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."