[1] He was named Bey al-Mahalla (Heir Apparent) on 23 August 1863 by his brother Muhammad III as-Sadiq and was made a divisional General and placed at the head of an army column operating in the interior of the country (known in Tunisian Arabic as the mhalla) to assert beylical authority in remote regions, rendering justice in the name of the sovereign and collecting taxes from local tribes.

During the Mejba Revolt in 1864, while his ineffective brother remained in the Bardo palace, Ali put down the rebellion with Generals Ahmed Zarrouk, Rustum and Uthman.

Following the French conquest of Tunisia and the signing of the Treaty of Bardo, Ali Bey succeeded his brother Muhammad III as-Sadiq on 29 October 1882.

Cambon responded to this show of protest by sending leading figures into exile in El Kef and Gabes, and dismissing the top city officials from their posts on the grounds that they were 'fanatics hostile to the Protectorate'.

[4] Ali Bey met Sheikh Muhammad Abduh, one of the leading jurists and reformers in the Arab world, when he came to Tunis (December 1884-January 1885) to teach at the Zitouna mosque.