By drawing on Egyptian historical texts such as Ibn Abd al-Hakam’s Futuh misr and the History of the Patriarchs, several Copto-Arabic apocalypses are situated within their historical contexts. Although eleven texts belong to his genre, particular emphasis is placed on Ps-Athanasius, Ps-Samuel, and Ps-Shenoute, which span the eighth to thirteenth centuries CE. Three aims are reached by this paper. Initially, the goal is to provide a contextual historical reading of such apocalyptic texts, accomplished by placing them within the framework of medieval apocalypses in general (both Islamic and Byzantine) and by identifying the particular discourse they represent. It is demonstrated that while retaining a number of topoi that are ubiquitous to the apocalyptic genre, the details of these Egyptian texts are clearly in sync with their geographic and temporal settings. Additionally, it is argued that some of the more peculiar aspects of the genre, such as extensive references to the Kingdom of Ethiopia, betray the ideological concerns of both Christians and Muslims living in Egypt. Also demonstrated is the utility of apocalyptic texts in studying social transformations pertaining to the processes of Islamization and the formation of new communal identities. In that regard, it is shown that these Christian texts, which often seem atemporal, are clearly tethered to and reflective of their Islamic environment and reflect contemporaneous social concerns. Finally, the utility of these popular, nonofficial texts as historical sources that inform our understanding of inter-communal interactions under Caliphal rule is explored.