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 / 33.117°N 36.117°E | |
| Grid position | 253/280 PAL |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Daraa |
| District | Al-Sanamayn |
| Subdistrict | Al-Sanamayn |
| Elevation | 800 m (2,600 ft) |
| Population (2004)[1] | |
• Total | 12,435.[1] |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
History
editKafr 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
editIn 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
editDuring 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
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Daraa Governorate. (in Arabic)
- ^ Banaji, 2007, p. 17
- ^ Shahid, 2002, p. 203
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 149
- ^ Schumacher, 1897, p. 194
- ^ Thompson, p.235.
- ^ Syrians protest amid reports of army push on Deraa. The Daily Telegraph. 2012-03-05.
Bibliography
edit- 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
edit- Map of town, Google Maps
- Sanameine-map, 19L