One would have expected the fanatical king after this occurrence to pursue with greater zeal his object of establishing an Inquisition, so as to proceed against the Jewish Marranos whose names he had obtained from Nunes. The king did, indeed, institute a strict inquiry to discover the accomplices of the two Marrano monks. Contrary to expectation João issued no restrictions against the Marranos. Also the inquiry about the conspirators for Nunes' death seems to have been intentionally protracted as much as possible. Documents plainly say that the king gave up the plan of establishing the Inquisition. A chance, the boldness of an adventurer, appears in the first instance to have brought about this favorable alteration in the mind of the weak, vacillating king.
Coming from the far East, and emerging from obscurity, appeared a man of whom it is hard to say whether he was an impostor or a foolish fanatic, and whether he intended to play the role of a Messianic or of a political adventurer, but he caused a great stir among Jews, affecting the Marranos in the extreme West. David, an Oriental by descent, long resident in Arabia and Nubia, suddenly appeared in Europe in a peculiar character, and by means of both fiction and truth started the wildest hopes. He declared himself a descendant of the old Hebrew tribe of Reuben, which, he alleged, still flourished in Arabia in independence, and he claimed to be a prince, the brother of a reigning Jewish king. He, therefore, called himself David Reubeni.
Loving travel and adventure, he journeyed much in Arabia, Nubia and Egypt, and came finally to Italy. The report was that he had been sent by his brother, who commanded 300,000 chosen warriors, and by the seventy elders of the land of Chaibar, to the European princes, especially to the pope, to obtain firearms and cannon with which to fight the Mahometan people, who hindered the union of the Jewish race on both sides of the Red Sea, and to assist the brave Jewish army to drive the Turks out of the Holy Land.
David Reubeni's appearance and manner were such as to inspire confidence. In both, there was something strange, mysterious and eccentric. He was of dark complexion and dwarfish in stature, and so excessively thin that continuous fasts reduced him almost to a skeleton. Possessed of courage and intrepidity, he had at the same time a harsh manner that admitted of no familiarity. He only spoke Hebrew, and that in so corrupt a jargon that neither Asiatic Jews nor those of southern Europe understood him. He came to Rome (February, 1524), and accompanied by a servant and an interpreter, rode on a white horse to the Vatican, and requested an interview with Cardinal Giulio, in the presence of other cardinals. Pope Clement also gave him audience, and accepted his credentials.
Clement VII (1523–1534), one of the most excellent popes, an illegitimate scion of the Florentine Medicis, was sensible and kind, and earnestly desired to see Italy freed from the barbarians, that is, the Germans. But he reigned at a time when Europe had lost its balance. On the one side Luther and his Reformation, which gained ground daily, threatened to undermine the papacy; and on the other, Charles V's powerful realm, Spain and Germany with Burgundy and a part of America, almost crushed Italy into servile dependence. If Clement quarreled with the emperor, the latter favored the Reformation, and set about restraining the papal power. If the pope became reconciled to him, the liberty of Italy was menaced. Thus, notwithstanding his firm character, he was continually wavering, and like most of his contemporaries had recourse to astrology, in order to learn from the stars what was beyond the wisdom of men.
To Pope Clement VII, David Reubeni seems to have handed letters of introduction from Portuguese captains or business agents, whom he may have met in Arabia or Nubia. These credentials the pope sent to the Portuguese court, and when they were there declared trustworthy, David was treated with the greatest distinction, and received all the honors due an ambassador. He rode through Rome on a mule, accompanied by ten Jews and more than two hundred Christians. The plan of a crusade against Turkey, by which the most dangerous enemy of Christianity would be driven out of the Holy Land by an Israelitish army, attracted the pope, because it promised to restore to him the control of military affairs, but its execution was thwarted by the complexities of his position. Even the most incredulous of the Jews could not conceal from themselves the astonishing fact that a Jew was treated with respect and politeness by the Vatican, and were convinced that there must be at least a grain of truth in David's report. Roman and foreign Jews pressed round him who seemed to open a hopeful future to them. Señora Benvenida Abrabanela, wife of the rich Samuel Abrabanel, sent him great sums of money from Naples, a costly silk banner embroidered with the Ten Commandments, and many rich garments. He, however, played his part in a masterly manner, keeping the Jews at a respectful distance.
At length a formal invitation came from the king of Portugal, summoning David Reubeni to his court. The latter left Rome, traveling by sea with a Jewish flag on his ship. In Almeirin, the residence of king João III near Santarem, where David arrived, like a wealthy prince, with a numerous retinue bearing beautifully embroidered banners, he was also treated with the greatest honor, and a scheme was discussed with him as to how the weapons and cannons could be transported from Portugal for the Israelite army in Arabia and Nubia. David's appearance in Portugal seems to have changed the feeling towards the Marranos, and João was persuaded to give up the intended persecution of them. For so great an undertaking João would need their support, their money and their advice. If he wished for an alliance with the Hebrew king and people, he must not persecute the half-Jews in his own country. So his zeal for the establishment of the Inquisition in Portugal suddenly cooled. One can imagine the astonishment and joy of the Marranos in Portugal, when they understood that not only might a Jew be admitted into Portugal, but that he was received at court, and treated with respect. Thus, then, had come the hour of deliverance of which they had so long dreamed. Unexpected help had come to them, freedom and deliverance from their anguish; they breathed again. Whether or not David Reubeni had declared himself the forerunner of the Messiah, did not matter to the Marranos; they believed it, and counted the days to the time when he would make them behold the new Jerusalem in all its splendor. They pressed round him, kissed his hands, and treated him as if he were their king. From Portugal the supposed message of salvation passed to Spain to the still more unfortunate Marranos there, who received it with ecstasies of joy. These poor people had fallen into a morbid, eccentric, irresponsible state of mind. Daily and hourly they suffered torments of soul, through having to join in religious customs which they abhorred with their whole heart. It was no wonder that many of them lost their mental balance, and became quite mad. In the vicinity of Herrara, a Marrano maiden proclaimed herself a prophetess; fell into trances and had visions; declared that she had seen Moses and the angels, and promised to lead her suffering companions into the Holy Land. She found many believers among the Marranos, and when this was discovered, she was burned together with thirty-eight adherents. Messianic expectation, that is, redemption through a miracle, made the atmosphere in which the Marranos breathed and lived. At the news of the arrival of an ambassador from a Jewish kingdom at the Portuguese court, a crowd of Spanish converts fled to Portugal to be near their supposed redeemer. David, who enjoyed the privilege of traveling about in Portugal, appears to have behaved very circumspectly: he gave them no promises, and did not encourage them openly to acknowledge Judaism. He knew well that he was walking on the edge of a precipice, and that one expression, one act of his directed towards bringing back new-Christians to Judaism might cost him his life. Nevertheless, all eyes were fastened on him; all were aroused and excited by the wonderful events which would certainly come to pass.
