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{{Short description|Jewish mystic and self-proclaimed Messiah (1626–1676)}}{{Infobox religious biography
| religion           = [[Judaism]], later [[Islam]]
| name               = Sabbatai Zevi
| image              = Šabbəṯay Ṣəḇī 1669 V01-1.1 cropped.jpg
| caption            = Sabbatai Zevi, dressed in [[Kaftan]], 1669.
| alt                = Etched portrait of Sabbatai Zevi from 1666
| native_name        = שַׁבְּתַי צְבִי
| native_name_lang   = he
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1626|08|01}}
| death_date         = {{circa}} {{Death date and age|1676|09|17|1626|08|01}}
| native name lang   = he
| birth_place        = [[Smyrna]], [[Ottoman Empire]] (modern [[İzmir]], [[Turkey]])
| death_place        = [[Ulcinj]], [[Ottoman Empire]] (modern [[Montenegro]])
| nationality        = Ottoman
| founder            = [[Sabbateanism]]
}}

'''Sabbatai Zevi''' ({{Langx|he|שַׁבְּתַי צְבִי|Šabbəṯay Ṣəḇī|}},{{efn|{{langx|tr|Sabetay Sevi}}; also spelled as '''Shabbetai Ẓevi''', '''Shabbeṯāy Ṣeḇī''', '''Shabsai Tzvi''', '''Sabbatai Zvi''', or '''Shabtai Zvi'''}} August 1, 1626 – {{circa|September 17, 1676}})<ref>{{harvp|Scholem|1973|pp=103–106}} has a whole discussion of the historical probabilities that he was really born on the 9th of Av, which according to Jewish tradition is the date of the destruction of both Temples and is also the date 'prescribed' in some traditions for the birth of the Messiah.</ref> was an [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] former [[Jewish mysticism|Jewish mystic]] and [[rabbi]] from [[Smyrna]] who converted to [[Islam]].<ref>{{harvp|Scholem|1973|p=111}}, mentions, among other evidence of Sabbatai's early rabbinic training and [[semikhah]] by Rabbi Joseph Eskapha of his native town of Smyrna: "According to the testimony of [[Leib b. Ozer]], the notary of the notary of the Ashkenazi community of Amsterdam ..., Sabbatai was eighteen years old when he was ordained a ''[[hakham]]''." Scholem also writes, in the previous sentence: "Thomas Coenen, the Protestant minister serving the Dutch congregation in Smyrna, tells us ... that he received the title ''hakham'', the Sephardi honorific for a rabbi, when still an adolescent."</ref><ref name="Wigoder-1972">{{cite book |last1=Wigoder |first1=Geoffrey |title=Jewish Art and Civilization |date=1972 |page=44}}{{incomplete citation|date=June 2024}}</ref> His family were [[Romaniote Jews]] from [[Patras]].<ref name=":0" />

Active throughout the [[Ottoman Empire]], Zevi claimed to be the long-awaited [[Jewish Messiah]] and founded the [[Sabbateanism|Sabbatean movement]].{{sfnp|Bali|2008|pp=91-92}} Central to his teachings was the belief that during the [[Messianic Age]], acts traditionally considered [[sin|sinful]] would transform into [[righteousness|righteous ones]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=SHABBETHAI ẒEBI B. MORDECAI - JewishEncyclopedia.com |url=https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13480-shabbethai-zebi-b-mordecai |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=www.jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1971-01-01 |title=The Holiness of Sin |url=https://www.commentary.org/articles/gershom-scholem/the-holiness-of-sin/ |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=Commentary Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> This [[Antinomianism|antinomian]] doctrine led Zevi and his followers to deliberately violate [[Mitzvah|Jewish commandments]], a controversial practice that later inspired movements like the [[Frankism|Frankists]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Messianic Deviations: The Sabbatean and Frankist Movements in Jewish History |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379808224 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240806114958/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379808224_Messianic_Deviations_The_Sabbatean_and_Frankist_Movements_in_Jewish_History |archive-date=2024-08-06 |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=ResearchGate |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sabbatai Zevi: the Messianic Imposter |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4379679/jewish/Sabbatai-Zevi-the-Messianic-Imposter.htm |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=www.chabad.org |language=en}}</ref>

