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Nader Shah
Nader Qoli Beg was born into the semi-nomadic Qirqlu clan of the Turkoman Afshar tribe, a people who had migrated from Turkestan to the Khorasan region of northeastern Iran centuries before his birth. His father, Emam Qoli, was a herdsman who may have also worked as a coatmaker, and the family lived a life of constant movement across the rugged valleys of Dastgerd. At the age of thirteen, Nader lost his father and was forced to support himself and his mother by gathering sticks for firewood and transporting them to the market. This early deprivation did not make him compassionate toward the poor; instead, it forged a ruthless ambition that would define his entire life. Legend has it that in 1704, when he was about seventeen, a band of marauding Uzbeks invaded Khorasan, killing many peasants and carrying off Nader and his mother into slavery. His mother died in captivity, but Nader managed to return to the province in 1708, either through escape or by promising future help to his captors. By the age of fifteen, he had enlisted as a musketeer for a local governor, rising through the ranks to become the governor's right-hand man. This humble beginning stood in stark contrast to the empire he would soon build, an empire that would briefly encompass all or part of modern-day Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Georgia, India, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Oman, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, the North Caucasus, and the Persian Gulf.
Reclaiming a Shattered Realm
When Nader entered the political arena, Iran was in a state of total collapse. The Safavid dynasty, which had ruled since 1502, was crumbling under the weight of a weak emperor, Soltan Hoseyn, and a rebellion by the Hotaki Afghans. In 1722, the Afghans defeated the Safavid forces at the Battle of Gulnabad and besieged the capital, Isfahan, starving it into submission. While the Ottomans and the Russian Empire seized vast swathes of Iranian territory, Nader began to organize a resistance. He initially submitted to the local Afghan governor of Mashhad, Malek Mahmud, but soon rebelled and built his own small army. When the Qajar leader Fath Ali Khan contacted Nader to join the cause of Soltan Hoseyn's son, Tahmasp II, Nader agreed, becoming a figure of national importance. He discovered that Fath Ali Khan was in treacherous correspondence with Malek Mahmud and revealed this to the Shah, leading to Fath Ali Khan's execution and Nader's appointment as chief of the army. In late 1726, Nader recaptured Mashhad, and by May 1729, he defeated the Abdali Afghans near Herat. He then decisively defeated the new Shah of the Ghilzai Afghans, Ashraf, at the Battle of Damghan in September 1729 and again at Murchakhort in November 1729. Ashraf fled and was murdered by his own followers. Nader entered Isfahan in December 1729, but the citizens' rejoicing was cut short when he plundered the city to pay his army. He pursued and defeated Ashraf, who was murdered by his own followers, and in 1738, he besieged and destroyed the last Hotaki seat of power at Kandahar, building a new city nearby which he named Naderabad.
When was Nader Shah born and what was his early life like?
Nader Qoli Beg was born into the semi-nomadic Qirqlu clan of the Turkoman Afshar tribe and lived a life of constant movement across the rugged valleys of Dastgerd. His father Emam Qoli was a herdsman who may have also worked as a coatmaker, and Nader lost his father at the age of thirteen. He supported himself and his mother by gathering sticks for firewood and transporting them to the market before being captured by marauding Uzbeks in 1704.
When did Nader Shah become Shah of Iran and how did he rise to power?
Nader Shah became Shah of Iran in 1736 after forcing Shah Tahmasp II to abdicate in 1732 in favor of the Shah's baby son Abbas III. He initially submitted to the local Afghan governor of Mashhad before rebelling and building his own small army to join the cause of Tahmasp II. He became chief of the army after revealing treacherous correspondence from Fath Ali Khan to the Shah and recaptured Mashhad in late 1726.
What happened during the Battle of Karnal on the 13th of February 1739?
Nader Shah crushed the Mughal army in less than three hours at the huge Battle of Karnal on the 13th of February 1739 despite being outnumbered by six to one. He captured the Mughal ruler Muhammad Shah and entered Delhi where he ordered a sack of the city on the 22nd of March that killed 20,000 to 30,000 Indians. He took the Koh-i-Noor and Darya-ye Noor diamonds and treasures worth as much as seven hundred million rupees before leaving Delhi at the beginning of May 1739.
How did Nader Shah die and when did his assassination occur?
Nader Shah was assassinated in June 1747 at his tent in Quchan by four conspirators who entered the royal enclosure while he was sleeping outside the tent. Muhammad Quli Khan struck him with a great blow of his sword and Salah Khan severed his head which he dropped into the hands of a waiting soldier. The most detailed account of his death comes from his physician Père Louis Bazin who relied on the eyewitness testimony of Chuki.
What territories did Nader Shah conquer and when did he rule?
Nader Shah ruled as Shah of Iran from 1736 to 1747 and his empire briefly encompassed all or part of modern-day Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Georgia, India, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Oman, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, the North Caucasus, and the Persian Gulf. He conquered the Khanate of Khiva in 1740 and Oman and its main capital Muscat in 1743. He recaptured the island of Bahrain from the Arabs and signed the Treaty of Kerden in 1746 which let him occupy Najaf.
