Nader Shah
A military commander and Afsharid king (r. 1736–1747) who expelled occupiers, invaded India, and seized the Peacock Throne; renowned as a brilliant general.
Read in context →Biography
Nader Shah Afshar (c. 1688–1747) rose from humble Turkmen Afshar origins to become a brilliant military commander who expelled the Afghan invaders that had toppled the Safavids, drove out Ottoman and Russian forces, and restored Iran's territorial integrity before crowning himself shah in 1736 and founding the short-lived Afsharid dynasty. His most spectacular campaign was the 1738–39 invasion of Mughal India: he routed the Mughal army at Karnal and sacked Delhi in 1739, carrying off immense plunder including the Peacock Throne and the Koh-i-Noor and Darya-ye Noor diamonds, though Delhi suffered a devastating massacre. A notable nuance is that he attempted to reconcile Shia and Sunni Islam (proposing Twelver Shiism as a fifth 'Jaʿfari' Sunni school), a reform that largely failed; his later years descended into paranoia and cruelty — including the blinding of his own son — and ended in his assassination by his own officers. His birth year is genuinely disputed (1688 vs. 1698).
Quotes & narrations
«I freed Iran from foreign hands and restored its throne. (the substance of Nader's proclamations)»
Related entities
Also appears in
Sources
- Michael Axworthy, The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah (2006)
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Nāder Shah"
- Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 7 (Peter Avery et al.)