Bosra
Bosra
بُصْرَىٰ بُصْرَىٰ ٱلشَّام | |
---|---|
Town | |
Busra al-Sham | |
Shia (minority) | |
Area code | 15 |
Official name | Ancient City of Bosra |
Criteria | Cultural: i, iii, vi |
Reference | 22 |
Inscription | 1980 (4th Session) |
Area | 116.2 ha |
Buffer zone | 200.4 ha |
Bosra (
Bosra is an ancient city mentioned in 14th century BC Egyptian sources. A key
Throughout its history under various Muslim rulers, the city maintained its strategic importance as Syria's southern gateway. It attracted attention from Damascus' rulers and was governed by various lords, serving as a hub for Islamic learning and endowments. However, it declined into a village during the Ottoman era, only to be revitalized in the 20th century with the construction of the Hijaz railway and due to growing archaeological interest, later prompting tourism-focused development by the Syrian government. Today, it is a major archaeological site and has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.[1]
According to the
History
Bosra was the first
According to
Roman and Byzantine era
Under the
By the Byzantine period, which began in the 5th century, Christianity became the dominant religion in Bosra (Βόσρα in Greek-Byzantine). The city became a Metropolitan archbishop's seat (see below) and a large cathedral was built in the 6th century.[5] Bosra was conquered by the Sasanian Persians in the early 7th century but was recaptured during the Byzantine reconquest.
Islamic era
Bosra played an important part in the early life of
After the end of the Umayyad era in 750, major activity in Bosra ceased for around 300 years until the late 11th-century. In the last years of
A golden age of political and architectural activity in Bosra began during the reign of
Ottoman era
In 1596 Bosra appeared in the Ottoman tax registers as Nafs Busra, being part of the nahiyah of Bani Nasiyya in the Qada of Hauran. It had a Muslim population consisting of 75 households and 27 bachelors, and a Christian population of 15 households and 8 bachelors. Taxes were paid on wheat, barley, summer crops, fruit- or other trees, goats and/or beehives and water mill.[12]
Modern era
Today, Bosra is a major archaeological site, containing ruins from Roman, Byzantine, and Muslim times, its main feature being the well preserved Roman theatre. Every year there is a national music festival hosted in the main theatre.
Significant social and economic changes have affected Bosra since the end of the French Mandate in 1946. While up until the 1950s the shopkeepers of Bosra were from Damascus, since then most shop owners are residents of the town. In the late Ottoman era and the French Mandate period, the agricultural relationship was between the small landowner and the sharecroppers, since agrarian reforms in the late 1950s and 1960s, the relevant relationship has been between the landowners and the wage laborers. Many of its residents have found work in the Gulf Cooperation Council states, sending proceeds to their relatives in Bosra. Social changes together with increased access to education have largely diminished the traditional clan life according to historian Hanna Batatu.[13]
During the presidency of Hafez al-Assad (1970–2000), Bosra and the surrounding villages were left largely outside of government interference and, for the most part, were politically dominated by members of the prominent al-Mokdad clan who served as intermediaries of sorts between the residents of the town and the governor of Daraa and the Ba'ath Party branch secretary.[13]
On 14 October 2012, there was intense gunfire from government forces stationed at checkpoints on the main road running through the town.[
Bosra was recaptured by the Syrian Arab Army on 2 July 2018, following the surrender of the rebel forces. The recapture was a part of the Daraa Offensive, which has involved the surrender and/or reconciliation of many rebel groups in the area.
