Kafr Shams
كفر شمس
Village
Kafr Shams is located in Syria
Kafr Shams
Kafr Shams
Coordinates: 33°7′N 36°7′E / 33.117°N 36.117°E / 33.117; 36.117
Grid position253/280 PAL
Country Syria
GovernorateDaraa
DistrictAl-Sanamayn
SubdistrictAl-Sanamayn
Elevation
800 m (2,600 ft)
Population
 (2004)[1]
 • Total12,435.[1]
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Kafr Shams (Arabic: كفر شمس, also spelled Kfar Shams or Kafr ash-Shams) is a small city in southern Syria administratively belonging to the Al-Sanamayn District of the Daraa Governorate. It is 16 kilometers (9.9 mi) northwest of al-Sanamayn, just east of the Golan Heights and situated between Damascus and Daraa. In the 2004 census by the Central Bureau of Statistics Kafr Shams had a population of 12,435.[1]

History

Kafr Shams experienced a construction boom during Byzantine Empire rule, particularly during the reign of Justinian I, mostly focused on large rural housing.[2] The town was dominated by the Ghassanids, an Arab Christian vassal kingdom of the Byzantines. The Ghassanids built a major Monophysite monastery there around 570 CE.[3]

Ottoman era

In 1838, Kefr Shems was noted as a village in the el-Jeidur district.[4]

In 1897 German archaeologist Gottlieb Schumacher reported Kafr Shams had a population of 600 Muslims living in 120 to 130 huts. Ancient ruins and subterranean arches were noted in the village and the two Ghassanid monasteries were still largely intact.[5]

Modern era

During the 1973 Yom Kippur War Kafr Shams was the scene of clashes between the Israeli Army and the joint forces of the Jordanian, Iraqi and Syrian armies.[6]

Many of the residents of Kafr Shams have participated in protests against the Syrian government as part of the 2011-2012 Syrian uprising.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Daraa Governorate. (in Arabic)
  2. ^ Banaji, 2007, p. 17
  3. ^ Shahid, 2002, p. 203
  4. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 149
  5. ^ Schumacher, 1897, p. 194
  6. ^ Thompson, p.235.
  7. ^ Syrians protest amid reports of army push on Deraa. The Daily Telegraph. 2012-03-05.

Bibliography

  • Banaji, Jairus (2007). Agrarian Change in Late Antiquity: Gold, Labour, and Aristocratic Dominance. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199226030.
  • Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
  • Schumacher, G. (1897). "Notes from Jedur". Quarterly Statement - Palestine Exploration Fund. 29: 190–195. doi:10.1179/peq.1897.29.3.190.
  • Shahid, I. (2002). Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century: pt. 1, Toponymy, Monuments, Historical Geography, and Frontier Studies. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. ISBN 0884022145.

External links

Daraa Governorate
Category