Ashab Al-Samajeh in old Arabic texts

Nowruz has been the most prestigious and celebrated custom of the Iranian holiday since the ancient times, for which Iranians have always done preparation before the beginning of the New Year, and have spent days holding rituals as a sign indicating their eagerness and enthusiasm. The advent of Islam, which entailed the conversion of many Iranians to Islam and their adherence to its rituals, never diminished the prosperity of this holiday, but added a touch of Islamic glamour to the event, encouraging a more glorious celebration. Arabic texts of the first centuries (AH) highlight the name of an itinerant group called “As’hab al-Samajah”, who staged comic and entertaining performances in Baghdad, Syria, and Egypt. We believe that these are the very Mirs of Nowruz. Many of the rituals performed during the Mir Nowruzi ceremonies in Baghdad and Cairo may have been forgotten, and therefore, we would have a clearer picture of this Iranian celebration if we investigate these rituals. In this article, we went through a brief background of the Mir Nowruzi, and then dealt with the etymology of the word “Samajah”, which we think has its roots in the Persian word “Simache”, meaning ‘a mask’, which has also been used in the Arabic texts in this sense. Then, we have mentioned the reports of the Arabic texts about this category and have studied the rituals that had taken place in this carnival atmosphere. It is ascertained from these reports that the masked people had their public performance on stage in the first three days of Nowruz, where the caliphs and the other key figures had occasionally supported them and at times imposed sanctions on them.