Samaheej Explained
| Samaheej |
| Native Name: | سَماهِيج |
| Native Name Lang: | ar |
| Pushpin Map: | Bahrain |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Bahrain |
| Subdivision Type1: | Island |
| Subdivision Name1: | Muharraq Island |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
Samaheej (ar|سماهيج Samāhīj, Mashmahig,[1] Persian: سه ماهی Se Mahi),[2] is a village in Bahrain on the northern coast of Muharraq Island. Al Dair village lies to its northwest, while Galali lies to its southeast. It is north of Bahrain International Airport.
Samaheej was home to a historical Christian community, the remains of which have been uncovered through archaeological excavations at the site.[3] Before the discovery of oil in Bahrain, most of the inhabitants were involved in farming, especially date palms, and fishing.
Among the famous people from Samaheej is Abdullah bin Saleh al Samahiji (1675 - 1722), a medieval Islamic scholar, prominent within the Akhbari school of Shiism during the Safavid era.
Etymology
In Syriac, it is referred to as Meshmahig (Mashmahig), and the name Samaheej is said to be from Persian se (three) and mahi (fish) and hence, ‘the three fish’. Interestingly, Bahrain's old population is said to have had a Persian clergy (Zoroastrians) who used Syriac as a language of liturgy and writing more generally,[4] in addition to a Nestorian Christian church that was uncovered in Samaheej.
Education
The Ministry of Education operates government schools. Samajih Primary Intermediate Boys School is the sole government school within Samaheej.[5]
Archaeology
Samaheej had a Nestorian Christian presence during its early history, with old foundations of a Nestorian monastery being discovered in the village.[6] [7] In 2024, it was published that archaeologists from the University of Exeter and the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities discovered a well-constructed building likely serving as the bishop's palace, containing domestic rooms, a kitchen, and early Christian symbols, including three plaster crosses and Chi Rho graffiti.[8]
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: 2017-08-09 . Mashmahig . 2024-10-22 . The Syriac Gazetter.
- Book: Al-Tajer, Mahdi Abdulla . Language & Linguistic Origins In Bahrain . Taylor & Francis . 1982 . 9780710300249 . 22, 134, 135.
- Web site: Maddern . Kerra . Exeter . University of . Archaeologists discover one of the earliest Christian buildings in Bahrain . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240714021834/https://phys.org/news/2024-07-archaeologists-earliest-christian-bahrain.html . 2024-07-14 . 2024-07-26 . phys.org . en.
- Book: Holes . Clive . Dialect, Culture, and Society in Eastern Arabia: Glossary . Clive Holes . BRILL . 2001 . 978-9004107632 . XXIV–XXVI . Thus the elements in the pre-Islamic ethno-linguistic situation in eastern Arabia appear to have been a mixed tribal population of partially Christianised Arabs of diverse origins who probably spoke different old Arabian vernaculars; a mobile Persian-speaking population, possibly of traders and administrators, with strong links to Persia, which they maintained close contact; a small sedentary, non-tribal community of Aramaic-speaking agriculturalists; a Persian clergy, who we know for certain, used Syriac as a language of liturgy and writing more generally, probably alongside Persian as a spoken language..
- "Directory ." Ministry of Education. Retrieved on 8 September 2009.
- Book: Kozah . Mario . The Syriac Writers of Qatar in the Seventh Century . Abu-Husayn . Abdulrahim . Al-Murikhi . Saif Shaheen . Al-Thani . Haya . Gorgias Press LLC . 2014 . 978-1463203559 . print . 28–29 . Abdulrahim Abu-Husayn.
- Insoll, T., Carter, R., Almahari, S., MacLean, R., 2021, Excavations at Samahij, Bahrain, and the implications for Christianity, Islamisation and settlement in Bahrain, Wiley, Arab Arch. Epig. 2021,00:1–27. https://doi.org/10.1111/aae.12173
- Web site: Milligan . Mark . 2024-07-13 . Traces of Bahrain’s lost Christian community found in Samahij . 2024-07-26 . HeritageDaily - Archaeology News . en-us.
