His consistent promotion was attributed to his successes in restoring order to the Syrian countryside after a period of high instability, protecting Syria's farmlands from Bedouin raids and ensuring the safety of the annual Hajj pilgrim caravan to Mecca.
Although he was deposed from the governorship in 1730, he established his family, al-Azm, as a major political household in Syria whose members were frequently appointed as the governors of the Damascus, Tripoli and Sidon provinces and who often served longer than typical terms.
[3] He is first mentioned in the history records in 1717, when, as the agha (local military commander) of Ma'arra, he sent wheat and barley provisions to Homs after that city faced a food shortage following an attack by Bedouin raiders.
Ismail's restoration of order amid instability marked by frequent Bedouin raids, infighting among various military forces and the brutality of local administrators, gained him a "reputation as a resolute but just and even generous ruler", according to historian Dick Douwes.
Ismail Pasha also ensured that the towns of Tripoli Eyalet had sufficient food supplies and he protected the province's farmlands from harvest thieves.
[5] This contrasted with the other governors of Tripoli, who typically neglected their duties in the Homs and Hama districts due to the challenge posed in those regions by frequent Bedouin depredations.
[5] As wali of Damascus, he was tasked with bringing order to the Syrian interior from Ma'arra in the north to the eastern bank of the Jordan River in the south.
[14] Ismail Pasha established the foundations of the al-Azm family's prominence in Syria as the most powerful political household in the provinces of Damascus, Sidon and Tripoli in the 18th century.