The Illuminati (plural of Latin illuminatus, "enlightened") is a name given to several groups, both historical and modern, and both real and fictitious. Historically, the name refers specifically to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on May 1, 1776.
In modern times it is also used to refer to a purported conspiratorial organization which acts as a shadowy "power behind the throne", allegedly controlling world affairs through present day governments and corporations, usually as a modern incarnation or continuation of the Bavarian Illuminati. In this context, the Illuminati are believed to be the masterminds behind events that will lead to the establishment of a New World Order.
Originally Weishaupt had planned the order to be named the "Perfectibilists". The group has also been called the Bavarian Illuminati and the movement itself has been referred to as Illuminism. In 1777, Karl Theodor became ruler of Bavaria. He was a proponent of Enlightened Despotism and, in 1784, his government banned all secret societies, including the Illuminati.
Many influential intellectuals and progressive politicians counted themselves as members, including Ferdinand of Brunswick and the diplomat Xavier von Zwack, who was number two in the operation and was found with much of the group's literature when his home was searched. The Illuminati's members took a vow of secrecy and pledged obedience to their superiors. Members were divided into three main classes, each with several degrees.
The order had its branches in most countries of the European continent; it reportedly had around 2,000 members over the span of ten years. The organization had its attraction for literary men, such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Johann Gottfried Herder, and even for the reigning dukes of Gotha and Weimar. Weishaupt modeled his group to some extent on Freemasonry, and many Illuminati chapters drew membership from existing Masonic lodges. Internal rupture and panic over succession preceded its downfall, which was effected by the Secular Edict made by the Bavarian government in 1785.
According to J.M. Roberts, the March 2, 1785 edict "seems to have been deathblow to the Illuminati in Bavaria." Meanwhile, Weishaupt had fled, and documents and internal correspondences, seized in 1786 and 1787, were subsequently published by the government in 1787.
In addition to the shadowy and secret organization, several modern fraternal groups claim to be the "heirs" of the Bavarian Illuminati and have openly used the name "Illuminati" in founding their own rites. Some, such as the multiple groups that call themselves some variation on "The Illuminati Order," use the name directly in the name of their organization, while others, such as the Ordo Templi Orientis, use the name as a grade of initiation within their organization.
It is to be noted that the main groundswell of interest in the Illuminati and the assertions that it exists today began after the publication of The Illuminatus trilogy, written in the 1970s by two then Playboy associate editors, Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. A post-modern science fiction work, the trilogy looked at the Illuminati's plot to rule the world, whilst fighting opposition.
Modern theorists have incorporated these fictional ideas, with ever more bizarre twists. One Dr. John Coleman in "Targets of the Illuminati and the Committee of 300" asserts that the Illuminati's intentions include:
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