The Illuminati 101

This is a brief intro to the Illuminati. It's by no means definitive or complete and is only an outline guide for those interested in finding out where all these theories come from. The Illuminati is a great source of confusion since it is moreso a concept than a concrete society as it's often classified. Hopefully this will help clear up a few common misbeliefs and shed a little light on the Illuminati(no pun intended,I swear) to help put it more properly into the NWO context. There are two important things to know before anything else. One is that "illuminati" is the plural form of the Latin term "illuminatus",which translates essentially to mean an illuminated or enlightened person. The second thing is that illuminati go back to the dawn of known civilization. They were the select members of mankind who were said to be in direct communication with the gods and given knowledge well beyond that of the rest of men. The "illuminated" served as intermediaries between the gods and Man and used their knowledge to both help and harm the latter. Naturally their position separated them from common society and rendered them a (secret)society amongst themselves. The first of these societies was written of on a set of ancient Mesopotamian tablets. These tablets are the earliest known finding of history.

Though "illuminati" often conjures images of sinister and malicious people of power,illumination itself is neither good nor evil. It is all in how it is used. Plato was an Illuminatus as was Pythagoras. The illuminati have existed in many forms,both by general definition and by secret societies who use whatever term translates to "illuminated persons" in their language as the actual name of their group. These groups are often said to be unrelated but evidence casts doubt on that claim. Here are just some of them for the purpose of illustration. The dates given for their existence are only the official dates on record and not necessarily the true lifespan of the group.

The Illuminati

The literal name of this group is from a language long since passed,but it translates into "the Brotherhood of the Snake". Possibly founded circa 4,000 B.C. with no known end date. Many researchers believe them to still be active under a variety of names and branches. They were the first recorded secret society and accounts place them at the focal point of most human progression and manipulation everywhere. It is said that the Brotherhood was originally a benevolent group dedicated to teaching and helping mankind,but was strongarmed and perverted into a sinister society of misinformation by those who wanted to hoarde the knowledge for themselves so that they could rule. The Brotherhood personally selected every pharoah and king of ancient civilization and many believe they continue to select the world leaders to this day.

They are only known as the Illuminati retroactively of course,as the Brotherhood was created before the term "illuminati" or even the Latin language itself existed. They are regarded by those who know of them as the one true Illuminati with all others being offshoots of this one group. Some being much lesser offshoots than others.

The Bavarian Illuminati

Orden der Illuminaten. Speaking of lesser offshoots,the Bavarian Illuminati was founded in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt. This group was a collection of scientists and scholars and hid within other secret societies. The Bavarian Illuminati sought the abolition of religion,elimination of sovereignty,and believed that an elite group(them) should rule the world. The Bavarian Illuminati lasted a paultry 10 years officially,and thanks to in-fighting and bad luck,accomplished next to nothing by most official accounts. This band was the most impotent branch of the Illuminati ever formed if going by officially confirmed history,yet curiously it's by far the most (in)famous. This fact has led to multiple theories as,on the surface,that makes little sense. One such theory is that the exposure of the Bavarian Illuminati was used in a Machiavellian plan by the Illuminati proper. By intentionally boosting the Bavarians to unwarranted levels of recognition it would be what people associate with the name "Illuminati". Essentially,the Illuminati faked it's own death by making people believe the fall of the Bavarian Illuminati was the demise of the Illuminati itself.

To this day,many believe Adam Weishaupt created the Illuminati and that it "died' in 1786.




The Egyptian Illuminati

This group gave themselves no official name and are only referred to familiarly as the Brotherhood(as in "of the Snake",most say). They were a collection of mystery school priests in ancient Egypt but they became a secret society in 1489 B.C. under the order of their leader,pharoah Thutmose III. The highest initiates of the Brotherhood were called the Illuminati. The Rosicrucians trace their roots back to this Brotherhood although the Brotherhood were not like the Rosicrucians of today. By the 15th century the Order Rosae Crucis were known in many publications only as the Illuminati.

The Spanish Illuminati

Los Iluminados or Los Alumbrados. When these Illuminated Ones of Spain were formed exactly is unknown,but monarchial awareness of them began in 1512. This Illuminati was persecuted during the Spanish Inquisition and was killed off officially and perhaps literally by 1623. Though a Christian sect,they espoused the common Illuminati theme of sublime knowledge and opposition to the church. What is significant about the Spanish Illuminati is that it appears to have had cultural equivalents spring up in other countries during the same timeframe it was around. Perhaps uncoincidently.