Main sights
Of the city which once counted 80,000 inhabitants, there remains today only a village settled among the ruins. The 2nd century
Further, Nabatean and Roman monuments, Christian churches, mosques and Madrasahs are present within the half-ruined enceinte of the city. The structure of the cathedral, a central plan with eastern apses flanked by 2 sacristies, exerted a decisive influence on the evolution of Christian architectural forms, and to a certain extent on Islamic style. Al-Omari Mosque of Bosra is one of the oldest surviving mosques in Islamic history.[20]
Close by are the
Climate
Bosra has a
Climate data for Bosra | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 11.8 (53.2) |
13.5 (56.3) |
16.9 (62.4) |
21.9 (71.4) |
27.1 (80.8) |
30.7 (87.3) |
31.9 (89.4) |
32.3 (90.1) |
30.6 (87.1) |
26.7 (80.1) |
20.1 (68.2) |
13.9 (57.0) |
23.1 (73.6) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2.1 (35.8) |
3.1 (37.6) |
5.3 (41.5) |
8.5 (47.3) |
11.9 (53.4) |
14.6 (58.3) |
16.1 (61.0) |
16.3 (61.3) |
14.6 (58.3) |
11.8 (53.2) |
7.7 (45.9) |
3.5 (38.3) |
9.6 (49.3) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 52 (2.0) |
53 (2.1) |
42 (1.7) |
15 (0.6) |
6 (0.2) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
10 (0.4) |
22 (0.9) |
47 (1.9) |
247 (9.7) |
Source: climate-data |
Demographics
In the late 1990s, Bosra had an estimated population of 12,000.[3] Its population increased to 19,683 according to the 2004 census by the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics. The population of its metropolitan area was 33,839.[2]
Bosra's inhabitants are predominantly
Bosra also has a small
People
- Saint Timon the Deacon, 1st century, Christian proto-deacon and bishop of Bosra
- Beryllus of Bostra, 3rd century, Bishop
- Shimon ben Lakish, 3rd century, amora of the second generation and rabbi
- Titus of Bostra, fl. 4th century, Christian theologian
- Saint Antipater of Bostra, fl. 5th century, Christian bishop
- Bahira, c. 600, Assyrian monk
- Ibn Kathir (1301–1373), Islamic scholar
References
- ^ ISBN 978-90-474-2073-6, retrieved 2024-02-13
- ^ a b General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Daraa Governorate. (in Arabic)
- ^ a b c d Batatu, 1999, p. 24
- ^ "ToposText". topostext.org.
- ^ a b Beattie & Pepper 2001, p. 126.
- ^ Meinecke, 1996, pp. 31-32.
- ^ a b c Meinecke, 1996, p. 35
- ^ le Strange, 1890, p. 425
- ^ Meinecke, 1996, p. 37
- ^ Smail 1956, p. 159.
- ^ Meinecke, 1996, pp. 38-39.
- ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 219.
- ^ a b c d Batatu, 1999, p. 25
- ^ Miller, Jonathan (January 31, 2013). "Syrian refugees: 'Tonight we died many deaths'". Channel 4 News.
- ^ "سيف الحوراني الإفراج عن الحرائر الذين اختطفهم النظام". Syria Tomorrow. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- ^ Hassan, Doha (19 February 2014). "Syrian army prepares for an attack from its southern border". Al Akhbar. Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ^ Leith Fadel (31 January 2015). "Dara'a: Syrian Army Attempts to Counter Rebels at Battalion 82". Al Masdar News. Archived from the original on 11 February 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ^ "9 people killed in the capital's explosion, and 3 fighters in Daraa". Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 1 February 2015. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015.
- ^ "Syria rebels seize ancient town of Busra Sham". Middle East Online. 25 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-10-02. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
- ^ Al-Omari Mosque Archived 2009-09-08 at the Wayback Machine Archnet Digital Library.
Sources
- ISBN 0691002541.
- Beattie, Andrew; Pepper, Timothy (2001). The Rough Guide to Syria. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781858287188.
- Hütteroth, Wolf-Dieter; Abdulfattah, Kamal (1977). Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. ISBN 3-920405-41-2.
- ISBN 9780814754924.
- Smail, R. C. (1956). Crusading Warfare 1097-1193. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 1-56619-769-4.
- Strange, le, G. (1890). Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
External links
- Catholic Encyclopedia on Bosra
- Official website of Bosra city
- Extensive photo site about Bosra
- Photo Gallery of Bosra
- GCatholic Latin titular see
- Map of the town, Google Maps
- Bosra-map; 22M
- Eastern Orthodox Archdiocese of Bosra, Horan and Jabal al-Arab
- Brief History of the Archdiocese of Bosra-Hauran