Nader's rise to power was not just about expelling the Afghans; it was a relentless campaign to reclaim territory lost to Iran's archrivals, the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire. In the spring of 1730, he attacked the Ottomans and regained most of the territory lost during the recent chaos. However, relations between Nader and the Shah, Tahmasp II, declined as the latter grew jealous of his general's military successes. While Nader was absent in the east, Tahmasp launched a foolhardy campaign to recapture Yerevan, ending up losing all of Nader's recent gains to the Ottomans and signing a treaty ceding Georgia and Armenia in exchange for Tabriz. Furious, Nader denounced the treaty and sought popular support for a war against the Ottomans. In Isfahan, he got Tahmasp drunk and showed him to the courtiers, asking if a man in such a state was fit to rule. In 1732, he forced Tahmasp to abdicate in favor of the Shah's baby son, Abbas III, to whom Nader became regent. Nader decided to win back the territory in Armenia and Georgia by seizing Ottoman Baghdad, but his plan went badly amiss when his army was routed by the Ottoman general Topal Osman Pasha near the city in 1733. This was the only time that he was ever defeated in battle. Nader decided he needed to regain the initiative as soon as possible to save his position because revolts were already breaking out in Iran. He faced Topal again with a larger force and defeated and killed him. He then besieged Baghdad, as well as Ganja in the northern provinces, achieving an alliance with Russia against the Ottomans. Nader scored a great victory over a superior Ottoman force at Baghavard, and by the summer of 1735, Iranian Armenia and Georgia were his again. In March 1735, he signed a treaty with the Russians in Ganja by which the latter agreed to withdraw all of their troops from Iranian territory, resulting in the reestablishment of Iranian rule over all of the Caucasus and northern mainland Iran.
The Crown of the Moghuls
In 1738, Nader Shah conquered Kandahar, the last outpost of the Hotaki dynasty, and turned his thoughts to the Mughal Empire of India. The once powerful Muslim state was falling apart, and its ruler, Muhammad Shah, was powerless to reverse the disintegration. Nader asked for the Afghan rebels to be handed over, but the Mughal emperor refused. Nader used the pretext of his Afghan enemies taking refuge in India to cross the border and invade the militarily weak but still extremely wealthy eastern empire. In a brilliant campaign, he took a small contingent of his forces on a daunting flank march through nearly impassable mountain passes and took the enemy forces positioned at the mouth of the Khyber Pass completely by surprise, utterly beating them despite being outnumbered two-to-one. This led to the capture of Ghazni, Kabul, Peshawar, Sindh, and Lahore. As he moved into the Mughal territories, he was loyally accompanied by his Georgian subject and future king of eastern Georgia, Erekle II, who led a Georgian contingent as a military commander as part of Nader's force. Following the prior defeat of Mughal forces, he then advanced deeper into India, crossing the river Indus before the end of the year. The news of the Iranian army's swift and decisive successes against the northern vassal states of the Mughal empire caused much consternation in Delhi, prompting the Mughal ruler, Muhammad Shah, to raise an army of some 300,000 men and march to confront Nader Shah. Despite being outnumbered by six to one, Nader Shah crushed the Mughal army in less than three hours at the huge Battle of Karnal on the 13th of February 1739. After this spectacular victory, Nader captured Mohammad Shah and entered Delhi. When a rumor broke out that Nader had been assassinated, some Indians attacked and killed Iranian troops; by midday 900 Iranian soldiers had been killed. Nader, furious, reacted by ordering his soldiers to sack the city. During the course of one day, the 22nd of March, 20,000 to 30,000 Indians were killed by the Iranian troops and as many as 10,000 women and children were taken as slaves, forcing Mohammad Shah to beg Nader for mercy. In response, Nader Shah agreed to withdraw, but Mohammad Shah paid the consequence in handing over the keys of his royal treasury, and losing even the fabled Peacock Throne to the Iranian emperor. The Peacock Throne, thereafter, served as a symbol of Iranian imperial might. It is estimated that Nader took away with him treasures worth as much as seven hundred million rupees. Among a trove of other fabulous jewels, Nader also looted the Koh-i-Noor and Darya-ye Noor diamonds. The Iranian troops left Delhi at the beginning of May 1739, but before they left, he ceded back to Muhammad Shah all territories to the east of the Indus which he had overrun. The booty they had collected was loaded on 700 elephants, 4,000 camels, and 12,000 horses.
