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===Ottoman Campaign=== |
===Ottoman Campaign=== |
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During the spring of 1730 Nader attacked the Ottomans and regained most of the territory lost to them during the reign of [[Husayn (Safavid)|Shah Sultan Hoseyn I]]. Coincidentally, the Abdali Afghans sieged Mashad. Nader was forced to pause his campaign in order to save his brother, Ebrahim, who was in Mashad. It took fourteen months to defeat the Abdali Afghans. In January 1731, Tahmasb attacked the Ottomans and was severely defeated. The Ottomans recaptured the territory lost to Nader in 1730. The Ottomans also gained Armenia and Georgia. In response, Nader removed Tahmasb from power and replaced him with his infant son Abbas III in 1732. Nader then appointed himself as regent. Nader then turned west against the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]]. In the siege of [[Baghdad]] in 1733 he was defeated behind the walls of the city. Nader, however, came back with a larger army and the Ottomans were forced to make a peace treaty. Nader was given the cities on the west of [[Aras River]] in addition to [[Karbala]] and [[Basra]] in southern [[Iraq]]. Nader then laid siege to the Ottoman occupied |
During the spring of 1730 Nader attacked the Ottomans and regained most of the territory lost to them during the reign of [[Husayn (Safavid)|Shah Sultan Hoseyn I]]. Coincidentally, the Abdali Afghans sieged Mashad. Nader was forced to pause his campaign in order to save his brother, Ebrahim, who was in Mashad. It took fourteen months to defeat the Abdali Afghans. In January 1731, Tahmasb attacked the Ottomans and was severely defeated. The Ottomans recaptured the territory lost to Nader in 1730. The Ottomans also gained Armenia and Georgia. In response, Nader removed Tahmasb from power and replaced him with his infant son Abbas III in 1732. Nader then appointed himself as regent. Nader then turned west against the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]]. In the siege of [[Baghdad]] in 1733 he was defeated behind the walls of the city. Nader, however, came back with a larger army and the Ottomans were forced to make a peace treaty. Nader was given the cities on the west of [[Aras River]] in addition to [[Karbala]] and [[Basra]] in southern [[Iraq]]. Nader then laid siege to the Ottoman occupied Ganjeh. Nader subsequently captured Ganja. This was done with Russian assistance. In the March of 1735, Nader signed a treaty with the Russians in Ganjeh.<ref>Elton L. Daniel, "The History of Iran" (Greenwood Press 2000) p.94</ref> |
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===Invasion of India=== |
===Invasion of India=== |
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Revision as of 20:42, 2 July 2007
- This article is about the Persian shah. For the 20th century king of Afghanistan, see Mohammed Nadir Shah.
Nāder Shāh Afshār (Template:PerB; also known as Nāder Qoli Beg - نادر قلی بیگ or Tahmāsp Qoli Khān - تهماسپ قلی خان) (October 22, 1688 - June 19, 1747) ruled as Shah of Iran (1736–47) and was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty. Because of his military genius, some historians have described him as the Napoleon of Persia[1] or the Second Alexander.[2] He created a great Iranian Empire that encompassed Iran, northern India, and parts of Central Asia.[3] Nader Shah won battles against the Afghans, Ottomans, and Mughals. Nader Shah's victories made him briefly the Middle East's most powerful sovereign, but his empire quickly disintegrated after he was assassinated in 1747. Nader Shah was the last great Asian military conqueror. Nader is considered to be Iran's most gifted military commander[4] and is credited for restoring Iranian power as an eminence between the Ottomans and the Mughals.[5]
Early life
He was born in Kobhan,[6] into the Turcoman Qirqlu branch of Afshar Turkmen.[3] His father, a poor peasant, died while Nader was still a child. According to legends, Nader and his mother were carried off as slaves by marauding Uzbeg or Turkmen tribesmen, but Nader managed to escape. He joined a band of brigands while still a boy and eventually advanced to become their leader. Under the patronage of Afshar chieftains, he rose through the ranks to become a powerful military leader. When Nader Shah was thirty-one years old, the Afghans invaded Iran, captured Isfahan, and deposed the Safavid Shah Sultan Hoseyn I.[3]
Marriages
Nader married the two daughters of Baba Ali Beg, a local chief.[3]
Military Campaigns
Defeat of the Afghans
After distinguishing himself by playing an important role in defeating the warlord Malek Mahmud Sistani, Tahmasb appointed him as his main military commander. Nader Shah replaced Fath Ali Khan Qajar, the ancestor Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, who previously held this post. Nader subsequently took on the title Tahmasb Qoli, (Servant of Tahmasp).
- In May of 1729, Nader Shah defeated the Abdali Afghans near Herat.
- In September 1729, he defeated the Gizli Afghans at Mehmandust. The leader of the Gizli Afghans was Ashraf.
- In December of 1729, Iran was liberated from the Afghans. Subsequently many Afghani soldiers joined Nader Shah's army.
