Administration of the province (1842). The highest authority in the Beylik was the Bey of Constantine who was appointed by the
Dey of Algiers, among the
Ottoman and
Kouloughlis especially, the Beys exercised an autonomous power in the provinces which were entrusted to them. The Bey was assisted by a number of administrators (who could also have a military role) including: • The
Khalifah: was the bey's deputy and had for functions; ensure the collection of taxes and control the
Qaids. It had tribes as its prerogative and could use the militia; • The
Agha es sbaihia: had the command of the provincial troops and had a cavalry made up of the fractions of the
douars around Constantine; • The
Bach katib: was a kind of secretary general who ensured the important correspondence with the
Pasha of Algiers and the
Sublime Porte; • The
Bach mekaheli: was the head of the bey's private guard; • The
Bach serradj: was the head of the bey's stables; • The
Bach alam: was the leader of the standard bearers; • The
Bach khazbadji: was the overseer of the money transport convoys; • The
Khodja al-khil: was in charge of the march of horses and mules.
Administration of Constantine Constantine had truly urban authorities. There was an employee called Qaid ed-dar with "municipal" attributions, in charge of the administration and the police of the city, he had a large number of municipal officials: • The
Qaid el-Bab, collected the duties of grant and customs; • The
Qaid es-souk, controlled the markets; • The
Qaid ez-zebel, was in charge of the cleanliness; • The
Qaid el-Casba, was in charge of the city police, particularly during the night; • The
Amines or trustees of the trade corporations, were responsible for supervising the workers and settling disputes; • The
Oukil bit el-mal, administered the vacant estates for the benefit of the poor; • The
Mokkadem, was the head of the Jews; • A
Berrah, announced official decisions. The local families played, throughout the
Ottoman era, an active role and where they animated the parties which shared the city. Civil justice was exercised through the care of two
Qadis, one
Malekite and one
Hanafite. The two Qadis, the
Muftis, the
Adouls, made up the
Medjelés. This tribunal met every Friday and tried the most serious cases. It was chaired by the Bey or by the
Qaid ed-dar. Constantine had about a hundred religious establishments, including many mosques. Each mosque was attached by an
Imam, several
Talibes, a
Muezzin, a
Sheikh an-nadher (administrator of
Habus property) and
ukils or agents responsible for the management of the cult. The
Sheikh al-Islam, considered the leader of the religion, who also bore the title of
Amir rakb al-hajj (standard bearer of the pilgrimage caravan) is a major political and religious institution in local life, which has evolved a lot. Before the Ottoman period, it was the role of the Abdal-Muman family, then it passed to the Lefgoun family in 1572, where it remained until the
colonial conquest.
Public Force The Bey had a
militia made up of
Turks and
Kouloughlis. It was divided into
nuba service (garrison) and
mahalla service (expeditionary column). The
nubas were divided into 22
sefra in the cities of
Constantine,
Annaba,
Biskra,
Béjaïa,
Tebessa,
Jijel and
Bouïra which had a total of 333 men. To compensate for this low number, the government relied on the
Makhzen tribes. The
zmala was the oldest and most redoubted cavalry of the Makhzen in the province, it formed a warrior tribe established in the plain of
Aïn M'lila, whose chief bore the title of
Qaid ez-zmala. All the other tribesmen of war were called
Daïra and had for military and administrative chief the
Agha ed-Daïra, installed in Constantine, however the
Sheikhs were the true administrators of the tribes. In addition to these tribes, each great
Sheikh or
Qaid had a certain number of horsemen with him. In addition to that, the
Kabyle tribes could put 15 to 20,000 infantry under arms if needed. == Bibliography ==