Maysalun

Maysalun
ميسلون
Elevation	1,090 m (3,576 ft)
Location	Rif Dimashq Governorate,Syria
Range	Anti-Lebanon Mountains
Coordinates	33°35′44″N36°3′53″E

Maysalun(Arabic:ميسلون) is a mountainous region in southwesternSyrialocated on the eastern slopes of theAnti-Lebanon Mountainsabout 12 kilometers west ofDamascus,in theRif Dimashq Governorateand has anelevationof about 1090 meters. The area is situated on the ancient route betweenDamascusandLebanonand has long been famous for itskhansand rest-stops. The closest town in the area isal-Dimas.

Maysalun is enshrined inSyrian historyas the last stand of the short-livedArab Kingdom of Syria,which was ruled byKing Faisal.The kingdom briefly controlled Syria after the Ottomans left and before the French took over control of Syria in the aftermath of theFirst World War.On 24 July 1920, a group of 2,000 Syrian volunteers gathered at the caravansary of Maysalun. There they faced theFrench Army,which drew on troops from itscolonial territories,meaning Senegalese, Algerian, and Moroccan men made up the force.Yusuf al-'Azma,the Minister of War, died in the fighting. After the French forces defeated the Syrian defenders, they moved on to Damascus, where they began a 26-year occupation of the country. TheBattle of Maysalunlingers in Syrian memory more broadly as symbol of, in the words of historianEugene Rogan,"the betrayal of Britain's wartime promises, the bankruptcy of U.S. president Woodrow Wilson's vision of nationalself-determination,and the triumph of British and French colonial self-interest over the hopes and aspirations of millions of Arabs. "