Al-Musayfirah was mentioned in pre-Islamic
Syriac texts.
Ottoman and French periods The modern town was founded during the
Ottoman era (1517–1917). In 1838, during late Ottoman rule, al-Musayfirah was found to be located south of
al-Shaykh Maskin, and was classified as a
khirba (abandoned village) by biblical scholar
Eli Smith. Throughout this era and during French rule (1918–46), 16 villages in the region were controlled by the al-Zu'bi clan which also provided many of the religious
sheikhs of the
Sufi order,
Qadiriyyah, founded by
Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani. While
Khirbet al-Ghazaleh and
Deir al-Bukht served as the clan's chief political seats, al-Musayfirah served as the religious center of the al-Zu'bi. In September 1910 al-Musayfirah served as a destination of
Ottoman troops before launching a punitive expedition against
Druze rebels in
Jabal Hauran, just to the east. The leader of the rebels, Yahya al-Atrash, was arrested by the authorities during the operation. During the
Great Syrian Revolt against the
French Mandate, the Muslim
sheikh (chieftain) of al-Musayfirah, Muhammad al-Zu'bi, and his horsemen joined the Druze rebels of
Sultan Pasha al-Atrash in the Jabal in August 1925. Al-Musayfirah was the site of a major battle between French forces and Druze rebels on 17 September. The battle ended in a French victory and rebel fatalities between 300 and 400. It consequently paved the way for the French capture of
al-Suwayda on 24 September, although they withdrew from the city two months after. Several of al-Musayfirah's inhabitants had been either killed or expelled before and during the battle. In early September hundreds to thousands of protesters participated in anti-government demonstrations in the town. On 11 September,
Reuters reported that 40 people from al-Musayfirah were forcibly detained by security forces, among dozens of others from nearby towns, namely
al-Jiza and
Busra al-Harir. On 27 April 2012, the
Financial Times reporter Michael Peele reported that during the brief ceasefire between government forces and rebels, he witnessed "hundreds-strong rally chanting "God bless the Free Syrian Army" in al-Musayfirah. The
Free Syrian Army is one of the principal armed umbrella-organizations revolting against the government of
Bashar al-Assad. At the time, some residents claimed that one-third of the town's population of 15,000 had fled and dozens had been killed since the start of the war. ==References==