The Afghan Illuminati

Roshaniya. Also known as the Order. In other words,Order of the Illuminati. Active officially from 1560 to 1638. The Roshaniya were led by Bayezid Ansari who's proported illumination stemmed from the claim of being descended from the beings called the Helpers spoken of in the Koran to have aided Muhammed. The Roshaniya was an Islamic sect but espoused the abolition of religion,elimination of sovereignty,and believed an elite group(them) should rule the world. Of further note is that this Illuminati was active during the same timeframe as the Spanish Illuminati and was likewise a sect of the religion of it's lands(Islam),amongst other similarities.


Though the Afghan Illuminati movement was suppressed in 1638 it's teachings carried on for an undetermined amount of time afterward. Franz Kolmer,a proposed student of the Illuminati,is said to have learned and shared it's teachings with Adam Weishaupt in 1771. A mere four years later Weishaupt formed a very similar group in Bavaria of the same name translated into German.

=====================================================


And there you go. I think I got it right for the most part but if anyone has any corrections or additions feel free to add. I didn't provide any links since I thought it best that people look this up for themselves because some of this should probably taken in at a person's own pace if it's new to them. I provided the key words and phrases that should let a person research the Illuminati without getting steered into the "Weishaupt Wall". The theories on the Illuminati make much more sense when the history is better understood I think. One will notice that the themes repeat from one branch to the other.

Excellent post Loungerist.

I started looking for info on the leads you provided. Does anyone have links to sites that discusses the Brotherhood of the Snake seriously? It seems I have to read a lot of non-sense to extract information. Does anyone know any authors or websites that were useful? Are they really mentioned in Ancient Egyptian texts?

Even a search of ATS didn't reveal much...


Edit: sp



[edit on 12/9/05 by ConspiracyNut23]

Originally posted by Loungerist
The Brotherhood personally selected every pharoah and king of ancient civilization and many believe they continue to select the world leaders to this day.

Could you perhaps provide some sort of historical reference where it is shown that this mysterious "Brotherhood of the Snake" did this? It would be most appreciated, as your claim sounds quite fantastic to those of us who have formally studied world history, and have heard nothing about this until you posted it.

The Bavarian Illuminati sought the abolition of religion,elimination of sovereignty,and believed that an elite group(them) should rule the world.

So why would a Lutheran minister (Adolpf Von Knigge), Deputy of the Illuminati, want to abolish religion? Why would St. Germaine or Goethe or Mozart or Weishaupt? And elimination of sovereignty? What exactly does that mean?

It is readily apparent from the writings and documents of the Illuminati that what the group wanted was not to "abolish religion" (considering many of the Illuminati's members and leaders were deeply religious), but instead wanted to abolish the combination church/state political structure, which was a dictatorship. As for "sovereignty", the only people who had it in 1770's Bavaria were the tyrants who were running the country.

The Egyptian Illuminati

This group gave themselves no official name and are only referred to familiarly as the Brotherhood(as in "of the Snake",most say). They were a collection of mystery school priests in ancient Egypt but they became a secret society in 1489 B.C. under the order of their leader,pharoah Thutmose III. The highest initiates of the Brotherhood were called the Illuminati. The Rosicrucians trace their roots back to this Brotherhood although the Brotherhood were not like the Rosicrucians of today. By the 15th century the Order Rosae Crucis were known in many publications only as the Illuminati.

There is absolutely no evidence that any organization calling themselves Rosicrucians preceded the publication of the Fama in the early 1600's. Simply put, there was no "Order Rosae Crucis" in the 15th century, or, if there was, you'd win a Nobel Prize in History if you were able to demonstrate it. Secondly, Rosicrucians do not trace our roots back to "this Brotherhood", nor are we convinced that such a "Brotherhood" even existed.

Originally posted by Loungerist
The literal name of this group is from a language long since passed,but it translates into "the Brotherhood of the Snake". Possibly founded circa 4,000 B.C.

What evidence supports these statements? What language are we talking about also?

By the 15th century the Order Rosae Crucis were known in many publications only as the Illuminati.

This statement is also interesting, in what documents are the RC refered to as Illuminati?

[edit on 12-9-2005 by Nygdan]

Quick response while I have a few minutes. Will try to make it back later.

Originally posted by Nygdan

Originally posted by Loungerist
The literal name of this group is from a language long since passed,but it translates into "the Brotherhood of the Snake". Possibly founded circa 4,000 B.C.

What evidence supports these statements? What language are we talking about also?

