FALSE MESSIAH Shabbetai Tzevi, at age 22, “reveals himself” as the messiah to his group in Smyrna (today Izmir, Turkey) wreaking havoc on the Jewish world.
Britannica –
“As a young man, Shabbetai steeped himself in the influential body of Jewish mystical writings known as the Kabbala. His extended periods of ecstasy and his strong personality combined to attract many disciples.
Driven from Smyrna by the aroused rabbinate, he journeyed to Salonika (now Thessaloníki), an old Kabbalistic centre, and then to Constantinople (now Istanbul). There he encountered an esteemed and forceful Jewish preacher and Kabbalist, Abraham ha–Yakini, who possessed a false prophetic document affirming that Shabbetai was the messiah. Shabbetai then traveled to Palestine and after that to Cairo, where he won over to his cause Raphael Halebi, and the wealthy and powerful [Jewish] treasurer of the Turkish governor.
With a retinue of believers and assured of financial backing, Shabbetai triumphantly returned to Jerusalem.
Threatened with excommunication by the rabbis of Jerusalem, Shabbetai returned to Smyrna in the autumn of 1665, where he was wildly acclaimed. His movement spread to Venice, Amsterdam, Hamburg, London, and several other European and North African cities.
At the beginning of 1666, Shabbetai went to Constantinople and was imprisoned on his arrival. After a few months, he was transferred to the castle at Abydos, which became known to his followers as Migdal Oz, the Tower of Strength. In September, however, he was brought before the sultan in Adrianople and, having been previously threatened with torture, converted to Islam. The placated sultan renamed him Mehmed Efendi, appointed him his personal doorkeeper, and provided him with a generous allowance. All but his most faithful or self–seeking disciples were disillusioned by his apostasy. Eventually, Shabbetai fell out of favor and was banished, dying in Albania.
The movement that developed around Shabbetai Tzevi became known as Shabbetaianism.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/537449/Shabbetai–Tzevi (accessed July 1, 2009)
After Shabbetai’s death in 1676, the sect continued to flourish. The nihilistic tendencies of Shabbetaianism reached a peak in the eighteenth century with Jacob Frank, whose followers reputedly sought redemption via “adventurous” mystical festivals.