Kafr Shams (, 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 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.General Census of Population and Housing 2004 . Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Daraa Governorate. 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.Banaji, 2007, p. 17 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.Shahid, 2002, p. 203
Ottoman era In 1838, Kefr Shems was noted as a village in the el-Jeidur district.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 149
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.Schumacher, 1897, p. 194
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.Thompson, p.235.
Civil war
Many residents of Kafr Shams participated in protests against the Syrian government as part of the Syrian revolution.Syrians protest amid reports of army push on Deraa. The Daily Telegraph. 2012-03-05.
Religious buildings Old Mosque Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque Usama ibn Zayd Mosque Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Mosque
See also Hauran
References
Bibliography
External links Map of town, Google Maps Sanameine-map, 19L