Nader Shah

Nader Shah
King of Kings[1] Sultan of the Sultans of the World[2]
Contemporary portrait of Nader Shah. Artist unknown, created in c. 1740 in Iran. Now located in the British Library in London.
Shah of Iran
Reign	8 March 1736 – 20 June 1747[3]
Coronation	8 March 1736
Predecessor	Abbas III (Safavid dynasty)
Successor	Adel Shah
Born	22 November 1688 or 6 August 1698[4][5] Dastgerd, Khorasan, Safavid Iran
Died	20 June 1747 (aged 48 or 58) Quchan, Khorasan, Afsharid Iran
Burial	Tomb of Nader Shah, Mashhad, Iran
Queen	Razia Begum Safavi
Issue	Reza Qoli Mirza Morteza Mirza Emam Qoli Mirza Joseph von Semlin (?)
Twelver Shia Islam[6][7][8][9]
Nader's Campaigns

Nader Shah Afshar (

Nader rose to power during a period of chaos in Iran after a rebellion by the Hotaki Afghans had overthrown the weak Shah Soltan Hoseyn (r. 1694–1722), while the arch-enemy of the Safavids, the Ottomans, as well as the Russians had seized Iranian territory for themselves. Nader reunited the Iranian realm and removed the invaders. He became so powerful that he decided to depose the last members of the Safavid dynasty, which had ruled Iran for over 200 years, and become Shah himself in 1736. His numerous campaigns created a great empire that, at its maximum extent, briefly encompassed what is now part of or includes Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Georgia, India, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Oman, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, the North Caucasus, and the Persian Gulf, but his military spending had a ruinous effect on the Iranian economy.^[1]

Nader idolized

Nader Shah has been described as "the last great Asiatic military conqueror".[14]

Background

Nader belonged to the

Nader's native tongue was a southern Oghuz dialect, i.e. "Turkish of Azerbaijan".^[20] As he was growing up, he must have swiftly learned Persian, which was the language of the cities and high culture. But unless he was speaking to someone who spoke only Persian, he always preferred to communicate in Turkic.^[21] His knowledge of Arabic is not documented, but it seems doubtful given his lack of interest in literature and theology.^[22] Nader is known to have acquired reading and writing skills at some point in his life, probably later on.^[21]

Approximately three million people or more were nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists in Iran in the beginning of the 18th-century, accounting for one-third of the country's population. Strong ties of kinship as well as customs of helping each other out with fights and finances kept their tribal groups united. Despite being partially or fully absorbed into the more progressive, urbanized Persian culture, many of them nevertheless identified culturally with the

At the age of 13, his father died and Nader had to find a way to support himself and his mother. He had no source of income other than the sticks he gathered for firewood, which he transported to the market. Many years later, when he was returning in triumph from his conquest of Delhi, he led the army to his birthplace and made a speech to his generals about his early life of deprivation. He said, "You now see to what height it has pleased the Almighty to exalt me; from hence, learn not to despise men of low estate." Nader's early experiences did not, however, make him particularly compassionate toward the poor. Throughout his career, he was only interested in his own advancement. Legend has it that in 1704, when he was about 17, a band of marauding Uzbeks invaded the province of Khorasan, where Nader lived with his mother. They killed many peasants. Nader and his mother were among those who were carried off into slavery. His mother died in captivity. According to another story, Nader managed to convince Turkmens by promising help in the future. Nader returned to the province of Khorasan in 1708.^[26]

At the age of 15, he enlisted as a musketeer for a governor. He rose the ranks and became the governor's right-hand man.^[27]

Fall of the Safavid dynasty

Nader grew up during the final years of the

Tahmasp and the Qajar leader Fath Ali Khan (the ancestor of

In the spring of 1730, Nader attacked Iran's archrival the Ottomans and regained most of the territory lost during the recent chaos. At the same time, the Abdali Afghans rebelled and besieged Mashhad, forcing Nader to suspend his campaign and save his brother, Ebrahim. It took Nader fourteen months to crush this uprising.^[33]

Relations between Nader and the Shah had declined as the latter grew jealous of his general's military successes. While Nader was absent in the east, Tahmasp tried to assert himself by launching a foolhardy campaign to recapture Yerevan. He ended up losing all of Nader's recent gains to the Ottomans, and signed a treaty ceding Georgia and Armenia in exchange for Tabriz.^[34] Nader, furious, saw that the moment had come to ease Tahmasp from power. He denounced the treaty, seeking popular support for a war against the Ottomans. In Isfahan, Nader got Tahmasp drunk then 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 favour of the Shah's baby son, Abbas III, to whom Nader became regent.^[35]

