The Ottoman troops arrived in Al-Karak and conducted a census as if they had no intention of conscripting, while the Karakis went along with the census as if they had no intent on rebelling.
Ottoman census teams conducted registration for 15 days without collecting weapons.
At the same time, Qadr Majali, Karak's leading sheikh, began to go around the town advocating rebellion.
Ottoman census teams were attacked and killed on 4 December, Al-Karak rose in revolt by the dawn of the next day.
The revolt reached the neighboring towns of Tafila and Ma'an and a number of stations along the Hejaz Railway.
Petty merchants from Damascus and Hebron opening their shops were the first to be attacked.
The noise alerted the Ottoman troops, who retreated into the Karak Castle; those far from the safety of the citadel were killed.
Insurgents broke into the saray (Ottoman headquarters) and distributed all the weapons they found in its arsenal.
The rebels burnt records, governmental buildings, an Ottoman Bank branch, prisons, courts, the homes of Ottoman figures, and even the mosque.

The rebels acted without strategy: they only wanted to eliminate any Ottoman presence in their lives, almost temporarily ignoring the fact that behind the local government lay a large empire.
Sami Pasha arrived at Al-Karak from Damascus with an army ten days later, intending to free the besieged officials in the castle and to restore Ottoman rule.
The revolt in Al-Karak revealed the limits of Ottoman rule in Transjordan; measures of registration and conscription accepted in the northern towns of Ajloun and Al-Salt, provoked a large scale rebellion in the southern towns.
Ajloun and Al-Salt had been Ottoman kazas for 43 years, while Al-Karak had only been so for 17 years.
The Ottoman troops arrived in Al-Karak and conducted a census as if they had no intention of conscripting, while the Karakis went along with the census as if they had no intent on rebelling. Ottoman census teams conducted registration for 15 days without collecting weapons. At the same time, Qadr Majali, Karak's leading sheikh, began to go around the town advocating rebellion. Ottoman census teams were attacked and killed on 4 December, Al-Karak rose in revolt by the dawn of the next day. The revolt reached the neighboring towns of Tafila and Ma'an and a number of stations along the Hejaz Railway. Petty merchants from Damascus and Hebron opening their shops were the first to be attacked. The noise alerted the Ottoman troops, who retreated into the Karak Castle; those far from the safety of the citadel were killed. Insurgents broke into the saray (Ottoman headquarters) and distributed all the weapons they found in its arsenal. The rebels burnt records, governmental buildings, an Ottoman Bank branch, prisons, courts, the homes of Ottoman figures, and even the mosque.
The rebels acted without strategy: they only wanted to eliminate any Ottoman presence in their lives, almost temporarily ignoring the fact that behind the local government lay a large empire. Sami Pasha arrived at Al-Karak from Damascus with an army ten days later, intending to free the besieged officials in the castle and to restore Ottoman rule. The revolt in Al-Karak revealed the limits of Ottoman rule in Transjordan; measures of registration and conscription accepted in the northern towns of Ajloun and Al-Salt, provoked a large scale rebellion in the southern towns. Ajloun and Al-Salt had been Ottoman kazas for 43 years, while Al-Karak had only been so for 17 years.
Karak revolt