In 1920, The Hashemite emir Abdullah I arrived in Ma'an in with several hundred fighters mostly from the 'Utaybah tribe in an attempt to restore the Sharifian throne in Damascus following its overthrow by France. He addressed the French colonization of Syria by stating to Ma'an's residents "The colonialist has come to you to rob you of the three graces: faith, freedom and masculinity." Following the British capture of the area during World War I, the British Mandate of Palestine was established in 1922 and included Transjordan which was semi-autonomous from British administration in Palestine. Ma'an was annexed to the Transjordanian state in 1925. The British Army had an armored car regiment based in the city.