ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn Bey I was the second son of al-Ḥusayn Bey b. ʿAlī al-Turkī (r. 1117–48/1705–35), founder of the Ḥusaynid dynasty (r. 1117–1376/1705–1957). His reign marked the beginning of an era of political stability and economic prosperity in the Ottoman province of Tunis.

After the execution of his father in 1153/1740 by Yūnus Bey, son of his cousin and his father’s rival ʿAlī Bāshā (r. 1148–69/1735–56), ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn fled with his brother Muḥammad al-Rashīd (r. 1169–72/1756–9) to Algiers. In 1169/1756 they returned to Tunis and…