Kafr Shams
كفر شمس | |
---|---|
Village | |
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) |
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 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]
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]
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]