Nader decided, as he continued the 1730–1735 war, that he could win back the territory in Armenia and Georgia by seizing Ottoman

Nader suggested to his closest intimates, after a great hunting party on the Moghan plains (presently split between Azerbaijan and Iran), that he should be proclaimed the new king (shah) in place of the young Abbas III.^[39] The small group of close intimates, Nader's friends, included Tahmasp Khan Jalayer and Hasan-Ali Beg Bestami.^[39] Following Nader's suggestion, the group did not "demur", and Hasan-Ali remained silent.^[39] When Nader asked him why he remained silent, Hasan-Ali replied that the best thing for Nader to do would be assembling all leading men of the state, in order to receive their agreement in "a signed and sealed document of consent".^[39] Nader approved with the proposal, and the writers of the chancellery, which included the court historian Mirza Mehdi Khan Astarabadi, were instructed with sending out orders to the military, clergy and nobility of the nation to summon at the plains.^[39] The summonses for the people to attend had gone out in November 1735, and they began arriving in January 1736.^[40] In the same month of January 1736, Nader held a qoroltai (a grand meeting in the tradition of Genghis Khan and Timur) on the Moghan plains. The Moghan plain was specifically chosen for its size and "abundance of fodder".^[41] Everyone agreed to the proposal of Nader becoming the new king, many—if not most—enthusiastically, the rest fearing Nader's anger if they showed support for the deposed Safavids. Nader was crowned Shah of Iran on 8 March 1736, a date his astrologers had chosen as being especially favorable,^[42] in attendance of an "exceptionally large assembly" composed of the military, religious and nobility of the nation, as well as the Ottoman ambassador Ali Pasha.^[43]

He cut a deal with notables and the clergy that he would only assume the position of Shah if they promised to refrain from cursing

The Safavids had forced

In 1741, eight Muslim scholars and three European and five Armenian priests translated the Koran and the Gospels^[clarification needed]. The commission was supervised by Mīrzā Moḥammad Mahdī Khan Monšī, the court historiographer and author of the Tarikh-e-Jahangoshay-e-Naderi (History of Nader Shah's Wars). Finished translations were presented to Nāder Shah in Qazvīn in June 1741, who, however, was not impressed.^{[citation needed]}

Nader diverted money going to Shia mullahs and redirected it to his army instead.^{[27][page needed]}

Invasion of India

Many historians believe that Nader attacked the Mughal Empire to give his country some breathing space after previous turmoil. His successful campaign and replenishment of funds meant that he could continue his wars against Iran's archrival and neighbour, the

Central Asia, North Caucasus, Arabia, and the second Ottoman war

The Indian campaign was the zenith of Nader's career. 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 he had kept the peace in Iran. Having heard rumours that his father had died, he had made preparations for assuming the crown. These included 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.^[65]

With regard to Central Asia, Nader viewed Merv (present-day Bayramali, Turkmenistan) vital to his north-eastern defenses. He also tried to secure the ruler of Bukhara as his vassal, imitating previous great conquerors of Mongol-Timurid descent. According to a British scholar Peter Avery, Nader's attitude towards Bukhara was irredentist to an extent that he "may even have thought that, if only the Ottoman power in the west could be contained, he might make Bukhara a base for conquests further afield in Central Asia". Nader dispatched numerous artisans to Merv in a move to prepare for an improbable conquest of distant Kashgaria. Such a campaign did not materialize, but Nader frequently sent funds and engineers to Merv trying to restore its prosperity and rebuild its ill-fated dam. Merv, however, did not become prosperous.^[66]

Nader now decided to punish

Nader changed the Iranian coinage system. He minted silver coins, called Naderi, that were equal to the Mughal rupee.^[1] Nader discontinued the policy of paying soldiers based on land tenure.^[1] Like the late Safavids he resettled tribes. Nader Shah transformed the Shahsevan, a nomadic group living around Azerbaijan whose name literally means "shah lover", into a tribal confederacy which defended Iran against the neighbouring Ottomans and Russians.^[70][71] In addition, he increased the number of soldiers under his command and reduced the number of soldiers under tribal and provincial control.^[1] His reforms may have strengthened the country, but they did little to improve Iran's suffering economy.^[1] He also always paid his troops on time, no matter what.^{[27][page needed]}

