The Sabbatean movement ranks among the most significant episodes in early modern Jewish history. Proclaimed the Messiah in 1665, Sabbatai Zevi inspired an extraordinary wave of expectation that spread rapidly through Jewish communities from the Ottoman Empire to western Europe, prompting thousands to anticipate the imminent redemption and restoration of Israel. His dramatic apostasy to Islam in 1666 transformed that hope into one of Judaism's greatest collective crises, yet the movement continued to shape Jewish religious thought and messianic speculation for generations. Equally significant is the contemporary response preserved in these broadsides. As demonstrated by modern scholarship, the rise and fall of Sabbatai Zevi generated one of the earliest international media phenomena of the seventeenth century, with newspapers, pamphlets, and illustrated broadsides disseminating reports—often sensationalized or entirely fictitious—to a remarkably wide European readership. These engravings therefore stand not only as rare witnesses to the Sabbatean movement itself, but also to the emergence of illustrated news culture in early modern Europe.

List of broadsides:

1. Ausführliche Relation von den neuentstandenen Juedischen Propheten Nathan Levi und denen zusammen rottierten Juden oder zehen Stämmen Israels.

Prominently placed in the forefront of the engraving is the new “messiah” Shabthai Tzvi. The artist highlights the most significant stations from Sabbatai Zevi’s revelation, through Nathan’s anointment of the new Jewish king. The text recounts wonders related to Nathan and his prophetic skills. (Scholem no. 70).

2. Verwunderlicher Anfang und schmählicher Aussgang. Des unlängst Neuentstandenen Juden Propheten Nathan Levi und des von Ihme creirten und Neuerwehlten Königs oder Jüdischen Messiae Sabezae folgends aber Jossvahel Cam genaant.

A long heading set above eight dramatic copper illustrations, which describe the rise and fall of the messiah Sabbatai Zevi. The elaborate text not only describes the events of Sabbatai Zevi’s life but also reflects on the effects the events had on his many followers who not only supported him, but would have fought for him. Concludes with a description of the martyrdom of Sabbatai Zevi and the reaction of the Jewish population. (Scholem no. 72).

3. Dess vermeinten Jüdischen Messiae entdeckter Betrug und Abfall. Wie solches aus Constantinopel von glaubwürdiger Hand unter dem dato des 10. und 20. Novemb. Anno 1666, nacher Wien.

This broadside depicts the exposure and capture of Sabbatai Zevi as a false messiah. Nine oval copper engravings depict the nine stations of the ordeal of Sabbatai Zevi. Each contains numbers, which correspond to captions at the end of the descriptive text. Starting with Sabbatai Zevi’s capture and imprisonment in Constantinople, through being mocked, his abjuration of Judaism, his conversion to Islam and finally the conversion of his wife and some of his followers. The Jews are described as having waited for the messiah for so long that, those who did not follow Sabbatai Zevi into Islam were left bereft and deeply disillusioned. (Scholem no. 75).

4. Wunder über Wunder. Neue Relation von dem neu entstandenen der Juden vermeinten Messiam Josvaehel Cams, und dess Propheten Nathan Levi und denen zusammen rottirenden Juden von den zehen Stammen Israelis.

Evocatively shown in this broadside are the circumstances of the Sabbatai Zevi debacle. It explicitly depicts Sabbatai Zevi being tortured, surrounded by worshipping followers and onlookers. The text refers to an account from Livorno in 1666 that describes Sabbatai Zevi’s rise and closes with a reference to an account from Amsterdam dated 2 March 1666, which explicates the dismay of the Jews when Sabbatai Zevi converted. (Scholem no. 76).

Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676):

He was born at Smyrna on the Aegean coast of Anatolia (present-day İzmir, Turkey); he was the founder of the Sabbatean movement and claimed to be the long-awaited Jewish Messiah.

Around 1648, Sabbatai began declaring to his followers in Smyrna that he was the promised Redeemer. Among the acts that brought him into conflict with the rabbinic authorities was his public pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton, an act prohibited within Judaism. As a result, he and several of his followers were banished from Smyrna. After periods in Constantinople (modern Istanbul), he travelled to Jerusalem, where his conviction of his messianic mission became increasingly pronounced. He adopted rigorous ascetic practices, including prolonged fasting and other forms of self-denial, and engaged in actions intended to express his prophetic vocation. During this period he attracted a growing circle of followers, among them Nathan Benjamin Levi, better known as Nathan of Gaza, who became his principal supporter and proclaimed himself the prophet Elijah, whose appearance was traditionally understood to herald the coming of the Messiah.

