Political authority, vested since 1574 in a Pasha sent from Istanbul, was exercised after 1591 by an officer of the Turkish militia who was given the honorific title of Dey (maternal uncle) and chosen by the dîwân al-'askar (military council).
[3] This group became a self-perpetuating body over time, drawing in soldiers of fortune from Turkey as well as European converts to Islam.
[5][1] The Deys preserved the supremacy of the Hanafi over the local Maliki school of jurisprudence, thereby affirming the Ottoman caliph's sovereignty.
This official’s task was originally to assert the authority of the Deys in the interior, commanding a column of troops that toured the country levying the taxes and putting down rebellion.
[17] They also periodically presided over the court of the Driba which held its sessions in the entrance hall of the palace of the dey, the Dar Daouletli in the rue Sidi Ben Arous and hence were referred to as “daoulatli”.
Under the reign of Sadok Bey, the institution was abolished in September 1860, on the death of old Kshuk Mohamed, and replaced by the council of Zaptié or Dhabtiyé, headed by a president (raïs), to perform police functions in Tunis.