Samaheej was home to a historical Christian community, the remains of which have been uncovered through archaeological excavations at the site.[3][4][5] Before the discovery of oil in Bahrain, most of the inhabitants were involved in farming, especially date palms, and fishing.
In Syriac, it is referred to as Meshmahig (Classical Syriac: ܡܫܡܗܝܓMashmahig),[1] and the name Samaheej is said to be from Persian se (three) and mahi (fish) and hence, ‘the three fish’.[2] Interestingly, Bahrain's old population is said to have had a Persianclergy (Zoroastrians) who used Syriac as a language of liturgy and writing more generally,[6] in addition to a Nestorian Christian church that was uncovered in Samaheej.[3][4][5]
Education
The Ministry of Education operates government schools. Samajih Primary Intermediate Boys School is the sole government school within Samaheej.[7]
Archaeology
Samaheej had a Nestorian Christian presence during its early history, with old foundations of a Nestorian monastery being discovered in the village.[3][4][5] 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]
References
^ ab"Mashmahig". The Syriac Gazetter. 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
^ abcKozah, Mario; Abu-Husayn, Abdulrahim; Al-Murikhi, Saif Shaheen; Al-Thani, Haya (2014). The Syriac Writers of Qatar in the Seventh Century (print ed.). Gorgias Press LLC. pp. 28–29. ISBN978-1463203559.
^ abcInsoll, 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
^Holes, Clive (2001). Dialect, Culture, and Society in Eastern Arabia: Glossary. BRILL. pp. XXIV–XXVI. ISBN978-9004107632. 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.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