Upon arriving in [[Constantinople]] in February 1666, Sabbatai was imprisoned on the order of the [[grand vizier]] [[Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha]]. In September of that same year, after being moved from different prisons around the capital to the imperial courts' seat in Adrianople (now [[Edirne]]), he was judged on accusations of fomenting [[sedition]]. Sabbatai was given the choice of death or [[forced conversion|conversion to Islam]] by the [[Grand Vizier]] representing Sultan [[Mehmed IV]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The false messiah. Who was Sabbatai Zevi? |url=https://www.jhi.pl/en/articles/the-false-messiah-who-was-sabbatai-zevi,4472 |access-date=2025-06-10 |website=Żydowski Instytut Historyczny |language=en |quote=Most likely, the Turks gave Sabbatai a choice: conversion or death.}}</ref> He chose conversion, donning an [[Turban#Islam|Islamic turban]] from then on. The heads of the Ottoman state then rewarded him with a generous pension for complying with their political and religious plans.{{sfnp|Scholem|1973|pp=678–681}}{{sfnp|Hitchens|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lm9VdHv0OWEC&pg=PT123 123]}} About 300 families who followed Zevi also converted to Islam and became known as the [[Dönmeh|Dönme]], [[Turkish language|Turkish]] for "converts".<ref name="Kirsch-2010">{{cite magazine |last1=Kirsch |first1=Adam |title=The Other Secret Jews, review of Marc David Baer, ''The Dönme: Jewish Converts, Muslim Revolutionaries, and Secular Turks''|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/73081/the-other-secret-jews |magazine=The New Republic |date=15 February 2010|access-date=20 February 2010}}</ref>

Subsequently, the Ottomans banished him twice, first within Constantinople and when he was heard singing [[Psalms]] with [[Jews]] there, to a small town known today as [[Ulcinj]] in what is now [[Montenegro]]. He died in isolation.<ref name="Elsie-2010"/><ref name="KohlerMalter1905">{{Jewish Encyclopedia|article=SHABBETHAI ẒEBI B. MORDECAI|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=531&letter=S|author=[[Kaufmann Kohler]] & [[Henry Malter]]|inline=1}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
[[File:Agora, İzmir, 2019 12.jpg|thumb|''House of Sabbatai Zevi'', building in the [[Agora of Smyrna]] where Sabbatai Zevi supposedly lived]]

Sabbatai Zevi was born in the Ottoman city of [[Smyrna]], allegedly on [[Tisha B'Av]], one of Judaism's [[ta'anit|fast days]], during [[The Three Weeks]] in 1626. In Hebrew, ''Sabbatai'' means ''Saturn''; in Jewish tradition, "the reign of Sabbatai," the highest planet, was often linked to the advent of the Messiah.<ref>{{cite book|last=Maciejko|first=Pawel|title=The Mixed Multitude: Jacob Frank and the Frankist Movement, 1755-1816|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pTlTDMagXtoC&pg=PA45|year=2011|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-0458-2|page=45}}</ref> 

Zevi's family were [[Romaniote Jews]] from [[Patras]].<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Goldish |first1=Matt |title=The Sabbatean Prophets |date=2004 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge |page=2 |language=en}}</ref> His father, Mordecai, was a [[poultry]] dealer in the [[Morea]]. During the [[Ottoman–Venetian wars]], Smyrna became the center of [[Levant]]ine trade, and Mordecai became the Smyrnan agent of an English trading house, achieving some wealth in the process.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/> His sister, Orah Gadol, was a learned woman in her own right, well known among the Jews of Smyrna.

Following the prevailing Jewish custom of the time, Sabbatai's father had him study the [[Talmud]]. He attended a [[yeshiva]] under the [[chief rabbi]] of Smyrna, [[Joseph Escapa]]. Studies in [[halakha]] (Jewish law) did not appeal to him, but Zevi did attain proficiency in the Talmud. At the same time, he was fascinated by [[mysticism]] and [[Kabbalah]] and was influenced by [[Isaac Luria]]. [[Practical Kabbalah]], whose devotees used [[asceticism]] to communicate with God and the [[angel]]s to [[prediction|predict the future]] and perform [[miracle]]s, was especially appealing to him.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/> As well as Luria's writings, he read the ''[[Zohar]]'' and practiced asceticism and Kabbalistic purification exercises called ''[[tikkun olam|tikkunim]]''.<ref name="Wigoder-1972"/>

==Personal history==

===Influence of English millenarianism===
During the first half of the 17th century, [[millenarianism|millenarian]] ideas about the approach of the [[Messianic Age]] were popular. They included ideas about the [[Redemption (theology)#Judaism|redemption of the Jews]] and their return to the [[land of Israel]] with independent sovereignty. The [[apocalypse|apocalyptic]] year was identified by Christian authors as [[1666]], and millenarianism was widespread in England. This belief was so prevalent that [[Menasseh Ben Israel]], in his letter to [[Oliver Cromwell]] and the [[Rump Parliament]], appealed to it as a reason to [[Resettlement of the Jews in England|readmit Jews into England]], saying, "[T]he opinions of many [[Christians]] and mine do concur herein, that we both believe that the restoring time of our Nation into their native country is very near at hand."<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/>

As Sabbatai's father was the agent for an English trading house in Smyrna, he must have had business contacts with English people. His son may have learned something about Western millennial expectations at home.<ref>This theory was originally suggested by [[Heinrich Graetz|Graetz]]; [[Gershom Scholem]] argued forcefully against it in his major work on Sabbatai, quoted throughout this entry.</ref> Scholars are still assessing how much influence English and Dutch [[Reformed Christianity|Calvinist]] millenarianism had on the messianic movement that developed around Zevi's activities.<ref>{{cite book |last=Heyd |first=Michael |chapter=The 'Jewish Quaker': Christian Perceptions of Shabbatai Zevi as an Enthusiast |editor1-last=Coudert |editor1-first=Allison |editor2-first=Jeffrey |editor2-last=Shoulson |title=Hebraica Veritas? Christian Hebraists, Jews, and the Study of Judaism in Early Modern Europe |place=Philadelphia |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=2004 |pages=234–265}}</ref>

