Born in Turkey in 1626, Sabetai Zevi was a Talmud scholar and mystic with a special interest in Kabbalah. In 1648, he announced himself as the Messiah, which unsurprisingly led to exclusion by the rabbis of his native city. Zevi traveled all around and gathered a following, finally arriving in Thessaloniki to preach his word. His blasphemous behavior saw him expelled from yet another city. In 1665, he met a man calling himself Nathan The Prophet, and encouraged by his new friend, announced once again that he was the Messiah, and was destined to take the crown of Sultan and bring back the lost tribes of Israel. He was arrested in Istanbul in 1666 and brought to trial before the Sultan To save himself, Zevi converted to Islam. He was given the name Aziz Mehmed Effendi and live the rest of his life as a Muslim, though he secretly participated in Jewish rituals for the rest of his life. He died in 1676.