Muhammad II ibn al-Husayn Bey (M'hamed Bey)

Muhammad II Bey, also known as M'hamed Bey, governed the Regency from 1855 until 1859. Advised by reform-minded statesmen including Khayr al-Din al-Tunisi and Ibn Abi Diyaf, he responded to modernizing currents and international pressures following the Sfez affair.

On September 10, 1857, Muhammad II promulgated the seminal Ahd al-Aman (Fundamental Pact). This historic charter proclaimed equality of all Tunisians before the courts and taxation, freedom of worship for Jewish and Christian minorities, and guarantees of life and property, paving the way for the Arab world's first written constitution in 1861.