===Claims to being the expected Jewish Messiah===
{{main|Messiah in Judaism}}
Along with general messianic beliefs, there was another [[computation]] based on a passage in the ''Zohar'', a famous Jewish mystical text, that the [[Israelites]] would be redeemed by the long-awaited Jewish Messiah in 1648.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/>

In 1648, Shabbatai announced to his followers in Smyrna that he was the anticipated messianic redeemer. To prove this, he started to pronounce the [[Tetragrammaton]], an act prohibited to all but the [[High Priest of Israel]] in the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] on [[Yom Kippur]]. Since the Temple had been destroyed in the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)]], this act was highly symbolic. Shabbatai also claimed he could fly, but told his followers that he could not do so publicly because they were "not worthy enough" to witness it. He also claimed to have [[religious experience|visions of God]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Abramson |first1=Henry |title=Who was Shabbetai Tsvi? |url=https://henryabramson.com/2012/02/02/shabbetai-tsvi-false-messiah/ |website=Henryabramson.com |date=2 February 2012 }}</ref>

Shabbatai revealed his claim to being the Messiah early on to [[Isaac Silveyra]] and [[Moses Pinheiro]], the latter the grandfather of the Italian rabbi [[Joseph Ergas]].<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/>

However, at 22, Shabbatai was still too young to be considered an established rabbinic authority; his influence in the local community was limited. Even though he had led the pious life of a mystic in Smyrna for several years, the older, more established rabbinic leadership was suspicious of his activities and the local college of rabbis. Headed by his teacher, [[Joseph Escapa]], they watched him. When his messianic pretensions became too bold, he and his followers were subjected to an edict of ''[[herem (censure)|ḥerem]]'', a type of [[excommunication]] in [[Judaism]].<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/>

In about 1651 (or 1654), the rabbis [[herem (censure)|banished]] Shabbatai and his disciples from Smyrna. It is uncertain where he went from there, but by 1658, he surfaced in [[Constantinople]]. There, he met a preacher, [[Abraham Yachini]], a disciple of the Talmudic scholar [[Joseph Trani]], who confirmed his messianic mission. Yachini is said to have forged a manuscript in archaic characters that attested to Shabbatai's claim to be the Messiah.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/> It was entitled ''The Great Wisdom of Solomon'' and began:
{{blockquote|I, Abraham, was confined in a cave for forty years, and I wondered greatly that the time of miracles did not arrive. Then was heard a voice proclaiming, "A son will be born in the Hebrew year 5386 <nowiki>[</nowiki>the year 1626 CE<nowiki>]</nowiki> to Mordecai Zevi; and he will be called Shabbethai. He will humble the great dragon; ... he, the true Messiah, will sit upon My throne."<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/>}}

===In Salonica, Cairo, and Jerusalem===
[[File:20121020 exterior of Yeni Mosque Thessaloniki Greece.jpg|thumb|The [[Yeni Mosque, Thessaloniki]], built by the [[Dönme]] community during the late Ottoman period.]]

Equipped with this document, Sabbatai chose [[Thessaloniki|Salonica]], which was then a hub of Kabbalistic dialogue, as his base. He proclaimed himself the Messiah, or "anointed one," and attracted a large following by hosting various mystical events. For instance, he celebrated his marriage to the [[Torah]], referring to it as the "One Without End" (the ''[[Ein Sof]]''), and organized a solemn festival to which he invited his friends. However, the rabbis of Salonica, led by [[Abraham de Boton]], expelled him from the city. Reports vary on his subsequent movements, with [[Alexandria]], [[Athens]], Constantinople, [[Jerusalem]], and Smyrna mentioned as possible temporary bases he might have taken. Eventually, he settled in [[Cairo]], where he lived for about two years (1660–1662).<ref name="KohlerMalter1905" />

There he befriended [[Raphael Joseph Halabi]], a wealthy and influential Jew who held the high position of mint-master and [[tax farming|tax farmer]] in Ottoman Cairo. Raphael Joseph led an ascetic life, which included fasting, bathing in cold water, and [[scourging]] himself at night. He used his great wealth for charity, supporting poor Talmudists and Kabbalists, fifty of whom reportedly regularly dined at his table. He became a supporter and promoter of Sabbatai's messianic claims.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905" />

In approximately 1663, Sabbatai moved to Jerusalem, where he resumed his former ascetic practices of frequent fasting and other penances. Many saw this as proof of his extraordinary [[piety]]. He was said to have a good voice and to attract large audiences when he sang [[psalms]] all night long or Spanish love songs, to which he gave mystical interpretations. At other times, he prayed and cried at the graves of pious men and women or distributed [[confectionery|confections]] to children on the streets. Gradually, he gathered a larger circle of adherents.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905" />

