In the mid-17th century, the Sublime Porte (Ottoman imperial government) launched a centralization effort in the empire's provinces guided by the policies of the Köprülü Grand Viziers.

[5] The dignitaries' loss of privileges previously enjoyed under the local governors brought them closer with the lower, dispossessed classes due to their shared frustrations with the changing order.

[4] Moreover, acts by the Janissaries, namely the desecration of mosques and religious sites, including the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount) in Jerusalem, further incensed the population.

The mutasallim appointed by Mehmed Pasha and the small number of troops who had been left to govern the city were apprehended by the Jerusalemite rebels with key assistance from the local sipahi and Janissary units.

[4][6] The central government's preoccupation with more pressing matters in the capital during the Edirne revolt forced it to tolerate the state of affairs in Jerusalem.

[6] In 1704, upon hearing that Sultan Ahmed III was dispatching a large army to take control of Jerusalem, a loyalist camp emerged that was content with Mehmed Pasha's dismissal and putting an end to the revolt.

[8] The population was split between the two camps, and the rivalry turned violent when Muhammad ibn Mustafa waged an armed campaign against the loyalists.

A branch of the Ghudayyas became known as the al-Husayni family in the mid-18th century,[2][9] and played a highly influentially role in Jerusalem's affairs during the remaining decades of Ottoman rule and whose members were leaders of the Palestinian national movement in the post-World War I period.

[2] Along with al-Wafa'iya al-Husayni, several other ulama and ashraf families lost the Ottomans' favor, although some later regained local administrative clout in later decades.

[10] According to Ilan Pappe, the Naqib al-Ashraf Revolt was "unique in the history of the district of Jerusalem in that it allied peasants and Bedouins with dignitaries and notables.