The language is Sumerian. I don't have the info in front of me at the moment but the tablets themselves are over 4,000 years old already from memory,and they were written after the formation of the Brotherhood.


Masonic Light - The answers to your questions about the Brotherhood are in the Mesopotamian tablets mentioned. They are the oldest documented form of history there is.


CN23,I'm not sure of any websites on the Brotherhood as my knowledge of them comes from the books themselves that the tablets were translated into,but the author's name is Zacharia Sitchin. That should help your search.

originally posted by Masonic Light
There is absolutely no evidence that any organization calling themselves Rosicrucians preceded the publication of the Fama in the early 1600's. Simply put, there was no "Order Rosae Crucis" in the 15th century, or, if there was, you'd win a Nobel Prize in History if you were able to demonstrate it.

Nowhere in the post does it say a group was called the Rosicrucians or Order Rosae Crucis before the 15th century.

Secondly, Rosicrucians do not trace our roots back to "this Brotherhood", nor are we convinced that such a "Brotherhood" even existed.

According to H. Spencer Lewis,First Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order you do. And I looked this up using "Thutmose" as a keyword and found numerous Rosicrucian sites all cooberating it. Here's just one.

"The traditional origins of AMORC go back to the mystery schools of ancient Egypt. In these schools, enlightened mystics gathered together to study the mysteries of the universe, nature, and humans-hence the expression mystery schools. About 1500 B.C., Pharaoh Thutmose III combined these schools into a single order bound by a single set of rules. About a century later, Amenhotep IV-known more commonly as Akhnaton-created a unique body of teaching for all members of this order. During his reign he also founded the first monotheistic religion in historical record.

From Egypt the Order spread to Greece, an event in which Pythagoras played a singular role, and it then spread to medieval Europe, with the alchemists and Templars being agents of this Tradition. In the following centuries, the philosophers of the Renaissance and spiritually minded students of the modern period contributed to its expansion, both in the East and West. Since freedom of conscience was often lacking in past societies, the Order concealed its identity under various names during its history. But it never ceased to perpetuate its teachings among those individuals seeking the Light."

www.rosicrucian.org...

If you have information to the contrary feel free to provide it into the mix.


edit:added link

[edit on 12-9-2005 by Loungerist]

Originally posted by Loungerist


The language is Sumerian. I don't have the info in front of me at the moment but the tablets themselves are over 4,000 years old already from memory,and they were written after the formation of the Brotherhood.

I'm sort of familiar with ancient Sumerian culture, although, to be honest, I've forgotten most of it. Nevertheless, I don't recall having ran across any mention of this alleged secret society. Any information you could provide would be appreciated.

Masonic Light - The answers to your questions about the Brotherhood are in the Mesopotamian tablets mentioned. They are the oldest documented form of history there is.

Please list your references, as I would certainly be interested in seeing your documentation.

Nowhere in the post does it say a group was called the Rosicrucians or Order Rosae Crucis before the 15th century.

But you said 15th century, when in fact there is no evidence that any Rosicrucian activity existed previously to the 17th century.

According to H. Spencer Lewis,First Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order you do.

Ah, ok. AMORC is a modern organization which adopted the name "Rosicrucian". They have no direct links to the original Order. As for whatever H. Spencer Lewis may have said, he had a pretty active imagination, which often got in the way of facts.

The first time anybody ever heard about any Rosicrucians or Rosicrucian Order was the early 17th century, when the Fama was published. This document declared the existence of a fraternity of Christian mystics, who were apparently all physicians (the rule stated that their only claim was to heal the sick, and without pay). Although it didn't state this overtly, it is obvious that the group consisted only of Protestants, as the Roman Catholic Church was heavily criticized in their second publication which followed shortly thereafter, the Manifesto. Eventually, other documents were published, including "The Chymycal Marriage of Christian Rosenkreutz", which is a treatise on Alchemy.

Eventually, the publications stopped. At around the same time, modern Freemasonry began to come into prominence, taking on a more philosophical and mystical character. It is believed by some that the Rosicrucians "became" the Masons in order to disguise themselves from the Inquisitors. Scottish Rite Masonry preserves a Rose Croix degree (18°), and the Masonic Rosicrucian Society is dedicated to the study and practice of Rosicrucian philosophy.

Lougerist, I’m really interested in the Brotherhood of the Snake. The only book I read by Sitchin was the first one, The 12th Planet. Unfortunately I can’t recall anything on the Brotherhood.

