In October 1786, officials searched the home of a prominent Areopagite and seized books, papers and more than 200 letters between Weishaupt and Illuminati leaders that detailed the most intimate affairs of the order. The government began rooting out members of the Illuminati, causing Weishaupt to flee Bavaria and maintain written correspondence with leaders of the order, called Areopagites. In June 1784, Bavarian ruler Carl Theodore banned all secret societies in March 1785, he designated the Illuminati as one of the branches of Freemasonry, a known illegal organization. The growth of the now not-so-secret order ultimately contributed to its downfall. This rapid expansion was largely due to the prominent German diplomat Baron Adolf Franz Friederich Knigge, who restructured the order in 1780 and helped spread Illuminism by recruiting from Freemason lodges. The Illumanti grew quickly, gaining some 2,000 members from countries throughout Europe, including France, Poland, Hungary and Italy. So, on May 1, 1776, Weishaupt formed the Order of the Illuminati with four other members.
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