Troubled times for the Jews always raise messianic hopes, and in the troubled 17th century, the charismatic Shabsai Tzvi, with much help from his "publicist" Nathan of Gaza, proclaimed to the world that he was the messiah. His following spread from the Mediterranean to Eastern and Western Europe to the point that people sold their homes and moved to the Holy Land in anticipation of the redemption. But under pressure from the Ottoman Sultan, Shabsai Tzvi converted to Islam, proving himself a charlatan and false messiah. The cynicism and skepticism that resulted from this debacle allowed for an erosion of Jewish leadership that continues to exist until today.