At the time, the Jewish community in Jerusalem was desperately in need of money to pay the heavy taxes levied by the Ottoman government. Known as the favourite of the rich and powerful, Raphael Joseph Halabi, Sabbatai was chosen to appeal to him for money and support. His success in securing the funds to pay off the Ottomans raised his prestige. His followers dated his public career from this journey to Cairo.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905" />

===Marriage to Sarah===
Another significant event during his second stay in Cairo contributed to Sabbatai's reputation in the Jewish community. During the [[Khmelnytsky Uprising]] in Poland, a young Jewish orphan named Sarah was discovered by Christians and sent to a [[convent]] for care. After ten years, at around sixteen, she escaped—claiming it was through a miracle—and made her way to [[Amsterdam]]. Subsequently, she traveled to [[Livorno]], where reports indicated that she led a life of [[prostitution]] while also embracing the belief that she would become the bride of the Messiah, whose arrival was thought to be imminent.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/>

When a report of her adventures reached Cairo, Sabbatai claimed that such a consort had been promised to him in a dream because he, as the Messiah, was bound to fall in love with an unchaste woman. He reportedly sent messengers to Livorno to bring Sarah to him, and they were married at Halabi's house. Her beauty and eccentricity reportedly helped him gain new followers. Through her, a new romantic and licentious element entered Sabbatai's career. The overturning of her past life was interpreted by Sabbatai's followers as further confirmation of his messiahship, following the Biblical story of the prophet [[Hosea]], who had also been commanded to take a "wife of whoredom" as the first symbolic act of his calling.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/>

===Nathan of Gaza===
[[File:Natan ha-ʿAzatí 1669 V01-1.1 cropped.jpg|200px|thumb|right|One of the earliest gravure depictions of Nathan of Gaza, published in Thomas Coenen's book <small>{{Lang|nl|Ydele Verwachtinge der Joden}}</small>, dated 1669.]]
{{Main|Nathan of Gaza}}
With Halabi's financial and political backing, a charming wife, and many additional followers, Shabbatai returned to Jerusalem in triumph. Passing through the city of [[Gaza City|Gaza]], which at the time had an important Jewish community, he met Nathan Benjamin Levi, known since as [[Nathan of Gaza]] ({{langx|he|נתן העזתי|Nāṯān hāʿAzzāṯi}}), who became very active in Shabbatai's messianic career, serving as his right-hand man and declaring himself to be the risen [[Elijah]], who, it was predicted, would proclaim the arrival of the Messiah. In 1665, Nathan announced that the [[Messianic Age]] would begin in 1666 with the conquest of the world without bloodshed. The Messiah would lead the [[Ten Lost Tribes]] back to the [[Holy Land]], "riding on a lion with a seven-headed dragon in its jaws".<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/>

The rabbis of Jerusalem viewed Shabbatai's movement with great suspicion and threatened its followers with [[excommunication]]. Acknowledging that Jerusalem was not the best place to carry out his plans, Shabbatai left for his native Smyrna. Nathan proclaimed that, henceforth, [[Gaza City|Gaza]], rather than Jerusalem, would be the sacred city. On his way from Jerusalem to Smyrna, Shabbatai was greeted enthusiastically in [[Aleppo]]. In Smyrna, which he reached in the autumn of 1665, great homage was paid to him. After some hesitation, he declared himself to be the expected Messiah during [[Rosh Hashanah]] in 1665; his declaration was made in the [[synagogue]] with the blowing of [[shofar]]s and shouts of "Long live our King, our Messiah!"<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/>

His followers then began to refer to him as ''AMIRAH'', a [[Hebrew abbreviations|Hebrew acronym]] for the phrase "Our Lord and King, his Majesty be exalted" (''Adoneinu Malkeinu Yarum Hodo'').

===Proclaimed messiah===
[[Image:Shabbatai2.jpg|thumb|"Sabbatai Zevi enthroned" (image from the Amsterdam/Jewish publication ''Tikkun'', Amsterdam, 1666).]]
Shabbatai, assisted by his wife, became the community leader and used his power to crush any opposition. He deposed the existing rabbi of Smyrna, [[Aaron Lapapa]], and appointed [[Chaim Benveniste]] in his place. Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands were already centres of his messianic movement, and the Jews of [[Hamburg]] and [[Amsterdam]] learned of the events in Smyrna from Christians. [[Henry Oldenburg]], a German savant who became the first secretary of the [[Royal Society]], wrote to [[Baruch Spinoza]] (''Spinozae Epistolae'' No. 33): "All the world here is talking of a rumour of the return of the Israelites ... to their own country. ... Should the news be confirmed, it may bring about a revolution in all things."<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/>

