There are a large number of large organizations in the world, about the type of activity of which most people know practically nothing. And, as we know, everything unknown or known, but not completely, always arouses a lot of rumors and speculation. Therefore, secret societies that prefer to remain in the shadows are credited with organizing universal conspiracies and connecting with otherworldly forces.
In fact, most of this kind of "hobby groups" are much more harmless than they are trying to imagine, although there are some among them that have really influenced world history. We decided to study the history of the 10 most famous and powerful secret organizations in order to figure out when they did appear and why and whether they still exist.
Illuminati
The Illuminati most often refers to the "Order of the Illuminati" by Professor Adam Weishaupt, which existed in the 1700s. His task was the all-round improvement of the church and the achievement of general prosperity. The ruler of Bavaria, Karl Theodor, named the Illuminati as one of the branches of the illegal community of Freemasons and announced the criminal prosecution of members of the society, putting an end to history in 1787. The order officially ceased to exist, but it is believed that its remaining members did not leave their business and simply went underground. The Illuminati are credited with organizing the Great French Revolution, the assassination attempt on John F. Kennedy, and influencing world politics in the modern world.
Opus dei
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The organization was founded in 1928 by the Catholic priest Josemaría Escriva de Balaguer. The name of the society is translated from Latin as "The Work of God", and they are engaged there in helping to find the path to holiness without renouncing everyday life. Most of its members are ordinary people: businessmen, workers, teachers, housewives, who in appearance are no different from their colleagues. And although the organization does not hide the location of its headquarters, it receives a wide variety of criticism. Due to the closed nature of the community, some Catholic priests consider it dangerous, in addition, Opus Dei is often associated with the use of such practices that are characteristic of sects. All this creates a kind of aura of mystery around the society, due to which it is often attributed to a certain secret Catholic society. Dan Brown, who portrayed Opus Dei in The Da Vinci Code as a secret sect hiding important information, added fuel to the fire from speculation and rumors.
Templar
The official name of the order is "The United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and St. John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta." It is a modern offshoot of Freemasonry, unrelated to the Poor Knights of Christ, founded by a group of knights in 1119. But the order was made after his example in order to preserve the spirit of this organization. The order is included in the York Rite and for membership in it it is necessary to be exclusively a Christian who has passed all the degrees of the Royal Arch, and in some jurisdictions also the degrees of the Crypt.
Black hand
The South Slavic secret nationalist organization appeared in 1911. According to one version, it arose as an offshoot of the People's Defense group, which sought to unite all Slavic peoples. The organization's goal was to fight for the liberation of the Serbs who were under the rule of Austria-Hungary. It included officers of the Serbian army and some government officials. The Black Hand was associated with a group of terrorists who killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose death was the reason for the outbreak of the First World War. In 1917, by order of the King of Serbia, Alexander I Karageorgievich, the organization was liquidated, and its head, Colonel Dragutin Dmitrievich, and his entourage were shot.
Assassins
The Nizari neo-Ismaili organization was formed in the 11th century. The society was founded by Hasan ibn Shabbat. Their internal system was built on a strict hierarchy, where the transition to the next step was accompanied by mystical rituals. In the ideology of the sect, the main role was assigned to anti-feudal, communist and national liberation motives. For the assassins, the glory of hired killers without fear and reproach, always carrying out their orders, is firmly entrenched. It is believed that the sect ceased to exist in 1256, after the fortresses of Alamut and Meimundiz were taken. According to other sources, some assassins still managed to escape and they founded a caste of hereditary killers in India. The traditions of the assassins are most pronouncedly preserved in the actions of terrorist Muslim sects such as "Jihad" and "Hezbollah", and especially in the fedayin detachments.
Thule Society
This occult political German society included all those who later became Hitler's closest advisers. The official name of the organization sounded like the Group for the Study of Germanic Antiquity. They were engaged in researching the origin of the Aryan race. Thule - a mythical northern country from ancient Greek legends - was considered by the Nazi mystics the capital of ancient Hyperborea. All members of the society viewed the Aryans as the highest race that had lived since the prehistoric era and Atlantis, and the inhabitants of that very Thule were the descendants of the Aryans who managed to escape from Atlantis. Another part of society, not so much believing in all sorts of mystical tales, was more interested in the struggle against Jews, communists and masons. In 1919, members of Thule created a political organization called the German Workers' Party, of which Adolf Hitler became a member. The Thule Society existed until 1933.
Knights of the Golden Ring
In the 1850s and 1860s, the paramilitary organization Knights of the Golden Ring operated in the Midwest of the United States. The society was created by supporters of the southern states who wanted to create states in which slavery would be legalized. The intended territories of action were to be Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean Islands. The most famous members of the organization were the murderer of Abraham Lincoln John Wilkes Booth and the criminal Jesse James. After the arrest of the leaders and the confiscation of weapons by the government in 1864, the organization ceased to exist.
Sons of freedom
The organization was founded in 1765 by Samuel Adams. The goal of the members of the society was to fight for the self-determination of the North American colonies. Their motto was the phrase “No taxes without representation”. The public's resistance policy included the distribution of thematic brochures, protests and open violent actions against the British authorities, for which their activities were equated with criminal activities and began to persecute. After the abolition of the stamp law in 1766, the organization disbanded itself.
Skull and Bones
It is one of the oldest student secret societies in the United States. It arose in 1832 with the filing of the secretary of Yale University, William Russell, who, together with 14 like-minded people, decided to create a secret brotherhood. In their club, they accepted only people from the American aristocracy, Anglo-Saxon origin and Protestant religion. Rumor has it that these days a prerequisite for entry is that the candidate must be the leader of their campus. The society consisted of US presidents, senators, and Supreme Court justices, which is why they began to consider it as a kind of underground group uniting the political elite. The meetings of the society are held twice a week, but what is discussed and done at them remains a secret sealed with seven seals.
Masons
The official date of the emergence of Freemasonry is considered to be 1717, but there are documents dating back to 1300, in which Freemasons are already mentioned. Meetings of Freemasons are held in a ritual form, and candidates for regular Freemasonry must believe in a Supreme Being. The Masons themselves say that their goal is moral improvement, the development and preservation of fraternal friendship and charity. It is believed that the community seeks to achieve political influence around the world. The most famous members of the society were Winston Churchill, Mark Twain, James Buchanan, Bob Dole, Henry Ford, Ben Franklin and many others. In total, there are about 5 million members of the society around the world.