page_title: Bosra
section_title: Main sights
hierarchical_section_title: Bosra / Main sights
caption_attribution_description: English: Ancient City of Bosra (Syrian Arab Republic) Français&#160;: Ancienne ville de Bosra (République arabe syrienne) Español: Ciudad vieja de Bosra 日本語: 古代都市ボスラ 中文: 布斯拉古城 Nederlands: Oude stad van Bosra Русский: Старый город в Босре العربية: مدينة بصرى القديمة Română: Orașul antic Bosra (Siria)
context_page_description: Bosra, also spelled Bostra, Busrana, Bozrah, Bozra and officially known Busra al-Sham is a town in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Daraa District of the Daraa Governorate and geographically being part of the Hauran region.
  According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Bosra had a population of 19,683 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center of the nahiyah of Bosra which consisted of nine localities with a collective population of 33,839 in 2004. Bosra's inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims, although the town has a small Shia Muslim community.
  Bosra has an ancient history and during the Roman era it was a prosperous provincial capital and Metropolitan Archbishopric, under the jurisdiction of Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. It continued to be administratively important during the Islamic era, but became gradually less prominent during the Ottoman era. It also became a Latin Catholic titular see and the episcopal see of a Melkite Catholic Archeparchy. Today, it is a major archaeological site and has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
context_section_description: Of the city which once counted 80,000 inhabitants, there remains today only a village settled among the ruins. The 2nd century Roman theater, constructed probably under Trajan, is the only monument of this type with its upper gallery in the form of a covered portico which has been integrally preserved. It was fortified between 481 and 1231.
  Further, Nabatean and Roman monuments, Christian churches, mosques and Madrasahs are present within the half ruined enceinte of the city. The structure of this monument 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.
  Close by are the Kharaba Bridge and the Gemarrin Bridge, both Roman bridges.
caption: Nabatean (west) Gate of the ancient City of Bosra
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