Parchment Megillah - "Sebastian's Purim" and "Purim de las Bombas" - Tangier, 19th Century

Parchment Megillah - "Sebastian's Purim" and "Purim de las Bombas" - Tangier, 19th Century
Parchment megillah containing two stories of deliverance of North African Jewery. [Tangier, Morocco, second half of 19th century].
Ink on parchment, engraved wood.
Charming square script on two parchment sheets. 10 columns, with purple borderlines. Rolled on original wooden handle.
This scroll is composed of two megillot which were read on the two days of "Purim Katan" celebrated in Tangier and in Morocco. The first is the story of the "Purim de las Bombas" deliverance which is followed by the megillah of the salvation of "Sebastian's Purim".
"Purim de las Bombas" (Purim of the bombs) was instituted as a festival for posterity among Tangier Jews after the miracle of the salvation of the Jews of the city in 1849, after French ships bombed the city of Tangier from the sea and the Jewish neighborhood was not harmed in the least. In commemoration of that miracle, sages from Tangier instituted the celebration of Purim Katan each year on the 21st of the month of Av. The story of this deliverance was written for commemoration and was read each year in public, like Megillat Esther, and this day of salvation was celebrated with song and praise.
"Sebastian's Purim" was instituted following the miracle of the deliverance of Morrocan Jews in 1578, at the time Sebastian the King of Portugal attempted to conquer Moroccan cities from the hands of King Moulay Abd Al-Malik. He was joined by King Moulay Muhammed, who formerly served as King of Morocco before his kingdom was seized by Abd Al-Malik. The King of Portugal send a mighty army of 17,000 soldiers in a fleet of 500 ships to Morocco. Using brilliant strategy, the Moroccan army beguiled the Portuguese army deep into their country. The latter marched for five days under the unrelenting boiling Moroccan sun carrying their heavy equipment and finally the battle was fought near the town of El Ksar el Kebir. Within four hours, the Portuguese army was defeated. 8000 soldiers lay dead in the battlefield and another 15,000 were taken into captivity. King Sebastian of Portugal as well as King Abd Al-Malik of Morocco were among the fallen. The third king, Moulay Mohammed drowned himself following the defeat, so all three kings died in one day. From that time, this battle was known as the Battle of the Three Kings. This war directly impacted the fate of Moroccan Jews. Reputedly, two anusim from the Portuguese army told the Jews of Morocco that the King of Portugal had intended to convert the Jews to Christianity after his occupation of Moroccan cities. In commemoration of this miracle of salvation, Moroccan Jews fixed a Purim Katan each year on the second day of Rosh Chodesh Elul, with songs and praise and abstaining from work. Moroccan Jews call this festival "Sebastian's Purim" or "Purim de los Cristianos" (Purim of the Christians). The tidings of the death of King Sebastian of Portugal spread to faraway Jewish communities and the Maharit who lived in Safed writes: "In the year of 1579, a meteor was seen for 40 days in the west… It was a sign of the death of the King of Portugal named Sebastian, while fighting in Africa…" (Teshuvot V'Piskei Maharit HeChadashim, Jerusalem 1978, p. 22). This Purim is celebrated by Moroccan Jews up until recent times, and was commemorated by reading a megillah in public, like the reading of Megillat Esther.
Only a few such megillot, written in the form of a scroll (and not in a pamphlet), are known to exist. We do not know of any other parchment copies in the form of a megillah (a scan of a similar megillah written on paper is held in NLI, from the collection of Bill Gross).
Height of parchment: 13.5 cm. wooden handle: 37 cm. Good condition. Stains. Holes in beginning of first sheet. Several breaks to wooden handle. Without lace for tying.