It wis the soothmaist toun in the Jund Hims militar destrict o Greater Sirie durin the Umayyad Caliphate. Abu'l-Fida describit it in his Geografie o 1321 as a lairge veelage hauf wey atween Damascus an Homs. It is a waystation for the caravans. Maist o its inhabitants are Christians. It lees 1½ mairches frae Homs an 2 mairches frae Damascus.