The Scroll of Egypt

Samuel wrote this Hebrew historical account, called The Scroll of Egypt (Megilat Mitsrayim), to commemorate his endangerment and rescue in 1012/13. On December 31, 1012, Samuel attended the funeral for Putiel, a cantor from Fustāt (Old Cairo), and he and twenty-two other Jews were forcibly imprisoned and scheduled to be executed. They were granted their freedom by the caliph al-Ḥākim (d. 1021), even though the caliph’s treatment of dhimmīs (“protected” non-Muslims) was otherwise very harsh. Later, in 1013, apparently suffering from some mental illness, al-Ḥākim imposed draconian rules on non-Muslims and even allowed some forced conversions. This text was apparently intended for public recitation, perhaps annually.