In October 1771, Uthman was removed from governorship of Damascus and also was stripped of his control over the district of Maarrat al-Nu'man. He was succeeded by Muhammad Pasha al-Azm. Uthman was transferred to the governorship of Konya and his sons Muhammad Pasha and Darwish Pasha were dismissed from their posts and subsequently assigned to the governorships of Mosul and Karaman, respectively. Uthman succeeded in protecting the Hajj caravans for ten years as "amir al-hajj" and consistently attempted to end the autonomous rule of Zahir al-Umar, and thus his failure to defend Damascus from the Egyptian Mamluk army was the likely reason for his reassignment. When Muhammad Pasha al-Azm died in 1783, he was succeeded by Uthman Pasha's son Muhammad Pasha and a year later by his other son Darwish Pasha.