Citadel of Damascus
Also in 1764, while Uthman was leading the annual Hajj pilgrimage, he had a violent confrontation with Ali Bey al-Kabir, an influential "mamluk" from Egypt. When Ali Bey was exiled by the governor of Egypt to Gaza (part of Damascus Eyalet) in 1766, Uthman attempted to drive him out. Uthman managed to have his son, Darwish Pasha, appointed as the governor of Sidon in November 1770 and sometime prior to that, had his other son, Muhammad Pasha, appointed as governor of Tripoli. In 1771, Ali Bey, by now the rebellious governor of Egypt, had dispatched an army under commanders Abu al-Dahab and Ismail Bey to subdue Damascus. Together with Zahir, the combined armies of Egypt and Palestine defeated Uthman's army outside of Damascus and Uthman fled north to the city of Homs. The city fell shortly thereafter, although they did not capture the Citadel of Damascus, which was subsequently besieged. However, Abu al-Dahab suddenly withdrew from the area, citing his fears of violating Islamic principles since seizing an Ottoman province was in effect a direct challenge to the authority of the Ottoman sultan, who held the highest religious honor as the caliph of Islam.