Colonel Catro, who was dispatched by GeneralGouraud to Jabal al-Arab, sought to isolate the Druze from the Syrian national movement, he signed on 4 March 1921 a treaty with the Druze tribes, which stipulated that Jabal al-Arab would form a special administrative unit independent of the State of Damascus with a local governor and an elected representative council. In exchange for the Druze's recognition of the French mandate, the result of the treaty appointed Salim al-Atrash as the first ruler of the Druze mountain.