During the Turkish Domination, the city was the seat of beys, who exploited the region's fertile land. In the beginning of the 19th century it became Ali Pasha's "tsifliki" (a large estate cultivated by tenant farmers).

According to the information provided by Beujour, the French consul of Thessaloniki, the city had a population of 5.000 and it constituted one of the most significant centers for the dying of cotton fabrics. Held during the second half of August, its trade fair was one of the most important of Thessaly, as it coincided with the harvesting of cereals.

During the Orloff Movement the city suffered from the Albanian-Turks on their way back from Peloponnese after the suppression of the rebellion, but it recovered its commercial importance during the following years.

Many inhabitants of the region joined the voluntary corps during the 1854 revolution in Thessaly, Macedonia and Epirus and they did the same during the 1878 revolution.

The economic life of the city flourished once more during the decades which followed the annexing of Thessaly to Greece in 1881.

A fierce battle took place in Farsala during the 1897 war. The Greek army was forced to retreat to Domokos on the 24th of April.