Shabbatai's followers soon included many prominent rabbis, such as [[Isaac Aboab da Fonseca]], [[Moses Raphael de Aguilar]], [[Moshe ben Yonatan Galante]], [[Moses ben Mordecai Zacuto]], and [[Chaim Benveniste]]. [[Benjamin Musaphia]], an adherent of Spinoza, also became a follower. Meanwhile, fantastic reports circulated and were widely believed. For example, it was said, "In the north of [[Scotland]] a ship had appeared with silken sails and ropes, manned by sailors who spoke [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]. The flag bore the inscription 'The Twelve Tribes of Israel'."<ref>{{cite book|last=Lukach|first=Harry Charles|title=The City of Dancing Dervishes and Other Sketches and Studies from the Near East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IglFAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA189|year=1914|publisher=Macmillan and Company|location=London|pages=189–190}}</ref> The Jewish community of [[Avignon]], France, prepared to emigrate to the new kingdom in the spring of 1666.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/>

Jewish readiness to believe Shabbatai Zevi's messianic claims may largely be explained by the desperate state of European Jewry in the mid-17th century. The bloody [[pogrom]]s of the Khmelnytsky Uprising had wiped out an estimated 10,000–20,000 Jews in Eastern Europe and destroyed many centres of Jewish learning and communal life.

===Spread of Sabbatai Zevi's influence===
{{Main|Sabbateans}}
Probably with his consent, Shabbatai's adherents planned to abolish most of the [[halakha]] in an act of [[antinomianism]]. This included the [[613 commandments|commandments]], because, according to a minority opinion in the Talmud, in the Messianic Age, there would no longer be holy obligations. The fast of the [[Tenth of Tevet]] became a day of feasting and rejoicing.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/> In contrast to this viewpoint, Maoz Kahane demonstrated that Shabbatai himself did not aim to alter the entirety of halakha, but instead sought to modify specific aspects of it. Furthermore, each of these modifications was justified by a halakhic rationale.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kahana |first=Maoz |date=2016 |title=Shabbetai Zevi — the Halakhic Man |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24871225 |journal=[[Zion]] |language=he |volume=81 |issue=3/4 |pages=391–433 |jstor=24871225 |issn=0044-4758}}</ref> [[Samuel Primo]], who became Sabbatai's secretary when he went to Smyrna, directed the following circular to all of the Jews in the name of the Messiah:
{{blockquote|The first-begotten Son of God, Shabbethai Tsebi, Messiah and Redeemer of the people of Israel, to all the sons of Israel, Peace! Since ye have been deemed worthy to behold the great day and the fulfilment of God's word by the Prophets, your lament and sorrow must be changed into joy, and your fasting into merriment; for ye shall weep no more. Rejoice with song and melody, and change the day formerly spent in sadness and sorrow into a day of jubilee, because I have appeared.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/>}}
Primo's message was considered blasphemous because Shabbatai wanted to celebrate his birthday rather than observe the significant holy day of mourning, [[Tisha B'Av]]. There was outrage and dissension in the communities, while many leaders sympathetic to the movement were shocked by such radical innovations. [[Solomon Nissim Algazi]], a prominent Talmudist of Smyrna, and other members of the rabbinate who opposed the abolition of the fast, narrowly escaped death at the hands of Sabbatai's followers.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/>

===In Constantinople===
At the beginning of 1666, Shabbatai left Smyrna for Constantinople, possibly forced out by city officials. Since Nathan of Gaza had prophesied that, once in Constantinople, Shabbatai would place the [[sultan]]'s crown on his head, the [[grand vizier]], [[Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha]], ordered Shabbatai's immediate arrest and had him imprisoned, maybe to avoid any doubts as to the power still wielded by the Sultanate.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/> However, his imprisonment discouraged neither Shabbatai nor his followers. He was treated well in prison, perhaps due to bribes, which strengthened his followers' belief in him. Meanwhile, Nathan of Gaza, Abraham Yakhini, and others circulated reports of the Messiah's miraculous activities in the Ottoman capital, and messianic expectations in the [[Jewish diaspora]] continued to rise.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905" />

===At Abydos (''Migdal Oz'')===
After two months' imprisonment in Constantinople, Shabbatai was moved to the castle prison at [[Abydos, Hellespont]], accompanied by some of his friends. The Sabbateans then renamed the fortress ''Migdal ʿOz'' "Tower of Strength." As Shabbatai had arrived on the day preceding [[Passover]], he slew a [[Passover sacrifice|paschal lamb]] for himself and his followers and ate it with its fat, a violation of halakha. He is said to have pronounced over it the benediction, "Blessed be God who has restored that which was forbidden."<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/>

