In 1920, al-Atrash family was supporting the short-living Arab Kingdom of Syria, which was re-occupied by France after the Battle of Maysalun on July 24, 1920. Sultan al-Atrash was gathering his men to fight the French, but the quick succession of events cut his efforts short, as French forces entered Damascus and the country was divided into five states, State of Souaida (later Jabal al-Druze state) being one of them. Sultan al-Atrash would later become the rebel commander of the Druze War against the French Mandate between 1925 and 1927, and would remain a prominent figure in Syrian politics, despite the utter defeat of the Druze War.