In 1606 Ali ibn Ahmed ibn Janbulad, a nephew of Husayn ibn Janbulad, launched a revolt from Aleppo. Although Ali remained ostensibly loyal to Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I, he engaged in secretive talks with the Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand I, to establish an independent realm over Syria; the Tuscans had also been negotiating a secretive alliance with Fakhr al-Din from 1603. Yusuf, fearing the ambitions of the Janbulads and seeking to curry favor with the Porte, requested and obtained from the imperial government military aid and the rank of "serdar" (commander-in-chief) of the Ottoman forces throughout Syria in late 1606. At the time the bulk of imperial forces were engaged in the war with Austria, compelling the sultan to grant Yusuf's request. Yusuf stood to gain considerable clout by neutralizing the Janbulads without obligating the Porte to intervene directly.