In 1665, Nathan announced that the Messianic age would begin the following year. He proclaimed that the Messiah would gather the Ten Lost Tribes and restore them to the Holy Land. The rabbis of Jerusalem regarded the movement with deep suspicion and threatened its adherents with excommunication. Sabbatai subsequently departed Jerusalem and returned to Smyrna.

Nathan further proclaimed that Gaza, rather than Jerusalem, would become the centre of the Messianic age. He also predicted that, upon reaching Constantinople, Sabbatai would assume temporal authority. Instead, Sabbatai was arrested by the Ottoman authorities and imprisoned before being transferred to Adrianople (modern Edirne). There he was presented with the choice of demonstrating his claims under a trial, accepting execution, or converting to Islam. In September 1666, he embraced Islam in the presence of Sultan Mehmed IV, adopting Turkish dress and abandoning his public Jewish identity.

His conversion profoundly shocked many of his followers. Some also converted to Islam, while others abandoned the movement. Nevertheless, a significant number continued to believe that his conversion formed part of a hidden messianic plan. Sabbatai was later exiled to Dulcigno (modern Ulcinj, Montenegro), where he died in 1676.

History of printing:

These four broadsides contain the same layout and descriptive parts. They begin with a bolded header, that is followed by a longer and descriptive expansion on the title’s theme. Underneath this heading is a rectangular copperplate engraving with multiple scenes, each denoted by a number or a letter. Below the engraving is a three-column text that tells the story of the illustrations and provides additional information. Based on the uniformity of design, layout, artistic interpretation of figures, architectural motifs, printer’s decorative borders surrounding each broadside and equality in size, it appears that all four of these broadsides are part of a set of five published successively in Augsburg as an illustrated chronicle of the events and legends surrounding the story of Sabbatai Zevi in the years 1666/7. They correspond to Scholem numbers 70, 72, 75 & 76, lacking Scholem no. 71.

Scholem numbers 70, 72, & 75 have the descriptive captions identified on the bottom right corner, which follows the end of the text in the third column. No. 76, Wunder über Wunder, has the descriptive captions noted by letters and are printed along the bottom of the sheet between the text and the decorative printed border.

Dating:

Although there is no printed place of publication and the date 1666 occurs only in two of these four broadsides, recent scholarship argues that they were all printed in Augsburg. See Gershom Scholem, Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah, 1626-1676 (Princeton, 1973), pp. 942-944. Furthermore, a detailed article by Ingrid Maier and Winfried Schumacher, Ein Medien- Hype im 17. Jarhhundert? Fünf illustrierte Drucke aus dem Jahre 1666 über die angebliche Hinrichtung von Sabbatai Zwi, in: Quarendo 39 (2009) pp. 133-167, attributes them directly to the Augsburg printer Hans (Johann) Schultes, who was active in Augsburg from 1627-67.

Provenance: Kestenbaum & Company, (13th November, 2014, lot 319, realized $60,000); European private collection.

Rarity and census:

According to OCLC and academic resources, no copies of these broadsides appear to exist in North America nor Israel; we locate copies in Germany, Switzerland and England. Exceptionally rare, only two German institutions own 3 of the 4 broadsides, no institution owns all four broadsides here offered.

No. 1 (Scholem 70): 3 copies, all in Germany.

No. 2 (Scholem 72): 4 copies, in Switzerland (1) and Germany (3), with a Polish variant in Danzig.

No. 3 (Scholem 75) Not located.

No. 4 (Scholem 76): 6 copies, in England (1) and Germany (5).

Regarding Scholem 74, which is not included in this collection, we locate a single copy worldwide, in Germany.

G. Scholem, Sabbatai Zevi: The Mystical Messiah (1973). I. Maier & W. Schumacher, "Ein Medien-Hype im 17. Jahrhundert? Fünf illustrierte Drucke aus dem Jahre 1666 über die angebliche Hinrichtung von Sabbatai Zwi", Quaerendo 39 (2009), pp. 133-167.