converting the jewish prophet and jewish physicians 125
Portuguese synagogue with hundreds of his supporters and leading a prayer
service, during which he proclaimed the coming of the redeemer and mes-
sianic king. Because they believed that the end of days had arrived, Jews en-
gaged in purifying rituals and special prayers to mark the age, inciting a fervent
response especially from Jews in the lands just beyond the frontiers of the Otto-
man Empire, as far away as Morocco, Germany, and Yemen.^14
Whereas during Shabbatai Tzevi’s earlier visit to Istanbul he had receivedlittle interest from Jews and no attention from Ottoman authorities, seven
years later many Jews welcomed his mission with enthusiasm, and authorities
treated him as a real danger. The messianic age was proclaimed in Izmir one
month prior to the fi rst Friday prayers in the Valide Sultan Mosque in Istanbul.
The Valide Sultan Mosque on the waterfront that greeted Shabbatai Tzevi in
February 1 666 symbolized how much the city had been transformed since he
left it in 1 659. As a result of Hatice Turhan’s building program, he encountered
a dramatically different city. Before 1 660, one approaching Eminönü would
have seen a skyline dominated by tall Jewish apartments. When he arrived in
the city in 1 666, the presence of the new mosque proclaimed that profound
change had occurred, which augured well for him. Many Jews greeted him ec-
statically. Their previous experience may have led them to look favorably on his
perceived aims. The Jewish elite and commoner alike had suffered greatly over
the past fi ve years. They lived in crowded conditions on the fringes of the city,
having recently faced a horrible fi re, plague, and much death, the transforma-
tion of properties that had once housed synagogues into an imperial mosque
complex, the loss of synagogues of diverse rites, and expulsion from the heart
of the city on pain of death and the prohibition of their return.
Alerted by Jews opposed to Shabbatai Tzevi’s calling, the Ottoman authori-ties became concerned when he announced himself to be king of the world,
delegated the kingdoms of all empires to his followers, and declared through
these actions that Ottoman rule was illegitimate. The Ottomans at the time were
engaged in an endless campaign to conquer Crete and could not brook more
upheaval in the empire, especially by one attempting to convert others to a com-
peting vision of the true interpretation of God’s desire and claiming that his
authority superseded that of the sultan. The juxtaposition of subjects in the nar-
ratives of Abdi Pasha and Silahdar draws our attention to the Ottoman context of
the movement that shaped the court’s reaction. In Silahdar’s text, for example,
the narrative of the rabbi’s rebellion is placed in the midst of a detailed discus-
sion of the campaign for Crete, which covers almost the entire entry for 1 666.
This includes articulation of the emotional desire to conquer the last citadel on
the island and the frustration of this desire; the delicate state of honor of the dy-
nasty, empire, and religion; the wartime footing in the capital; and how all minds