The immense sums sent to him by his rich followers, the charms of the queenly Sarah, and the cooperation shown by the Ottoman officials and others enabled Shabbatai to show off almost royal splendor in prison at Abydos. Accounts of his life there were exaggerated and spread among Jews in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in some parts of Europe, Jews began to unroof their houses and prepare for a new "exodus". In almost every synagogue, Sabbatai's initials were posted. Prayers for him were inserted in the following form: "Bless our Lord and King, the holy and righteous Sabbatai Zevi, the Messiah of the God of Jacob." In [[Hamburg]], the council introduced the custom of praying for Shabbatai not only on [[Shabbat]], but also on Monday and Thursday; unbelievers were compelled to remain in the synagogue and join in the prayer with a loud [[Amen]]. Sabbatai's picture was printed with that of [[King David]] in most prayer books along with his Kabbalistic formulas and penances.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/>

Such innovations caused great commotion in some communities. In [[Moravia]], excitement reached such a pitch that the government had to intervene, while at [[Salé]], Morocco, the [[emir]] ordered a persecution of the Jews. During this period, Shabbatai declared the fasts of the [[Seventeenth of Tammuz]] and Tisha B'Av (his birthday) would henceforth be feast days and contemplated converting [[Yom Kippur]] to a day of celebration.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/>

===Nehemiah HaKohen===
{{Main|Nehemiah HaKohen}}
[[File:Shabbatai 3.jpg|thumb|Sabbatai Zevi as a prisoner in the castle at Abydos.]]
While Sabbatai was in Abydos prison, an incident ultimately led to his downfall. Polish Jewish communities, hearing of Sabbatai's Messianic claims, sent the Kabbalist [[Nehemiah HaKohen]] to interview him in his captivity.<ref>See [https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11426-nehemiah-ha-kohen|''Jewish Encyclopedia'', Nehemiah ha-Kohen]</ref> Nehemiah reached Abydos, after a journey of three months at the beginning of September 1666. The meeting did not go well—Nehemiah declared Sabbatai an impostor. Some Sabbataians are said to have contemplated murdering Nehemiah as a rival.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/>

===Conversion to Islam===<!-- This section is linked from [[Sabbateans]] -->
Nehemiah, however, escaped to Constantinople, where he pretended to embrace [[Islam]] to get an audience with the [[kaymakam]] to tell him of Shabbatai's ambitions. The kaymakam informed Sultan [[Mehmed IV]]. Shabbatai was removed from Abydos and taken to [[Adrianople]],<ref name="KohlerMalter1905"/> where the vizier gave him three choices: subject himself to a trial of his divinity in the form of a volley of arrows (should the archers miss, his divinity would be proven), be impaled, or [[convert to Islam]].{{sfnp|Hitchens|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lm9VdHv0OWEC&pg=PT123 123]}}

On the following day (September 16, 1666), Zevi appeared before the sultan, cast off his Jewish clothing, and put a [[turban]] on his head, thereby converting to Islam. Satisfied, the sultan rewarded Shabbatai by conferring on him the title [[effendi]] and appointing him as his doorkeeper on a generous salary. Sarah and approximately 300 families among his followers also converted to Islam. Thereafter, these new Muslims were known as the [[Dönme]].<ref name="Kirsch-2010" /> Shabbatai was ordered [[Polygyny in Islam|to take a second wife]] to confirm his conversion. Some days afterwards, he wrote to the community in Smyrna, "God has made me an Ishmaelite; He commanded, and it was done. The ninth day of my regeneration."<ref name="KohlerMalter1905" />

===Disillusionment===
[[File:Shabbatai4.jpg|thumb|left|Former followers of Sabbatai do penance for their support of him.]]
Shabbatai's conversion devastated his followers, and Muslims and Christians alike ridiculed them. Despite his [[apostasy]], many of his adherents still believed in him, claiming that his conversion was a part of the messianic scheme. Those such as Nathan of Gaza and Primo, who were interested in maintaining the movement, encouraged such belief. In many communities, the Seventeenth of Tammuz and Tisha B'Av were still observed as feast days despite bans and excommunications by the rabbis.<ref name="KohlerMalter1905" />

At times, Sabbatai assumed the role of a pious Muslim and reviled Judaism; at others, he acted as a Jew. In March 1668, he announced that he had been filled with the [[Holy Spirit in Judaism|Holy Spirit]] at Passover and had received a revelation.

Either Shabbatai or one of his followers published a mystical work claiming he was the true Messiah despite his conversion, and that his goal was to bring thousands of Muslims to Judaism. However, he told the Sultan that he was trying to convert Jews to Islam, and the Sultan permitted him to associate with other Jews and preach in their synagogues.

