Kafr Shams

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]

Kafr Shams

كفر شمس
Village
Kafr Shams
Coordinates: 33°7′N 36°7′E
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)

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]

References
  1. 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. 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.

See also
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