Yusuf was headquartered in the fortress village of Hisn Akkar (Gibelacar). He formed ties with the local multazims (tax farmers) upon moving to the area. Tax farming was the predominant mode of tax collection in Syria where districts and subdistricts were farmed out to local strongmen for limited terms in return for a fixed amount of money. From Hisn Akkar Yusuf controlled Jabal Akkar, the northernmost part of Mount Lebanon, and possibly the Homs Gap plain at Jabal Akkar's northeastern edge. He and his paternal kinsman Hasan were given joint control of a farm in Akkar by the authorities in 1571.