When in 1771 Emir Yusuf Shihab also took over the iltizam for the districts of Southern Mount Lebanon from his uncle emir Mansur Shihab, he appointed several members of the al-Dahdah family to positions of power and influence. Most significantly, the House of al-Dahdah collectively received the hereditary iqta' (tax-farm concession) for the Futuh muqata'ah (tax-farm district). After that date, the family's history becomes intimately intertwined with that of the Shihab emirate of Mount Lebanon under Yusuf Shihab then Bashir Shihab II, with its upheavals and bright spots. Indeed, Emir Bashir Shihab II mainly recruited his advisers among members of the al-Dahdah family. Most prominent among these were Shaykh Sallum al-Dahdah son of Mussa, and Shaykh Mansur al-Dahdah son of Sallum.