As Samuel turned about to go away, [Saul] laid hold on the skirt of his robe, and it tore.
Most scholars are sure Saul attacked the Amalekites who lived in the southern Judah Negev, though some feel he attacked an enclave of them in western Samaria. [Note: E.g., Diane Edelmann, "Saul’s Battle Against Amaleq (1 Samuel 15)," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 35 (June 1986):74-81.] Saul did not destroy all the Amalekites at this time (1 Samuel 27:8; 1 Samuel 30:1; 2 Samuel 8:12). King Hezekiah completely annihilated them years later (1 Chronicles 4:43).