There’s plenty of Sitchin’s Planet X discussions on these boards, but none that I could find on the Brotherhood.

Here’s a list of his books, maybe it will help you recall which one it is.

www.sitchin.com...

The stuff on the net that I could find was mostly David Icke and William Bramley. (Gods of Eden)

ML thanks for the clarification of the AMORC.

I wasn't sure where to post this, but since this is the Illuminati 101 thread. I will post it here. I just read a post in another thread by Alexander Tau it’s simply brilliant, and I think it might applies here:

Originally posted by Alexander Tau
Consider the documents about the President's National Guard service. They have been proven to be forgeries, but the story they tell seems to be mostly true. But since the documents were fake, the story no longer matters. I sat and listened to the woman who was the one who typed up the actual documents that the fakes were based on. She confirmed the essence of the story but also that those docs were fake.

Personally I feel the documents were created to accomplish just what they did, to put to rest forever the story of what actually happened. But if they were indeed created to hurt the President then the people who forged them did not do the Truth any favors. You cannot spread the Truth by lying.

Bill Cooper did exactly that.

Now could it be that the Bavarian Illuminati and its papers are also the same? Created to hide a very real ancient society? "to put to rest forever the story"

We could go even further and ask if the Protocols of Zion were also created for the same reason? "to put to rest forever the story"

EDIT: fixed link...rrrrr

[edit on 14/9/05 by ConspiracyNut23]

[edit on 14/9/05 by ConspiracyNut23]

Originally posted by Loungerist
The language is Sumerian. I don't have the info in front of me at the moment but the tablets themselves are over 4,000 years old already from memory,and they were written after the formation of the Brotherhood.

I'd very much like to see this when you get a chance.

but the author's name is Zacharia Sitchin.

*smacks forehead*

Sitchin's research is fundamentally flawed. I don't even think that sitchin can read sumerian, let alone engage in serious document studies. What sitchin did was interpret myths that he came across.

The traditional origins of AMORC go back to the mystery schools of ancient Egypt.

The problem is that there is no actual evidence to demonstrate that the group is anywhere near that old, or indeed ever existed at all. The basic rosicurian writtings appeared under a pseudonym in europe relatively recently (cf 16-1700s no?). In these popular documents, it was claimed that the group had existed for a few hundred years or so, and had now chosen to reveal itself by revealing these documents. No one was a rosicurian before this however, and these original 'rosicurians' never actually appeared. Seperate groups picked up some of the ideas in the rosicurian documents and claimed to be the rosicurians tho. Even those original documents never claimed that the group was actually ancient, only that Christian Rosenkreutz had travelled around the 'wise and mystical east' (which is something of a mythic-type in those days), learning from lots of people, and then came back to europe and setup his small RC study group. Not that there was an actual connection to the ancient past.

just to toss them in, I find it interesting that there seems to be a strong modern presence. Specifically in the games of Rosicrucians, Illuminati, and other secret societies...

Otherwise I'm just a student on this thread.

originally posted by Masonic Light

Masonic Light - The answers to your questions about the Brotherhood are in the Mesopotamian tablets mentioned. They are the oldest documented form of history there is.

Please list your references, as I would certainly be interested in seeing your documentation.

The tablets have been translated into a series of 5 books collectively titled "The Earth Chronicles". Though you can find more summarized accounts of it elsewhere.

Nowhere in the post does it say a group was called the Rosicrucians or Order Rosae Crucis before the 15th century.

But you said 15th century, when in fact there is no evidence that any Rosicrucian activity existed previously to the 17th century.

I(or more accurately,the Rosicrucian Library) said that the group that would evolve into the Rosicrucians existed before the 17th centure. It says that from the 15th to 17th century there was no Rosicrucian group. However,there appears to be some dispute amongst factions of "Rosicrucians" as to which one is the real one and which is not. I'll leave that alone as that's abit beyond my research into the illumnati.

Originally posted by ConspiracyNut23
Lougerist, I’m really interested in the Brotherhood of the Snake. The only book I read by Sitchin was the first one, The 12th Planet. Unfortunately I can’t recall anything on the Brotherhood.

There’s plenty of Sitchin’s Planet X discussions on these boards, but none that I could find on the Brotherhood.

Here’s a list of his books, maybe it will help you recall which one it is.

The Brotherhood was formed after the Great Flood so you'd only find it in the later books. I'll have to write down which for you next time I get my hands on them.