Foreign policies

In order to construct a broad political framework that could link him to the Ottomans and Mughals more closely than the Safavids had been, Nader Shah started creating new concepts. One of these was a focus on a shared Turkmen descent, by having several official documents evoke how Nader Shah, the Ottomans, Uzbeks, and Mughals all had a shared Turkmen background. In a broad sense, this concept mirrored the origin fables of 15th century Anatolian Turkmen dynasties.^[1] The Ottomans, however, were left unimpressed with Nader Shah's new concept. According to the modern historian Ernest Tucker, comparing this concept to an early version of "pan-Turkism" would be "anachronistic and misleading." He adds that this was part of unpolished drafts of concepts that would get polished throughout the 11 years of Nader Shah's reign, and would include wide political and religious aspects.^[72]

Nader's concepts regarding the Ja'farism and common Turkmen descent were directed primarily at the Ottomans and Mughals. He may have perceived a need to unite disparate components of the ummah against the expanding power of Europe at that time, however his view of Muslim unity was different from later concepts of it.^[1]

He proposed a peace treaty with the Ottomans, in it, he proclaimed the Persians wanted the Ja'fari Maddhab to be incorporated as a Madhhab of Islam. While only a nominal claim, Nader's army was increasingly drawing from Sunni Afghans, Kurds, Turkmens, Baloch, and others who were happy with a less sectarian Persia. Externally he presented Persia as completely sympathetic to Sunnis. He probably did this for political reasons in order to increase his legitimacy within the Muslim world; he would have never been accepted if he remained a radical Shia Muslim like the Safavid Shahs. Though as stated countless times before, internally, he was probably agnostic.^{[27][page needed]}

Whenever Nader laid siege to a city, he would construct a city of his own outside the walls. His encampment was filled with markets, mosques, bathhouses, coffeehouses, and stables. He did this to show the besieged his army would be there for the long haul, to prevent diseases from spreading within his troops' ranks, and to occupy his troops' time.^{[27][page needed]}

Death and legacy

Nader became increasingly cruel as a result of his illness and his desire to extort more and more tax money to pay for his military campaigns. New revolts broke out and Nader crushed them ruthlessly, building towers from his victims' skulls in imitation of his hero Timur. In 1747, Nader set off for Khorasan, where he intended to punish Kurdish rebels. Some of his officers and courtiers feared he was about to execute them and plotted against him, including two of his relatives: Muhammad Quli Khan, the captain of the guards, and Salah Khan, the overseer of Nader's household. Nader Shah was assassinated on 20 June 1747,^[74] at Quchan in Khorasan. He was surprised in his sleep by around fifteen conspirators, and stabbed to death. Nader was able to kill two of the assassins before he died.^[75]

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 favourite

Nader Shah was well known to the European public of the time. In 1768, Christian VII of Denmark commissioned Sir William Jones to translate a Persian language biography of Nader Shah written by his Minister Mirza Mehdi Khan Astarabadi into French.^[80] It was published in 1770 as Histoire de Nadir Chah.^[81] Nader's Indian campaign alerted the East India Company to the extreme weakness of the Mughal Empire and the possibility of expanding to fill the power vacuum. Without Nader, "eventual British [rule in India] would have come later and in a different form, perhaps never at all - with important global effects".^[82] Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union is said to have admired him and called him a teacher (alongside Ivan the Terrible).^[83]

The military success of Nader was nearly unprecedented for Muslim Shahs.^[27]

Flag

Nader Shah consciously avoided the using the colour green, as green was associated with Shia Islam and the Safavid dynasty.^[84]

Personality

The strong character of Nader Shah is indicated by the fact that having achieved much fame and glory, he did not allow his pleasers to find great ancestors in the darkness of his origin. He never boasted of a proud

"Tell him," Nader replied, "that Nasrullah is the son of Nader Shah, the son and grandson of the sword, and so on, not until the 7th, but until the 70th generation."^[citation needed]

Nader had the greatest contempt for the weak, depraved Mahmud Shah, who, according to the local chronicler of that era, "was always with his mistress in his arms and a glass in his hand," and was the lowest libertine and simply a puppet ruler.^[85] Nader Shah once had a conversation with a holy man about paradise. After what that man described miracles and pleasures of the heaven, the shah asked:

