey of Tunis (r. 1882–1902), probably raised in the…