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References:
Some individuals and events mentioned in this chapter:
List of
Safavid monarchs Interesting tabular chart with illustrations, names,
dates, exploits.
Safaivd Empire
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia, also referred to as the Safavid Empire, was one
of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of
Persia, ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered
the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder
empires. The Safavid shahs established the Twelver school of Shia Islam as the
official religion of the empire, marking one of the most important turning
points in Muslim history. The Safavid dynasty had its origin in the Safavid
order of Sufism, which was established in the city of Ardabil in the Azerbaijan
region. It was an Iranian dynasty of Kurdish origin but during their rule they
intermarried with Turkoman, Georgian, Circassian, and Pontic Greek dignitaries,
nevertheless they were Turkish-speaking and Turkified. From their base in
Ardabil, the Safavids established control over parts of Greater Iran and
reasserted the Iranian identity of the region, thus becoming the first native
dynasty since the Sasanian Empire to establish a national state officially
known as Iran. The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722 (experiencing a brief
restoration from 1729 to 1736) and, at their height, they controlled all of
what is now Iran, Republic of Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Armenia, eastern Georgia,
parts of the North Caucasus including Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, as
well as parts of Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Despite
their demise in 1736, the legacy that they left behind was the revival of Iran
as an economic stronghold between East and West, the establishment of an
efficient state and bureaucracy based upon "checks and balances",
their architectural innovations and their patronage for fine arts. The Safavids
have also left their mark down to the present era by spreading Twelver Islam in
Iran, as well as major parts of the Caucasus, Anatolia, the Persian Gulf, and
Mesopotamia.
Safavid Dynasty 1501 -
1736
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran
from 1501 to 1736. The Safavid dynasty had its origin in the Safavid order of
Sufism, which was established in the city of Ardabil in the Iranian Azerbaijan
region. It was an Iranian dynasty of Kurdish origin, but during their rule they
intermarried with Turkoman, Georgian, Circassian, and Pontic Greek dignitaries.
From their base in Ardabil, the Safavids established control over parts of
Greater Iran and reasserted the Iranian identity of the region, thus becoming
the first native dynasty since the Sasanian Empire to establish a national
state officially known as Iran. The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722
(experiencing a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736) and, at their height, they
controlled all of what is now Iran, Azerbaijan Republic, Bahrain, Armenia,
eastern Georgia, parts of the North Caucasus, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, as
well as parts of Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Despite
their demise in 1736, the legacy that they left behind was the revival of Iran
as an economic stronghold between East and West, the establishment of an
efficient state and bureaucracy based upon "checks and balances",
their architectural innovations and their patronage for fine arts. The Safavids
have also left their mark down to the present era by spreading Twelver Islam in
Iran, as well as major parts of the Caucasus, Anatolia, the Persian Gulf, and
Mesopotamia.
George XI of Kartli
1651 - 1709- known as Gurgan Kahn
Sultan Hussein
1688-1726
Sultan Husayn (also spelt Soltan Hosayn and Soltan Hosein; October 1668 –
November 1726) was the Safavid Shah of Iran (Persia) from 1694 until he was
overthrown in 1722 by rebellious marauder Mahmud Hotaki, a Pashtun of the Hotak
dynasty. His reign saw the downfall of the Safavid dynasty, which had ruled
Persia since the beginning of the 16th century. Sultan Husayn's rule was
relatively tranquil until he faced a major revolt in Afghanistan, in the
easternmost part of his realm. The Afghans were divided into two main tribes:
the Ghilzais and the Abdalis. In 1709, the Ghilzai Afghans of Kandahar, under
their leader Mirwais, rebelled and successfully broke away from Safavid rule.
In 1716, the Abdalis of Herat followed their example and Safavid expeditions to
bring them back under control ended in failure. The Abdalis then turned on the
Ghilzais but were defeated by Mahmud Hotaki, one of Mirwais' sons. In the
meantime, Sultan Husayn was confronted by other rebellions resulting from his
religious policy. The revival of Shia Islam promoted by Muhammad Baqer Majlesi
and his successor and grandson, the chief mullah Muhammad Hosein, had led to
increased intolerance towards Sunni Muslims, Jews and Christians (particularly
Georgians and Armenians). The shah had also passed a decree ordering the forced
conversion of Zoroastrians. In 1717–20, the Sunnis of Kurdistan and
Shirvan revolted. In Shirvan and Dagestan, the northwestern domains of the
Safavids, the Lezgins and the rest of the Sunni inhabitants of the area called
on their fellow Sunnis, the Ottoman Turks, to aid them. When the rebellious
Lezgins took Shamakhi, the main town of the Shirvan province in 1721, they
sacked the city, massacred the Shia population, including the governor and his
family, and robbed the property of its Christian inhabitants and foreign
nationals. Writer Jonas Hanway wrote that "the city was ransacked".]
Sultan Hossein was faced with problems elsewhere in his realm – Arab
pirates seized islands in the Persian Gulf and there were plagues in the
north-western provinces – but he and his court failed to take decisive
action.
