Early Islamic era Ma'arat Misrin was captured by the
Muslim army of
Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah in 637 CE after defeating a
Byzantine force in the
Battle of Hazir between the town and
Aleppo. Like Aleppo, it surrendered under peaceful terms. Ma'arat Misrin is referred to as "Ma'arat Mesren" in 8th-century
Syriac manuscripts. Amr ibn Hawbar served as its governor during the reign of
Abbasid caliph
al-Mutawakkil. Byzantine general
Nikephoros II Phokas conquered Ma'arat Misrin in 968 and expelled its 1,200 inhabitants to
Anatolia. The following year he made a truce with the
Fatimids whereby the latter would gain control over the town. The
Bani Kilab under the leadership of
Salih ibn Mirdas launched an expedition to conquer Aleppo in 1024. During the offensive
Mirdasid commander Abu Mansur Sulayman ibn Tawk captured Ma'arrat Misrin and imprisoned its governor. Later, before 1063, the Byzantines recaptured the town after Salih’s son
Atiyya defected from his nephew
Mahmud ibn Nasr's army, which was attacking
Baalbek. Atiyya and the Byzantine army of
Antioch subsequently raided Ma'arrat Misrin, burned its outskirts and killed several of its inhabitants. The
Seljuks captured it towards the end of the 11th century, and the Seljuk prince of Antioch,
Yaghi-Basan, died in Ma'arat Misrin in 1097. In 1240, the town was invaded and sacked by the
Khwarezmiyya. The town was a large village situated among
sesame fields and
olive groves in the late 19th century. In the early 20th century, American archaeologist
Robert Garrett noted that the town's soil was "unusually fertile" and that there was an abundance of fig trees.
Modern era In the early period of
French Mandate rule, Ma'arrat Misrin was the center of a
nahiya ("subdistrict") in the larger district of Aleppo. Ma'arrat Misrin serves a large market town for the surrounding rural agricultural villages. The grocers market in the city covers several blocks.
Syrian Civil War Ma'arrat Masrin has seen violence during the ongoing
Syrian Civil War which began in 2011. Small demonstrations against government corruption and the security services began in April 2011. The next day, defectors from the army attacked a convoy of security forces in the Idlib region, killing seven, according to activists. Hours later two more residents were shot by Syrian security forces during a funeral procession for those killed the previous day. In December 2012, a
kidnapped NBC News team was held hostage in a chicken farm near Ma'arrat Misrin controlled by
FSA-aligned
rebel group
North Idlib Falcons Brigade. ==References==