JEWISH MESSIANISM IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE FROM THE 17TH TO THE 20TH CENTURIES

Abstract

Religious messianism has always been one of the most important features of Judaism and infl uenced the history of the Jewish people and Jewish thought throughout their existence. One of the most famous cases of the manifestation of Jewish messianism was the movement of the Sabbateans, which arose on the territory of the Ottoman Empire in the mid-17th century. Sabbatai Zevi, the leader of the movement, was recognized as the Messiah by most Jewish communities of the time. After he converted to Islam in 1666, however, most of his former supporters rejected him. At the same time, his most radical adherents followed him and also adopted a new faith, forming closed groups of “believers” (Hebrew ma’aminim), or “apostates” (Turkish donmeh). They secretly continued to profess an unorthodox (Sabbatean) version of Judaism, characterized by antinomianism and theological innovations. Donmeh continued to exist on the territory of the Islamic world during the 18–20th centuries, becoming one of the factors that infl uenced the political and cultural life of the Ottoman Empire. The article examines the teaching of this messianic school, the attitude of its adherents to Islam, the role of Donmeh in the processes of secularization in the Ottoman Empire and in the revolutionary movement in Turkey at the beginning of the 20th century. In addition, we analyze the myths about the Donme conspiracy that spread in Turkish society throughout the 20th century and are actively used by various political forces nowadays.