[4] In the early 7th century, the Christian governor of Ma'an, Farwa ibn Amr al-Judhami, converted to Islam and sent Muhammad a wide array of presents including a white mule and gold.

[2] When Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi visited in the early 13th century, during Ayyubid rule, Ma'an was a mostly ruined town in the Balqa district of Bilad al-Sham (Islamic province of Syria.)

[7] Because of its geographic isolation from the rest of Syria and a low frequency of travelers (with the exception of Mecca-bound pilgrims), the history of Ma'an was the least well-documented of the Transjordanian districts of Ottoman Syria—at least until direct rule was attempted in the late 19th century.

[12] Its principal trade partner was the coastal city of Gaza in southern Palestine, from where supplies were brought to Ma'an for resale to pilgrims.

In addition to provisions, Ma'an's outward caravan was dominated by the sale of livestock, particularly camels for transport and sheep for ritual sacrifice.

Ma'an's culture was highly influenced by its role on the Hajj route and unlike many other desert towns, most of its residents were literate and many served as imams or religious advisers for the Bedouin tribes in the area.

Swiss traveler Johann Ludwig Burckhardt noted that the people of Ma'an "considered their town an advanced post to the sacred city of Medina.

While most Transjordanian towns had uneasy relationships with the nomadic tribes to whom they paid regular tribute (khuwwa), Ma'an's residents and the Bedouin enjoyed positive relations.

Finnish explorer Georg August Wallin wrote the level of economic interdependence between the two groups was unlike anywhere else in Syria's desert regions.

As a testament to their relationship of mutual trust, Ma'an's inhabitants were able to bargain down or withhold payment of the khuwwa during tough economic years.

In 1868 the Ottoman governor of Syria, Rashid Pasha, succeeded in designating Ma'an as its own kaza (subdistrict) of the al-Balqa sanjak (district), part of Damascus Vilayet.

This proposal was popular with much of the Ottoman government in Istanbul, but was ultimately rejected after strong opposition from Midhat Pasha, a leading Tanzimat reformer, who argued the administrative expenses of having Ma'an as district capital would not be feasible.

[14] Governor Osman Nuri Pasha's goal in this respect was to establish a government center in southern Transjordan to "avoid the alienation of the people.

[14] Al-Karak was deemed more suitable as district capital due to its larger population, proximity to Palestine and the established relationships between the Majali notables of the city and the authorities in Damascus and Istanbul.

This important Ottoman military base and communications hub was under 5-day siege by the Arab Northern Army during the Battle of Maan, 13–17 April 1918.

[18][19] In 1920, The Hashemite emir Abdullah I arrived in Ma'an in with several hundred fighters mostly from the 'Utaybah tribe[20] in an attempt to restore the Sharifian throne in Damascus following its overthrow by France.

[21] He addressed the French colonization of Syria by stating to Ma'an's residents "The colonialist has come to you to rob you of the three graces: faith, freedom and masculinity.

[28] A 2014 Al Jazeera article about IS sympathies in Ma'an stated that the governorate is "a reputed hotbed of unrest, known for high crime rates, low employment and anti-government sentiment," and noted the presence of pro-IS graffiti in the city.