A. Background
--> Bio
--> Historical Background
B. Questions
--> In what ways was he seen as Messianic?
--> How was he believed?
C. "The Conversation"
D. Aftermath
--> Legacy of Sabbateanism
--> (False) Messiahs Today
--> Sabbetai Tzvi entry in Encyclopedia Judaica.
Our lord...did not arrive in Adrianapole until two days after they had expected him; and he arrived in the evening, too late to have an audience with the Sultan. The next morning, he stood before the king. "Peace be upon you," he said to him. And the sultan responded, in the Turkish language, "Peace be upon you as well." A eunuch stepped forward, one of the king's intimates, carrying a robe that the king had worn. A second eunuch held the king's turban. With these garments they clothed him. They called him by the King's own name, Mehmet. The King decreed a large sum for his allowance. Thus it was that the rumor spread that he had changed his faith and become a Muslim."
Baruch of Arezzo, Zichron L'Bnei Yisrael (trans. David Halpern)
"...[he] began groveling on the ground before the sultan, begging that he might be alloweds to take refuge in the sultan's religion. He threw is cap on the ground and spat on it. He insulted the Jewish faith and profaned God's name, in full public view."
R. Yosef haLevi of Livorno