The Tyrant's Descent
The Indian campaign was the zenith of Nader's career, but afterwards he became increasingly despotic as his health declined markedly. Nader had left his son Reza Qoli Mirza to rule Iran in his absence. Reza had behaved highhandedly and somewhat cruelly but had kept the peace in Iran. Having heard rumors that his father had died, he had made preparations for assuming the crown, including the murder of the former Shah Tahmasp and his family, including the nine-year-old Abbas III. On hearing the news, Reza's wife, who was Tahmasp's sister, committed suicide. Nader was not impressed with his son's waywardness and reprimanded him, but he took him on his expedition to conquer territory in Transoxiana. In 1740, he conquered the Khanate of Khiva. After the Iranians had forced the Uzbek Khanate of Bukhara to submit, Nader wanted Reza to marry the khan's elder daughter because she was a descendant of his hero Genghis Khan, but Reza flatly refused and Nader married the girl himself. Soon afterwards, Nader started executing the nobles who had witnessed his son's blinding. In his last years, Nader became increasingly paranoid, ordering the assassination of large numbers of suspected enemies. Following the orders of Nader Shah, his soldiers executed 150 monks at the Monastery of Saint Elijah after they refused to convert to Islam. With the wealth he gained, Nader started to build an Iranian navy. With lumber from Mazandaran, he built ships in Bushehr. He also purchased thirty ships in India. He recaptured the island of Bahrain from the Arabs. In 1743, he conquered Oman and its main capital Muscat. In 1743, Nader started another war against the Ottoman Empire. Despite having a huge army at his disposal, in this campaign Nader showed little of his former military brilliance. It ended in 1746 with the signing of a peace treaty, the Treaty of Kerden, in which the Ottomans agreed to let Nader occupy Najaf.
The Blood-Stained Tent
In June 1747, Nader Shah was convinced his personal guard intended to assassinate him. As a result, he summoned Ahmad Shah Durrani and other loyal commanders. Nader Shah ordered Ahmad Shah to assemble his Durrani regiments and to arrest his personal guard. If the personal guard resisted, Ahmad Shah was given permission to kill them all. He was ordered to do this at first light. Nader Shah then chose to sleep with his favorite wife, but did so outside the royal tent, where the same guards he had accused of treachery presumed night duty while Ahmad Shah was stationed at the defenses of the camp. News of Nader Shah's plan leaked, and the conspirators were forced to act. Four conspirators entered the royal enclosure and Nader Shah's tent at Quchan, assassinating him. The most detailed account of Nader's assassination comes from Père Louis Bazin, Nader's physician at the time of his death, who relied on the eyewitness testimony of Chuki, one of Nader's favorite concubines. Around fifteen of the conspirators were impatient or merely eager to distinguish themselves, and so turned up prematurely at the agreed meeting place. They entered the enclosure of the royal tent, pushing and smashing their way through any obstacles, and penetrated into the sleeping quarters of that ill-starred monarch. The noise they made on entering woke him up: 'Who goes there?' he shouted out in a roar. 'Where is my sword? Bring me my weapons!' The assassins were struck with fear by these words and wanted to escape, but ran straight into the two chiefs of the murder-conspiracy, who allayed their fears and made them go into the tent again. Nader Shah had not yet had time to get dressed; Muhammad Quli Khan ran in first and struck him with a great blow of his sword which felled him to the ground; two or three others followed suit; the wretched monarch, covered in his own blood, attempted , but was too weak , to get up, and cried out, 'Why do you want to kill me? Spare my life and all I have shall be yours!' He was still pleading when Salah Khan ran up, sword in hand and severed his head, which he dropped into the hands of a waiting soldier. Thus perished the wealthiest monarch on earth. After his death, he was succeeded by his nephew Ali Qoli, who renamed himself Adel Shah. Adel Shah was probably involved in the assassination plot. Adel Shah was deposed within a year. During the struggle between Adel Shah, his brother Ibrahim Khan and Nader's grandson Shah Rukh, almost all provincial governors declared independence, established their own states, and the entire Empire of Nader Shah fell into anarchy. Oman and the Uzbek khanates of Bukhara and Khiva regained independence, while the Ottoman Empire regained the lost territories in Western Armenia and Mesopotamia. Finally, Karim Khan founded the Zand dynasty and became ruler of Iran by 1760. Erekle II and Teimuraz II, who, in 1744, had been made the kings of Kakheti and Kartli respectively by Nader himself for their loyal service, capitalized on the eruption of instability, and declared de facto independence. Erekle II assumed control over Kartli after Teimuraz II's death, thus unifying the two as the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti, becoming the first Georgian ruler in three centuries to preside over a politically unified eastern Georgia, and due to the frantic turn of events in mainland Iran he would be able to maintain its autonomy until the advent of the Iranian Qajar dynasty. The rest of the Iranian territories in the Caucasus, comprising modern-day Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Dagestan broke away into various khanates. Until the advent of the Zands and Qajars, its rulers had various forms of autonomy, but stayed vassals and subjects to the Iranian king. In the far east, Ahmad Shah Durrani had already proclaimed independence, marking the foundation of modern Afghanistan. Iran finally lost Bahrain to House of Khalifa during Invasion of Bani Utbah in 1783.