Al-Kafr (Arabic: الكفر, also spelled al-Kefr) is a village in as-Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria. It is located 8 km to the southeast of as-Suwayda. It is known for its forest and good wine,[citation needed] and it was the site of a number of battles during the 19th and 20th centuries. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Kafr had a population of 7,458 in the 2004 census.[1]
Al-Kafr
الكفر | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 Al-Kafr town | |
  Al-Kafr Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates: 32°38′00″N 36°38′30″E / 32.63333°N 36.64167°E | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | as-Suwayda |
| District | as-Suwayda |
| Subdistrict | as-Suwayda |
| Elevation | 1,360 m (4,460 ft) |
| Population (2004 census)[1] | |
| • Total | 7,458 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Modern-day al-Kafr was settled by Druze coming from other areas in central Ottoman Syria between 1857 and 1860, at a time when the Druze sheikh Ismail al-Atrash was becoming the preeminent force of the Jabal al-Druze area over his Druze rivals in the Hamdan clan.[2] Druze settlement in al-Kafr and other villages, like Najran, on the southern borders of the Lajat plain, the Druze were able to encircle the Sulut Bedouin tribe that had dominated the area previously.[3] Al-Kafr was one of two villages (the other being Qanawat) that put up armed resistance to the 30-battalion-strong force assembled by the Ottoman governor Sami Pasha al-Faruqi to suppress the Hauran Druze Rebellion, led by Zuqan al-Atrash, against the government. The Druze sheikhs ultimately surrendered to the government.[4]
During French Mandatory rule, on 22 July 1925, al-Kafr became the site of the Battle of al-Kafr, in which the forces of Sultan al-Atrash routed a French army column sent to defeat Sultan's men at Salkhad. The battle essentially precipitated the countrywide Great Syrian Revolt against French rule.[5]
References
edit
Bibliography
edit- Firro, Kais (1992). A History of the Druzes. Vol. 1. BRILL. ISBN 9004094377.
External links
edit- Map of the town, Google Maps