"Are there such things as war and victory over the enemy in paradise?" When the man answered negatively, Nader replied: "How can there be any pleasure then?"^{[citation needed]}

French orientalist Louis Bazin describes the personality of Nader Shah as follows:

Despite his obscure background, he looked born for the throne. Nature endowed him with all the great qualities that make heroes ... His dyed beard made a sharp contrast with his completely gray hair; his natural physique was strong, tall, and his waist was proportional to his growth; his expression was gloomy, with an oblong face, an aquiline nose and a beautiful mouth, but with his lower lip protruding forward. He had small penetrating eyes with a sharp and piercing gaze; his voice was rude and loud, although he knew how to soften it on occasion, as required by personal interest...

He did not have a permanent home – his military camp was his court; his palace was his tent, and his closest confidants were his bravest soldiers ... Undaunted in battle, he brought courage, and was always in the thick of danger among his brave men, as long as the battle lasted ... He did not neglect any of the measures dictated by foresight ... Nevertheless, the repulsive greed and unprecedented cruelties that wore his subjects, ultimately led to his fall, and the extremes and horrors that were caused by him, made Persia cry. He was adored, feared and cursed at the same time.^[86]

English traveler Jonas Hanway, who lived in the courtyard of Nader Shah, describes him:

Nader Shah is taller than 6 feet, well-built, very physically strong. He has such an unusually loud voice that he can give orders to his people at a distance of about 100 yards. He drinks wine moderately, hours of his rest among ladies are very rare, his food is simple, and if government affairs require his presence, he rejects his meal and satisfies hunger with fried peas (which he always carries in his pocket) and a sip of water... He is extremely generous, especially to his warriors, and generously rewards all who have distinguished themselves in his service. At the same time, he is very severe and strict in relation to discipline, punishing with the death penalty all who have committed major misconduct... He never forgives the guilty, no matter what rank he is. Being on a march or in the field, he confines himself to food, drink and sleep of a simple soldier and forces all his officers to follow the same harsh discipline. He has such a strong physique that he often sleeps on a frosty night on bare ground in the open air, wrapping himself only in his cloak and putting a saddle under his head as a pillow. In private conversations, no one is allowed to talk about government affairs.^[87]

Member of the French Academy of Sciences, Pierre Bayen wrote about Nader Shah the following:

He was the horror of the Ottoman Empire, the conqueror of India, the ruler of Persia and all of Asia. His neighbors respected him, his enemies were afraid of him, and he lacked only the love of his subjects.^{[88][page needed]}

One

Nader did not want historians to detail his military victories too closely because he feared others would copy his brilliant techniques on the battlefield.[27]^{[page needed]}

See also

• Nader Shah's Central Asian campaign
• History of the Caucasus
• Afsharid navy
• Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam
• Treaty of Resht
• Jahangusha-i Naderi
  , the most important book on the reign and wars of Nader Shah

Notes

References

Sources

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Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nader Shah.

• Matthee, Rudi (2023). "The wrath of God or national hero? Nader Shah in European and Iranian historiography". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 34: 109–127.
  doi:10.1017/S1356186322000694
  .
• ISBN 0-14-103629-X
  Publisher Penguin (2008)
• Axworthy, Michael (2009). The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant. I.B. Tauris.
• Rota, Giorgio (2020). "In a League of Its Own? Nāder Šāh and His Empire". In Rollinger, Robert; Degen, Julian; Gehler, Michael (eds.). Short-term Empires in World History. Springer. pp. 215–226.

Nader Shah Afshar Qereqlu clan Cadet branch of the Afshar tribe Born: 22 November 1688 Died: 19 June 1747
Iranian royalty
Preceded by Abbas III	Shah of Iran 8 March 1736 – 19 June 1747	Succeeded by Adel Shah
Regnal titles
New title	Regent of Iran 7 September 1732 – 7 March 1736	Vacant Title next held by Reza Qoli Mirza Afshar
Political offices
Preceded by Mohammad Ali Khan Qoullar-Aqasi	Premier of Iran 1729 – 7 March 1736	Vacant Title next held by Mirza Ali Akbar Shirazi
Military offices
Mohammad Khan Abdollu	Qurchi-bashi 1726–1730	Mohammad Reza Khan Abdollu