[1] Shamdin was born in Acre to a Kurdish tribal sheikh named Musa.
When Sulayman Pasha al-Adil of Acre became Wali of Damascus, Shamdin continued to serve as the commander of the Kurdish cavalry battalion, known as the Dalat.
Shamdin Agha was the only commander from Sulayman's service to continue serving under Abdullah (r.
[1] When Muhammad Ali of Egypt's forces conquered Damascus (1831-1840), Shamdin maintained his loyalty to the Ottomans and was thanked by Sultan Abdülmecid I.
[1] In 1857, the Ottoman authorities tasked him with eliminating another commander of irregulars, Aqil Agha, the semi-autonomous Bedouin chieftain of the Galilee.