- In 1735 Nader signed the Treaty of Ganjeh which established boundaries and formed a defensive alliance with Russia.[7]
- In 1738 Nader Shah besieged and destroyed Kandahar. This was the ultimate defeat of any remaining Afghan forces. Nader Shah built a new city near Kandahar; he named this new city Naderabad.[3]
Ottoman Campaign
During the spring of 1730 Nader attacked the Ottomans and regained most of the territory lost to them during the reign of Shah Sultan Hoseyn I. Coincidentally, the Abdali Afghans sieged Mashad. Nader was forced to pause his campaign in order to save his brother, Ebrahim, who was in Mashad. It took fourteen months to defeat the Abdali Afghans. In January 1731, Tahmasb attacked the Ottomans and was severely defeated. The Ottomans recaptured the territory lost to Nader in 1730. The Ottomans also gained Armenia and Georgia. In response, Nader removed Tahmasb from power and replaced him with his infant son Abbas III in 1732. Nader then appointed himself as regent. Nader then turned west against the Ottomans. In the siege of Baghdad in 1733 he was defeated behind the walls of the city. Nader, however, came back with a larger army and the Ottomans were forced to make a peace treaty. Nader was given the cities on the west of Aras River in addition to Karbala and Basra in southern Iraq. Nader then laid siege to the Ottoman occupied Ganjeh. Nader subsequently captured Ganja. This was done with Russian assistance. In the March of 1735, Nader signed a treaty with the Russians in Ganjeh.[8]
Invasion of India
In 1738, Nader Shah conquered Kandahar. In the same year he occupied Ghazni, Kabul and Lahore. He then advanced deeper into India crossing the river Indus before the end of year. He defeated the Mughal army of Mohammad Shah within the span of one month at the Battle of Karnal and Nader Shah triumphantly entered Delhi where he had the Khutba read in his name, February 24 1739. After victory, Nader captured Mohammad Shah and entered with him into Delhi. In the rioting that followed, more than 30,000 civilians were killed by the Persian troops, forcing Muhammad Shah to beg for mercy. In response, Nader Shah agreed to withdraw, but Muhammad Shah paid the consequence - handing over the keys of his royal treasury; losing even the Peacock Throne to the Persian emperor. Although the number of civilian casualty was great, Indian historians agree that it was the only way to avoid the spread of riot and the loss of India to the Persians. The Peacock Throne thereafter served as a symbol of Persian imperial might. Among a trove of other fabulous jewels,Nader also gained the famous diamonds Koh-i-Noor and Darya-ye Noor (while Koh-i-Noor implies "Mountain of Light", Darya-ye Noor means "Sea of Light", in Persian). The Persian troops left Delhi at the beginning of May 1739. Nader's soldiers also took with them thousands of elephants, horses and camels, loaded with the booty they had collected. The plunder seized from India was so rich that Nader stopped taxation in Iran for a period of three years, following his triumphant return.
After India
After India, Nader attacked the Uzbeks of Transoxania. Nader also started to build a powerful Persian navy. He recaptured the island of Bahrain from the Arabs. In 1743 he conquered the city of Muscat, south of the Persian Gulf.
In 1741, after an assassination attempt on him failed, Reza Qoli Mirza was implicated[9] and was blinded as punishment. 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.
In 1743 Nader started another war against the Ottoman Empire. It ended in 1746 with the signing of a peace treaty in which the Ottomans agreed to let Nader occupy Najaf.
During Nader Shah's brief reign a 400,000-man army was created, and the boundaries of his empire extended to the greatest extent in Iran's history since the days of the Sassanids.
Death
Nader Shah was assassinated on 19 June, 1747, at Fathabad in Khorasan, where he was preparing to punish Kurdish rebels. Nader was surprised in his sleep by Salah Bey, captain of the guards, and stabbed with a sword. Nader was able to kill two of the assassins.[10]
After his death, he was succeeded by his nephew Ali Qoli, who renamed himself Adil Shah ("righteous king"). Adil Shah was probably involved in the assassination plot.[11] Adil Shah was deposed within a year. During the struggle between Adil 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. Finally, Karim Khan founded the Zand dynasty and became ruler of Iran by 1760, while Ahmad Shah Durrani had already proclaimed independence in the east, marking the foundation of modern Afghanistan.
In 1768, Christian VII of Denmark commissioned Sir William Jones to translate a Persian language biography of Nader Shah into French. It was published in 1770 as Histoire de Nadir Chah, and subsequently translated into English, becoming the vehicle by which Nader Shah became known to the reading public in the West.
References
- ^ http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-225443
- ^ http://www.xs4all.nl/~kvenjb/madmonarchs/nadir/nadir_bio.htm
- ^ a b c d e NAÚDER SHAH 1736-47 Encyclopedia Iranica, by Ernest Tucker March 29, 2006
- ^ http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-225443
- ^ Vali Nasr, "The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future" (New York 2006)
- ^ http://www.iranchamber.com/history/afsharids/afsharids.php
- ^ Elton L. Daniel, "The History of Iran" (Greenwood Press 2000) p.94
- ^ Elton L. Daniel, "The History of Iran" (Greenwood Press 2000) p.94
- ^ Elton L. Daniel, "The History of Iran" (Greenwood Press 2000) p.96
- ^ http://www.iranchamber.com/history/afsharids/afsharids.php
- ^ Elton L. Daniel, "The History of Iran" (Greenwood Press 2000) p.96
Additional Reading
- H. Maynard, "Nadir Shah," (Oxford, 1885)
- Sir H. M. Durand, in the "Journal of the Asiatic Society" [? Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland?], (London, 1906)
- Lawrence Lockhart "Nadir Shah" (London, 1938)
- Cambridge History of Iran, vol 7
- Michael Axworthy, "Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant" Hardcover 348 pages (26 July 2006) Publisher: I.B. Tauris Language: English ISBN 1-85043-706-8
- Ernest Tucker, "Nadir Shah's Quest for Legitimacy in Post-Safavid Iran" Hardcover 150 pages (4 October 2006) Publisher: University Press of Florida Language: English ISBN 0-8130-2964-3