Originally posted by Nygdan

quote: but the author's name is Zacharia Sitchin.
*smacks forehead*

Sitchin's research is fundamentally flawed. I don't even think that sitchin can read sumerian, let alone engage in serious document studies.
What sitchin did was interpret myths that he came across.

What? Elaborate please. Considering that Sitchin is regarded as the foremost translator of the tablets and knows enough sumerian to compile numerous books worth of material I'm not sure of your reasoning here. And only some parts are (presumed to be)myth. Much of the information in the ancient texts have been cooberated by modern science. Such as the time periods for mining,location and characteristics of planets,areas given for significant events in civilization,etc.

Originally posted by Loungerist
"The Earth Chronicles". Though you can find more summarized accounts of it elsewhere.

Here's one such account, well, sort of

The Brotherhood was formed after the Great Flood

The problem here is that there never was any Great Global Flood. Unless you intend to mean a big local flood.

Considering that Sitchin is regarded as the foremost translator of the tablets

I don't see how you can say this. He is not the foremost translator of anything. His ideas are resoundingly and universally rejected by the archaeological and linguistics community. Infact, I have never seen that he can actually read stuff like this:


But you are apparently more familiar with his work. Does he actually state that he can read cuneiform, or does he take transliterated text from linguists and translate that, or does he simply consider the rough translations that others have done and re-interpret them? What school did he go to and who'd he study under to learn to transliterate and read this stuff?

Originally posted by Nygdan

"The Earth Chronicles". Though you can find more summarized accounts of it elsewhere.

Here's one such account, well, sort of

And another.

net-prophet.net...

The problem here is that there never was any Great Global Flood. Unless you intend to mean a big local flood.

I said "Great Flood" as that's generally what it's called. No one to my knowledge knows how large the flood was or if there was only one.

Considering that Sitchin is regarded as the foremost translator of the tablets

I don't see how you can say this.

Because every time I've seen the tablets spoken of this is said about Zacharia Sitchin. I don't know a single other person's name who's translated them so it would seem to fit.

His ideas are resoundingly and universally rejected by the archaeological and linguistics community.

His archaelogist supporters show this not to be true. Though Sitchin's ideas are not what's being cited here. Only his translations as he is a recognized literate of ancient Sumerian and other languages. And his translations have shown accuracy so I don't know what linguistic community you're referring to. Via the texts Sitchin has revealed things in the 70s before the scientific community of the day were aware of them. Such as the physical attributes of distant planets and the advanced practice of deep ore mining on Earth over 60,000 years ago.


Where Sitchin is disputed is with his personal theories and controversial biblical implications. But none of that applies here.

But you are apparently more familiar with his work. Does he actually state that he can read cuneiform, or does he take transliterated text from linguists and translate that, or does he simply consider the rough translations that others have done and re-interpret them? What school did he go to and who'd he study under to learn to transliterate and read this stuff?

Sitchin learned multiple different ancient languages in order to cross-referrence the archaelogical findings. He's an archaelogist,linguist and culturist. Regarded by some as possibly the best ever of the latter two. I don't know where he went to school and all of that as I'm not a biographer of the guy,but a quick web search should pull up those kinds of details.


[edit on 15-9-2005 by Loungerist]

Originally posted by ConspiracyNut23

Now could it be that the Bavarian Illuminati and its papers are also the same? Created to hide a very real ancient society? "to put to rest forever the story"

If so,it would certainly appear to have been a good plan. Damn near perfect internetwise. Unless you've read books on the subject matter enough to get the pertinent keywords it would take forever and a day to do any effective search into the Illuminati proper. I don't think the Bavarian Illuminati was created specifically for this purpose though. If anything I would think it would be a plan devised later in response to the BI getting exposed.

There is practically no one who is a linguist nor archaeologist who agrees with sitchins interpretations or findings. When he writes his books, (i've been tempted to read them but they are so nearly universally reviled that i have a hard time justifiying it), does he explain how he went about the translations?

Also, to keep this on topic and not 'sitchin bash' or anything like that, you are saying that the Serpent Fraternity has existed throughout the ages and today is called the Illuminati? What is it precisely that they do if they've been around that long???

edit to add:

Also are you saying that the serpent fraternity is the annunaki?

[edit on 15-9-2005 by Nygdan]

Originally posted by Nygdan
There is practically no one who is a linguist nor archaeologist who agrees with sitchins interpretations or findings. When he writes his books, (i've been tempted to read them but they are so nearly universally reviled that i have a hard time justifiying it),

I'm not sure in what universe. He's quite popular and often regarded as a must-read. I'd recommend some of them just for the revelations about the Bible alone. It's absolutely fascinating what a few influential people can do to the public consciousness at large. Or absolutely terrifying,depending on how you look at it.

does he explain how he went about the translations?

