Al-Qusayr is the closest modern-day city to the ancient walled hilltop city of
Qadesh (now the ruins known as
Tell Nebi Mend, ( ft)) named for the idol worshipped by the ancients at the time and which sits north and above the plain east of the river where historians place the largest known chariot vs. chariot battle in antiquity, the
Battle of Qadash, May 1274 BC between the forces of
Ramesses II's Egypt and the
Anatolian Empire of the
Hittites of
Muwatalli II.
Arab geographer
Yaqut al-Hamawi visited the town in the early 13th century, during
Ayyubid rule, and noted al-Qusayr was located north of Damascus, was surrounded by gardens and possessed an extensive
khan (
caravansary.) During the
Khedivate Egyptian conquest of the
Levant in 1832,
Ibrahim Pasha, the leader of the campaign, was hosted in al-Qusayr. Following his army's withdrawal, several
Egyptian families remained in the town because of its climate and abundant agriculture. Olives, apples, apricots, wheat, barley and potatoes were grown in the area.
2011–2013 Syrian civil war Some of al-Qusayr's inhabitants participated in the 2011–2013
Syrian civil war against the government of
Bashar al-Assad. The town became the destination for a number of defectors from the
Syrian Army. Between the start of the rebellion in April 2011 and 13 February 2012, at least 70 residents have been killed. On 13 February, about 400 army soldiers and pro-government militiamen commandeered the city's main
hospital and the municipal hall. There were reportedly several pro-government
snipers in the city putting daily life at a standstill and the opposition
Free Syrian Army (FSA) had established a base in the city. The people of al-Qusayr set up a local civilians committee largely to prevent inter-religious strife in the city. All were released in an exchange deal mediated by the local civilians committee which also stipulated the exile of the corporal and his family from al-Qusayr. On 13 February, the FSA raided and captured the city's
mukhabarat (intelligence or security agency) headquarters, killing five military intelligence agents in the process. Four
tanks were sent to the city afterward. However, one of the tanks defected to the opposition together with 30 soldiers. The defected tank managed to take out the other three tanks, killing 20 government soldiers, according to local rebels. The FSA then captured the town hall and hospital, and focused on other government positions. On 25 February, the whole town was controlled by the FSA. Since the government sent no further reinforcements, the 80 remaining government soldiers fled from their posts in al-Qusayr. On 20 April 2012, Abdel Ghani Jawhar, an explosives expert and commander of the
Fatah al-Islam group, detonated himself in al-Qusayr accidentally, while preparing explosive devices. He was wanted in Lebanon for 200 cases of murder, assassinations, attempted assassinations and explosive attacks. On 9 July, Al Jazeera reported that the Free Syrian Army recaptured the town hall, which had served as the main command center for Syrian troops in the area, and demolished it in order to prevent the Syrian government from recapturing it. It was then reported that the Free Syrian Army controlled all of the town except for a few checkpoints and the city's main hospital. As of the beginning of June 2013, the Syrian Army regained control over 50% of the city, including the strategic
al-Qusayr Military Airbase. On 5 June 2013, the Syrian Army finally regained control of al-Qusayr, after a rapid overnight attack, allowing some rebel fighters to flee to the neighbouring village of
al-Dabaah. On December 8, 2024, the city was captured by the
Syrian opposition during its
large-scale offensive led by
Tahrir Al-Sham. ==Demographics==