===Last years===
Gradually, the Turks grew tired of Sabbatai's antics and ended his doorkeeper's salary. At the beginning of 1673, the sultan had Zevi exiled to [[Ulcinj]] (''Dulcigno'', {{langx|tr|Ulkum}}), where his wife died in 1674. Zevi then married Esther, the daughter of rabbi Joseph Filosoff of Thessaloniki.{{sfnp|Halperin|2007|p=13}}

===Death===
In August 1676, Sabbatai wrote to the Jewish community in [[Berat|Berat, Albania]], requesting religious books.<ref name="Elsie-2010" /> Shortly thereafter, he died in isolation—according to some accounts, on September 17, 1676, the [[High Holy Days|High Holy Day]] of [[Yom Kippur]].{{sfnp|Halperin|2007|p=13}} Upon his death, his widow, brother, and children by his first wife moved to Thessaloniki.{{sfnp|Halperin|2007|p=13}}

His tomb was believed to be in Berat, at a [[Sufi lodge]] built in the yard of the [[King Mosque, Berat]] ({{langx|sq|Xhamia e Mbretit}}), where a tomb stood until 1967. Research done in 1985 suggested that he was buried in [[Dulcigno]].<ref>Yossef Yinnon, ''קברו של משיח ישמעאל'', Pe'amim 25 (1985), pp. 13-35. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/23423878]; this also still needs to be compared with newer research on the subject done in {{harvp|Freely|2001}}.</ref> His biographer, [[Gershom Scholem]], mentioned that his tomb was visited by Dönme [[pilgrimage|pilgrims]] from Salonika until the early 20th century.<ref name="Elsie-2010">{{cite book|last=Elsie |first=Robert|author-link=Robert Elsie|title=Historical Dictionary of Albania|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6inIiCF_930C&pg=PA411|year=2010|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8108-6188-6|page=411}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
{{Main|Sabbateans|Dönmeh}}
[[File:2023 Ulcinj Shabbatai Tzvi.jpg|thumb|Statue of Sabbatai Zevi in [[Ulcinj]], [[Montenegro]]]]
By the 19th century, the Dönme had become prominent in the tobacco and textile trades. They established progressive schools, and some members became politically active. Many joined the [[Committee of Union and Progress]] (CUP), the revolutionary party known as the [[Young Turks]]. With the major Dönmeh city of [[Thessaloniki|Selanik]] (now Thessaloniki) becoming part of Greece in 1912, Greece expelled the Muslims, including the Dönme, from its territory, with most migrating to Turkey. This was finalized with the [[Population exchange between Greece and Turkey|1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey]]. By the mid-20th century, they had become highly assimilated.<ref name="Kirsch-2010" />

Although little is known about them, various groups called Dönme continue to follow Sabbatai Zevi today, mostly in [[Turkey]].{{sfnp|Hitchens|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Lm9VdHv0OWEC&pg=PT124 124]}} Estimates of the numbers vary. As of 2016, there are perhaps 2,000 believing Dönme still living in Turkey, though this is dwarfed by the number of individuals with descent from the group.<ref name="Ashdown-2016">{{cite web|last=Ashdown|first=Nick|url=https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Turkish-Jewrys-secret-medieval-messianics-survive-456030|title=Turkish Jewry's secret medieval messianics survive|work=The Jerusalem Post|date=June 6, 2016}}</ref> They have been described as presenting themselves as Muslim in public whilst practising their own forms of messianic/mystical Jewish beliefs in private.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/Default.aspx?pageID=238&nID=91139&NewsCatID=386|title=INTERVIEW: Cengiz Şişman on the Dönmes' 350-year 'burden of silence' – BOOKS|work=Hurriyet Daily News|date=14 November 2015}}</ref> Some claim that Dönme still play a role in Turkish politics (one of interference), particularly some political parties in Turkey like the [[Nationalist Movement Party|MHP]]. However, others dismiss it as an [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] [[conspiracy theory]].<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/1467-954X.12016 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264523708 |title=Political Parties' Perceptions and Uses of Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories in Turkey |date=2013 |last1=Nefes |first1=Türkay Salim |journal=The Sociological Review |volume=61 |issue=2 |pages=247–264 }}</ref> 

The Dönme eventually split into three sects, each with quite different beliefs, as Ottoman Jewish scholars [[Abraham Danon]] and [[Joseph Nehama]] pointed out in French-language articles in the ''Jewish Studies'' journal over a hundred years ago.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Abraham |last=Danon |title=Sur Sabbatai Cevi et sa secte |journal=Revue des Études Juives |volume=37 |date=1898 |pages=103–110 |doi=10.3406/rjuiv.1898.4286 |lang=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Joseph |last=Néhama |title=Sabbataï Sevi et les Sabbatéens de Salonique |journal=Revue des Écoles de l'Alliance Israélite |volume=3 |date=1902 |pages=289–323 |lang=fr}}</ref> In the 1930s a comprehensive study on the history of the sects was also published in French by Abraham Galanté.<ref>{{cite book |first=Abraham |last=Galanté |title=Nouveaux documents sur Sabbetaï Sevi: Organisation et us et coutumes de ses adeptes |place=Istanbul |publisher=Fratelli Haim |year=1935 |lang=fr}}</ref> More recently, Professor Cengiz Şişman has published a new study called ''The Burden of Silence''.{{sfnp|Sisman|2015}}<ref name="Ashdown-2016" /> According to a review published in the Israeli newspaper [[Jerusalem Post Lite|''The Jerusalem Post'']], the branch known as Karakaş follow Sufi-influenced practices, while the Kapancıs have not been influenced by Islam at all and are now completely secular.<ref name="Ashdown-2016" />

A house in the centre of İzmir, close to the Agora, has long been associated with Sabbetai Zevi. Having been left in ruins as recently as 2015, it has since been restored to its original style.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Kültür Envanteri - Sevi Kortejosu|date=6 August 2020 |url=https://kulturenvanteri.com/yer/sabatay-sevi-evi/#16/38.418495/27.137014}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Judaism}}
* [[Frankism]]
* [[Isaac La Peyrère]]
* [[Jacob Frank]]
* [[Jewish Messiah claimants]]
* [[Apostasy in Judaism]]
* [[List of messiah claimants]]
* [[Messiah complex]]
* [[Schisms among the Jews]]
* "[[Who is a Jew?]]"

