 However, prior to the Mamluks' rise, there was a growing tendency of "iqtaʿ" holders to treat their "iqtaʿ" as personal property, which they passed down to their descendants.The Mamluks effectively put an end to this tendency, with the exception of some areas, namely in Mount Lebanon, where longtime Druze "iqtaʿ" holders, who became part of the "halqa", were able to resist the abolition of their hereditary "iqtaʿat".In the Mamluk era, the "iqtaʿ" was an emir's principal source of income, and starting in 1337, Mamluk "iqtaʿ" holders would lease or sell rights to their "iqtaʿat" to non-mamluks in order to derive greater revenues.