Jewish Messiah claimants

The Messiah in Judaism has a number of interpretations, historical and eschatological, including any king chosen by God; a holy king who will lead the Israelites and Proselytes; and someone who will usher in a Messianic Era in the world to come. Some messianic movements later split from Judaism, including the followers of Jesus whose religion became Christianity and some of the followers of Sabbatai Zevi, who became the Dönmeh.

In Judaism, messiah (Hebrew: מָשִׁיחַ‎‎; mashiach, mashiah, moshiach or moshiah, "anointed [one]") originally meant a divinely appointed king or "anointed one" and included Jewish priests, prophets and kings such as David, Cyrus the Great or Alexander the Great. Later, especially after the failure of the Hasmonean Kingdom (37 BCE) and the Jewish–Roman wars (66–135 CE), the figure of the Jewish Messiah was one who would deliver the Jews from oppression and usher in an Olam HaBa ("world to come") or Messianic Age.