Ali III ibn al-Husayn (Arabic: علي الثالث بن الحسين ; 14 August 1817 – 11 June 1902) commonly known as Ali III Bey (Arabic: علي باي الثالث) was the Husainid Bey of Tunis from 1882 until his death. He was the first ruler under the French protectorate.
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. A keen horseman, Ali Bey took personal charge of this work and undertook it thoroughly, twice a year - in the north of the country during the summer in Béja and El Kef, and in the south during the winter, in Kairouan and the towns further south. 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.
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