The Illuminati (plural of Latin illuminatus, "enlightened") is a name given to several groups, both real (historical) and fictitious.

Historically the name refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on May 1, 1776. In more modern contexts the name refers to a purported conspiratorial organization which is alleged to mastermind events and control world affairs through governments andcorporations to establish a New World Order.

In this context the Illuminati are usually represented as a modern version or continuation of the Bavarian Illuminati.

• 1 History
• 2 Organisation
• 3 Members
• 4 Barruel and Robison
• 5 Modern conspiracy theory
• 6 Modern Illuminati
• 7 Popular culture
  • 7.1 Novels
• 8 References
• 9 Other Reading
• 10 External links