in the 18th century, al-bassa became a zone of contention between zahir al-umar and the chiefs of jabal amil under sheikh nasif al-nassar, while under his successor, jezzar pasha, al-bassa was made the administrative center of the "nahiya" in around 1770. in 1799, napoleon bonaparte described al-bassa as a village of 600 metawalis. a map by pierre jacotin from napoleon's invasion of that year showed the place, named as "el basa."