Husayn Pasha ibn Makki

Assault of the Hajj caravan

As Governor of Damascus, Husayn Pasha was also the amir al-hajj (commander of the annual Hajj pilgrim caravan to Mecca). In April 1757, he went on a tour of the province's villages to collect the taxes imposed for funding the supply and protection of the caravan, and in June he led the caravan in its departure from Damascus.^[3] Husayn Pasha led it safely to Mecca, but on the return to Damascus, the caravan's jurdah (advance guard) was assaulted by a coalition of Bedouin tribes led Qa'dan al-Fa'iz of the Bani Saqr in al-Qatranah near al-Karak. Its commander Musa Pasha was wounded and died seeking help in Daraa, while most of the jurdah dispersed, fleeing to Hauran, Gaza, Jerusalem or Ma'an. Reinforcements were sent from Damascus, but went no further than al-Balqa. When Husayn Pasha, now in the northern Hejaz, realized reinforcements were not arriving, he attempted to bribe al-Fa'iz, but to no avail. The Bedouin tribes launched a massive assault against the caravan south of Tabuk in October, looting it and massacred Muslim pilgrims, including the sister of Ottoman sultan Osman II, in the process.^[4] About 20,000 pilgrims were killed by the Bedouin or died of thirst or excessive heat.^[5]

There were various reasons the Bedouin launched the assault, but the main reason was the financial gain they saw in looting the caravan to compensate for the loss of much of their territory and income to the Anizzah tribes of Najd, who invaded much of the Syrian Desert in the years prior. Prior to making the Hajj, Husayn Pasha refused to pay the traditional protection fee to the Bani Saqr, paying the Anizzah instead. However, Husayn Pasha held the autonomous Arab ruler of northern Palestine, Zahir al-Umar, as culpable. Husayn Pasha saw it as a priority to subdue Zahir and annex his territories (which were part of Sidon Eyalet) and believed Zahir, who maintained close ties with the Bani Saqr, incited the Bedouin tribes to raid the caravan. Zahir denied the allegation and purchased the looted goods, including Sultan Osman III's decorated banner, in order to return them to the sultanate and prove his loyalty.^[6] The Ottoman authorities remained suspicious of Zahir nonetheless,^[7] and also believed that ex-governor As'ad Pasha had a hand in the raid since no attacks against the caravan had occurred during his 15-year governorship. The latter was arrested and was executed on the way to a prison in Crete.^[8]

Husayn Pasha did not return to Damascus with the surviving pilgrims and his absence left a political void in the city. The yerliyya Jannisaries revolted, causing businesses in Damascus to shutter and prices of bread to more than double, leading to more riots in the city.^[2] As a result of his failure to protect the caravan, Husayn Pasha was dismissed from office by the end of the year.^[7]