Following the British occupation of Egypt, Ottoman politicians began serious initiatives to form a new "vilayet" out of Damascus Vilayet that would combine the districts of Ma'an, al-Balqa and Jerusalem to serve as a buffer against a potential British invasion of Syria. This effort failed, although a new proposal in 1886 would see Ma'an serve as the capital of a district including the "kazas" of al-Karak and Tafilah and the "nahiyas" (subdistricts smaller than "kazas") of Amman, Bani Hamida and Wadi Musa. Governor Osman Nuri Pasha's goal in this respect was to establish a government center in southern Transjordan to "avoid the alienation of the people." Sultan Abdulhamid II approved the plan in 1892. However, the establishment of the new sanjak was delayed and eventually scrapped after the leading sheikh of al-Karak offered the Ottoman authorities his full services. Al-Karak was deemed more suitable as district capital due to its larger population, proximity to Palestine and the established relationships between the Majali notables of the city and the authorities in Damascus and Istanbul.