==Notes==
{{Noteslist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Works cited===
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book|title=A Scapegoat for All Seasons: The Dönmes or Crypto-jews of Turkey|last=Bali|first=Rifat N.|publisher=Isis Press|year=2008|isbn=978-975-428-363-1|location=Istanbul}}
* {{cite book |author-link=John Freely |last=Freely |first=John |title=The Lost Messiah: In Search of the Mystical Rabbi Sabbatai Sevi |place=New York |publisher=Overlook Press |year=2001 |isbn=1-58567-318-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Halperin|first=David Joel|title=Sabbatai Zevi: Testimonies to a Fallen Messiah|publisher=Littman Library of Jewish Civilization|year=2007|isbn=978-1-904113-25-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Hitchens|first=Christopher|title=God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything|year=2011|publisher=Atlantic Books|location=London|isbn=978-0-85789-715-2}}
* {{cite book |author-link=Gershom Scholem |last=Scholem |first=Gershom |title=Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah: 1626–1676 |place=London |publisher=Routledge Kegan Paul |year=1973 |isbn=0-7100-7703-3 |postscript=;}} American edition: Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|0-691-09916-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Sisman |first=Cengiz |title=The Burden of Silence: Sabbatai Sevi and the Evolution of the Ottoman-Turkish Dönmes |place=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-19-024405-7}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Dweck |first=Yaacob |isbn=978-0-691-18357-2 |title=Dissident Rabbi: The Life of Jacob Sasportas |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2019 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Goldish |first=Matt |title=The Sabbatean Prophets |place=Cambridge |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2004 |ref=none}}
* {{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.5181012 |title=In search of followers of the false messiah |first=Orly |last=Halpern |newspaper=[[Haaretz]] |date=28 June 2002 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |author-link=Moshe Idel |last=Idel |first=Moshe |title=Messianic Mystics |place=New Haven |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1998 |chapter=Sabbateanism and Mysticism |pages=183–211 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Maciejko |editor-first=Paweł |title=Sabbatian Heresy: Writings on Mysticism, Messianism, & the Origins of Jewish Modernity |place=Waltham, Mass. |publisher=Brandeis University Press |year=2017 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Rapoport-Albert |first=Ada |title=Women and the Messianic Heresy of Sabbatai Zevi, 1666–1816 |place=Oxford |publisher=The Littman Library of Jewish Civilisation |year=2011 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Sisman |first=Cengiz |title=Transcending Diaspora: Studies on Sabbateanism and Dönmes |place=Istanbul |publisher=Libra Publishing |year=2016 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Van der Haven |first=Alexander |title=From Lowly Metaphor to Divine Flesh: Sarah the Ashkenazi, Sabbatai Tsevi's Messianic Queen and the Sabbatian Movement |series=Menasseh ben Israel Instituut Studies |volume=7 |place=Amsterdam |publisher=University of Amsterdam/Menasseh ben Israel Institute |year=2012 |isbn=978-90-815860-5-4 |ref=none}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Shabbatai Tzvi}}
* [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Zvi.html Shabbetai Zvi] [[Jewish Virtual Library]]
* [https://henryabramson.com/2021/11/21/shabbetai-tsvi-false-messiah-jewish-history-lab/ Shabbetai Tsvi, False Messiah] Video Lecture by [[Henry Abramson]]
* [https://thinktorah.org/kabbalah-messianic-fervor-and-the-debacle-of-shabtai-tzvi/ Shabbetai Tzvi and the Dangers of Messianic Kabbala] Video lecture by Rabbi Menachem Levine

{{Sabbateanism}}
{{Jews in Greece}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zevi, Sabbatai}}
[[Category:1626 births]]
[[Category:1676 deaths]]
[[Category:17th-century apocalypticists]]
[[Category:17th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Converts to Islam from Judaism]]
[[Category:Jewish messiah claimants]]
[[Category:Kabbalists]]
[[Category:Ashkenazi Jews from the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Romaniote Jews]]
[[Category:17th-century Sephardi Jews]]
[[Category:Smyrniote Jews]]
[[Category:Sabbateans]]
[[Category:Sephardi Jews from the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Ottoman Sufis]]
[[Category:Shelichei derabonan (rabbis)]]
[[Category:Founders of religions]]