He learned the languages,studied the cultures,and cross-referrenced his findings. Other than that I don't know.

Also, to keep this on topic and not 'sitchin bash' or anything like that, you are saying that the Serpent Fraternity has existed throughout the ages and today is called the Illuminati?

More precisely,I'm saying many researchers believe them to have existed throughout the ages. I myself don't know whether they have or not though I lean towards have. I can't really see why they'd go anywhere.

What is it precisely that they do if they've been around that long???

In 6,000 years? Probably a little of everything.

Also are you saying that the serpent fraternity is the annunaki?

I'm not,no. Though some do believe the Illuminati to have Annunaki in their ranks.



[edit on 15-9-2005 by Loungerist]

Originally posted by Loungerist
I'm not sure in what universe.

In the universe of linguists and archaeologists.

He's quite popular and often regarded as a must-read.

I don't doubt that he is popular, however that has nothing to do with him being at all correct.

He learned the languages,studied the cultures,and cross-referrenced his findings. Other than that I don't know.

What I am really curious in finding out is if he can actually read sumerian. I had thought that there were really very few people that can do this, but apparently thats not correct and there are good numbers of peopel that can. However, apparently, Sitchin has never published any translations or studies in any linguistics journal, which is quite telling.

I can't really see why they'd go anywhere.

I'd think that a group like that would have trouble keeping up its existence, especially if they are so secretive then they'd need to directly recruit and train new members. Break the line for a single moment and the group is lost. Have a single city sacked and its inhabitants executed, and the group is gone. Or have a flood, or any natural disaster, and you might kill the masters of the group, or the entire group. Spread out over 4-6k years, and chances are very good the the group would get wiped out.

I'm not,no. Though some do believe the Illuminati to have Annunaki in their ranks.

Interesting.

Originally posted by Nygdan
Also, to keep this on topic and not 'sitchin bash' or anything like that, you are saying that the Serpent Fraternity has existed throughout the ages and today is called the Illuminati? What is it precisely that they do if they've been around that long???

I found a great threat on this written by Infinite (8th November, 2003):

A history of the Illuminati from the dawn of time (20,000,000 BC) to 1900 AD.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

If the Illuminati are behind all these events, they have been very busy indeed. A great summary of history nevertheless, well worth the read.

If Al Qaeda is smart enough to operate in cells, wouldn’t the Illuminati be able to do this also?
In fact even Weishaupt had design such a command structure. :



Source:www.conspiracyarchive.com...

Originally posted by Nygdan

Originally posted by Loungerist
I'm not sure in what universe.

In the universe of linguists and archaeologists.

OK,then I'm not sure what universe of linguists and archaeologists. Sitchin has both his supporters and detractors. The former of which grows as time passes and more discoveries reveal more of his work to have merit. As is often the case for works like his.

He's quite popular and often regarded as a must-read.

I don't doubt that he is popular, however that has nothing to do with him being at all correct.

Nor does his unpopularity amongst certain sects have anything to do with being at all wrong.

I can't really see why they'd go anywhere.

I'd think that a group like that would have trouble keeping up its existence, especially if they are so secretive then they'd need to directly recruit and train new members. Break the line for a single moment and the group is lost.

For the line to break numerous families and each of their members would have to all stop at the same time. Not very likely. The line is passed from generation to generation so there's automatic membership on top of the recruiting. And that's not even considering the grooming one undoubtibly undergoes to solidify committment. They are structured with foresight and great understanding in specific ways to not just fall over. The Illuminati aren't your conventional bunch of people.

Have a single city sacked and its inhabitants executed, and the group is gone.

I think you're misunderstanding the Illuminati here. None of these scenarios would end them. If a city is sacked then that city would just be sacked. I'm not sure what you think that would do to the Illuminati.

Or have a flood, or any natural disaster, and you might kill the masters of the group, or the entire group. Spread out over 4-6k years, and chances are very good the the group would get wiped out.

The odds of the whole group all being in one place at the same time some major cataclysm occurs is beyond astronomical even spread out over 6K years. And that's not even factoring in how unlikely it is any natural disaster would be unforseen,violent,and fast enough to sneak up on and wipe out the most in-the-know and financially capable people on the face of the Earth.


If even possible,the odds of this happening are nigh-inexistent at best.

[edit on 16-9-2005 by Loungerist]