Although the major markets for Idlib's soap were at Aleppo, Antioch, and Hama,[6] the product was exported as far as the Ottoman capital of Istanbul.

[6] In the late 19th century, Idlib was "flourishing" and still contained several Christian families, according to German orientalist Albert Socin.

As the uprising descended into armed conflict, Idlib became the focus of a rebel campaign, which temporarily captured the city and the governorate before a government offensive in April 2012.

After this, government forces retook the city and the rebel-controlled province after a month of fighting before the attempted enforcement of the ceasefire proposed by Kofi Annan.

[12] On 17 September 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced an agreement to establish a demilitarized buffer zone in Syria's Idlib province, intended to separate Syrian government forces from rebel factions.

Putin stated that all heavy weaponry would be removed from the area and that radical rebel groups, such as the Nusra Front, must withdraw.

[17][18][19] Idlib is divided into six main districts: Ashrafiyah (the most populous), Hittin, Hejaz, Downtown, Hurriyah, and al-Qusour.

Because of the rapidly declining value of the Syrian pound, the Turkish lira became widespread in Idlib and was adopted as legal tender in the city on 15 June 2020.

Under the Technical and Financial Cooperation Agreement between the governments of Italy and Syria, the museum was to undergo a restoration and renovation project starting in 2010.