// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Kafr Shams sunny? Shams on it.

Kafr Shams

كفر شمس
Kafr Shams كفر شمس
Town
	Kafr Shams Location within Syria
	Coordinates: 33°07′03″N 36°06′16″E / 33.11750°N 36.10444°E
Grid position	253/280 PAL
Country	Syria
Governorate	Daraa
District	Sanamayn
Subdistrict	Sanamayn
Elevation	800 m (2,600 ft)
Population (2004 census)
• Total	12,435
Time zone	UTC+3 (AST)

Kafr Shams (Arabic: كفر شمس, also spelled Kfar Shams or Kafr ash-Shams) is a town in southern Syria administratively belonging to the as-Sanamayn District of the Daraa Governorate. It is 16 kilometers (9.9 mi) northwest of as-Sanamayn, just east of the Golan Heights and situated between Damascus and Daraa. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Kafr Shams had a population of 12,435 in the 2004 census.^[1] The town's inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.

History

Byzantine period

Kafr Shams experienced a construction boom during the rule of the Byzantine Empire, 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]

Civil war

Many residents of Kafr Shams participated in protests against the Syrian government as part of the Syrian revolution.^[7]

Religious buildings

Old Mosque
Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque
Usama ibn Zayd Mosque
Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Mosque

References

1 2 General Census of Population and Housing 2004 Deprecated link archived 2013-01-12 at archive.today. 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

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

Map of town, Google Maps
Sanameine-map, 19L

[CBS-1] 1 2 General Census of Population and Housing 2004 Deprecated link archived 2013-01-12 at archive.today. 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.

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