Ahmad acquired the governorship of Gaza Sanjak in 1585, following the death of Ridwan Pasha in Anatolia.
[1] The Arabic biographer Muhammad al-Muhibbi described Ahmad Pasha as a "courageous" and "brilliant" man with a great understanding of history and science.
[2][3] Unlike his father, Ahmad Pasha had to lobby for the position of beylerbey ("provincial governor") of the Damascus Eyalet.
According to Arab historian Rifaat Abu al-Haj, Ahmad Pasha had to send to gifts and large sums of money to "countless vezirs and bureaucrats" in the Ottoman capital Istanbul before being awarded the province in 1601.
[1] Following his death, Ahmad's son Hasan "'Arab" Pasha inherited the governorship of Gaza and took part in putting down the revolt of Fakhr-al-Din II in modern-day Lebanon.