Tunisian Fundamental Pact of 1857

The Tunisian Fundamental Pact of 1857 (Arabic: عهد الأمان, romanized: 'Ahd al-Amān, lit. 'Security Covenant'), envisaged as early as 1856, is a declaration of the rights of the subjects of the Bey of Tunis and of all the inhabitants living in the Beylicat of Tunis promulgated by Muhammad II ibn al-Husayn on 10 September 1857. This pact brought revolutionary reforms: it proclaimed that all the inhabitants of the regency were equal before the law and before taxes, established freedom of worship and trade and above all gave foreigners the right to access property and exercise all professions. This pact de facto abolished the status of dhimmi for non-Muslims. The pact was translated into Hebrew language in 1862 and was then the first non-religious document to be translated into this language in Tunisia. Among the people who contributed to this project, we can name Mardochée Tapia, Moïse Samama and Elie El Malikh.