During his career, Ibrahim Pasha commanded the armed guard of Aleppo's Hajj pilgrim caravan, known as the "qatar", which connected with the much larger Damascus caravan before its departure for Mecca. He was thus given the "nisba" "Qataraghasi" ("agha" of the "qatar"). Following Taha's death in 1786, Ibrahim Pasha succeeded him as the virtual leader of Aleppo's "ashraf" faction, but not as "naqib al-ashraf". Between 1788 and 1798, he served as "mutasallim" (chief tax collector, district governor) of Aleppo. In 1799, he served a brief assignment as "wali" (governor) of Damascus Eyalet. That year, he also led a contingent of Aleppan "ashraf" forces against the French invasion of the empire's Egyptian and Syrian lands.