David Reubeni's appearance and the hopes it awakened took strongest hold upon one noble, talented, handsome youth; indeed, the whole course of his existence was changed. Diogo Pires (born about 1501, died a martyr, 1532), whose glowing, poetic imagination under more favorable circumstances might have accomplished much in the domain of the beautiful, became a tool in the hands of the self-proclaimed envoy from Chaibar. Pires, who was born a new-Christian, had acquired a good education; he understood and could speak Latin, the universal language of the time. He had risen to be royal secretary at a high court of justice, and was a great favorite at court. With Hebrew and rabbinic literature he must have been familiar from his earliest youth, and he had been initiated into the Kabbala, probably by one of the Marrano teachers. At the time when David and his chimerical plans made so much stir in Portugal, Diogo Pires was completely possessed by wild dreams and visions, all of which had a Messianic background. He hastened, therefore, to David, to ascertain whether his mission was in accordance with these visionary revelations. David Reubeni appears to have treated him with coldness, and to have told him plainly that his military embassy had nothing to do with Messianic mysticism. But Diogo Pires fancied the coldness of the alleged envoy to be owing to the circumstance that he had not accepted the sign of the covenant, and he forthwith proceeded to undergo the dangerous operation of circumcision. The consequent loss of blood laid him on a sick bed. David was highly incensed when Pires told him of this, as both of them would be in danger, if it came to the king's ears that a Marrano had so emphatically and openly declared himself a Jew; for it would be asserted that David had persuaded him to take this course.
After circumcision Pires (who took the name of Solomon Molcho) had yet more terrible visions, owing presumably to his bodily weakness. Their import always had reference to the Marranos and their redemption by the Messiah. According to his own account a strange being (Maggid), who communed with him from Heaven in a dream, charged him to leave Portugal and set out for Turkey. David Reubeni also had advised that he should leave Portugal with all speed, as the act of circumcision might involve also David in danger, and frustrate his schemes. Leaving Portugal cannot, then, have been difficult for Marranos. Diogo Pires (or Solomon Molcho) reached Turkey, and hoped for a Messianic mission and a martyr's death.
A great sensation was made there by this enthusiastic, handsome young Kabbalist, the new Jewish recruit. At first he gave himself out as a delegate from David Reubeni, of whose good reception at the papal and Portuguese courts rumors were current even in the East, and had not failed to inflame people's imagination. In Salonica, Joseph Taytasak's Kabbalistic circle took possession of him, and greedily listened to his dreams and visions. At Adrianople Molcho converted to the Kabbala the sober-minded Joseph Karo, who had left Spain when a boy, and had hitherto busied himself entirely with Talmudic learning. Enthusiasm is infectious. Karo fell into the same Kabbalistic enthusiasm as Molcho. He also had his dream-prompter (Maggid), who taught him inelegant, mystical interpretations of Scriptural passages, and revealed the future. He was so faithful an imitator that, like Molcho, he lived in the most certain expectation of being burnt at the stake as a "burnt-sacrifice of a sweet savour unto the Lord." Molcho inoculated his followers with a longing for martyrdom. His captivating person, pure enthusiasm, romantic disposition, past career, astonishing knowledge of the Kabbala (though born a Christian), everything connected with him, raised up a host of adherents, who greedily listened to his mystic utterances, and believingly accepted them. He often preached, and words flowed like a torrent from his lips. Gray-headed men went with questions to the youth, seeking explanations of obscure verses of Scripture, or revelations of the future. At the urgent request of his friends in Salonica he published a brief abstract of his Kabbalistic sermons, the substance of which was: The advent of the Messiah is at hand; his reign will begin at the end of the year 5300 dating from the creation (1540). The sack and havoc of Rome (May 5th, 1527), confirmed the Messianic hopes of Kabbalistic zealots. Rome, the iniquitous Catholic Babylon, filled with the spoils of the whole earth, was taken by storm by German soldiers, mostly Lutherans, and was treated almost as a hostile city by order of the Catholic emperor, Charles V. The fall of Rome, according to Messianic and apocalyptic principles, had been predicted as a sign of the Messiah's advent. Now Rome had fallen. In Asia, Turkey, Hungary, Poland, and Germany, hopes of the coming of the Messiah were stirring in Jewish hearts, and were associated with the name of Solomon Molcho, who was to bring about their realization.