 Under the Ayyubids , numerous Arab emirs held the post at any given time and were endowed with iqtaʿat . However , with the onset of Mamluk rule in Syria in 1260 , it became a hereditary office consolidated by members of the Al Fadl dynasty , direct descendants of the Tayyid clan of Banu Jarrah . The office remained in the household of the Al Fadl emir , Isa ibn Muhanna , with occasional interruption , well into the early Ottoman era , during which Isa 's descendants took over leadership of the Mawali tribe . Under the Ottomans , the role of the amir al @-@ ʿarab appeared centered on providing camels to the state and guarding the Hajj pilgrim caravan in return for annual payments . 