In June 1722, Peter the Great, the then tsar of the neighbouring Russian
Empire, declared war on Safavid Iran in an attempt to expand Russian influence
in the Caspian and Caucasus regions and to prevent its rival, Ottoman Empire,
from territorial gains in the region at the expense of declining Safavid Iran.
The Russian victory ratified for Safavid Irans' cession of their territories in
the Northern, Southern Caucasus and contemporary mainland Northern Iran,
comprising the cities of Derbent (southern Dagestan) and Baku and their nearby
surrounding lands, as well as the provinces of Gilan, Shirvan, Mazandaran, and
Astrabad to Russia per the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1723).
However, the main threat came from the Ghilzai Afghans. In 1722, Mahmud and his
army swept westward aiming at the shah's capital Isfahan itself. Rather than
biding his time within the city and resisting a siege in which the small Afghan
army was unlikely to succeed, Sultan Husayn marched out to meet Mahmud's force
at Golnabad. Here, on 8 March, the royal army was thoroughly routed and fled
back to Isfahan in disarray. The shah was urged to escape to the provinces to
raise more troops but he decided to remain in the capital which was now
encircled by the Afghans. Mahmud's siege of Isfahan lasted from March to
October, 1722. Lacking artillery, he was forced to resort to a long blockade in
the hope of starving the Persians into submission.
Sultan Husayn's command during the siege displayed his customary lack of
decisiveness and the loyalty of his provincial governors wavered in the face of
such incompetence. Protests against his rule also broke out within Isfahan and
the shah's son, Tahmasp, was eventually elevated to the role of co-ruler. In
June, Tahmasp managed to escape from the city in a bid to raise a relief force
in the provinces, but little came of this plan. Starvation and disease finally
forced Isfahan into submission (it is estimated that 80,000 of its inhabitants
died during the siege). On 23 October, Soltan Hossein abdicated and
acknowledged Mahmud as the new shah of Persia.
To begin with, Mahmud treated Sultan Husayn considerately, but as he gradually
became mentally unbalanced he began to view the former shah with suspicion. In
February 1725, believing a rumour that one of Sultan Husayn's sons, Safi Mirza,
had escaped, Mahmud ordered the execution of all the other Safavid princes who
were in his hands, with the exception of Sultan Husayn himself. When Sultan
Husayn tried to stop the massacre, he was wounded, but his action saved the
lives of two of his young children. Mahmud succumbed to insanity and died on 25
April of the same year.[11] Mahmud's successor Ashraf at first treated the
deposed shah with sympathy. In return, Sultan Husayn gave him the hand of one
of his daughters in marriage, a move which would have increased Ashraf's
legitimacy in the eyes of his Persian subjects. However, Ashraf was involved in
a war with the Ottoman Empire, which contested his claim to the Persian throne.
In the autumn of 1726, the Ottoman governor of Baghdad, Ahmad Pasha, advanced
with his army on Isfahan, sending a message to Ashraf saying that he was coming
to reinstate the rightful shah of Persia. In response, Ashraf had Sultan
Husayn's head cut off and sent it to the Ottoman with the message that "he
expected to give Ahmad Pasha a fuller reply with the points of his sword and
his lance". As Michael Axworthy comments, "In this way Shah Soltan
Hossein gave in death a sharper answer than he ever gave in life".
Siege of Isfahan
1722
The siege of Isfahan was a six-month-long siege of Isfahan, the capital of the
Safavid dynasty of Iran, by the Hotaki-led Afghan army. It lasted from March to
October 1722 and resulted in the city's fall and the beginning of the end of
the Safavid dynasty. The Iranian Safavid Empire, once a powerful empire, had
been in decline since the late 17th century. This was brought about by the lack
of interest in ruling by many of the Shahs of that period, royal intrigues,
civil unrest, especially among many of its subjects, and recurrent wars with
their Ottoman arch rivals. The Safavids, at that time being strongly in favor
of Shia Islam, heavily oppressed the Sunni Pashtuns in what is now Afghanistan.
Making use of the opportunity provided by the Safavid decline, the Pashtuns led
by Mir Wais Hotak had rebelled against the Persian overlordship and killed
their Georgian governor, Gurgin Khan. A series of ensuing punitive campaigns
sent by the Safavid government were defeated and the Pashtun army was then on
march into Persia proper, advancing the Safavid capital of Isfahan. Isfahan was
besieged by the Afghan forces led by Shah Mahmud Hotaki after their decisive
victory over the Safavid army at the battle of Gulnabad, close to Isfahan, on 8
March 1722. After the battle, the Safavid forces fell back in disarray to
Isfahan. The Afghans lacked artillery to breach the city walls and blockaded
Isfahan in order to bend Shah Sultan Husayn Safavi, and the city's defenders
into surrender. Ill-organized Safavid efforts to relieve the siege failed and
the shah's disillusioned Georgian vassal, Vakhtang VI of Kartli, refused to
come to the Safavid aid. Shah Husayn's son, Tahmasp, and some 600 soldiers fled
their way out of the city. The famine soon prevailed and the shah capitulated
on 23 October, abdicating in favor of Mahmud, who triumphantly entered the city
on 25 October 1722. The Afghans would remain in Persia until 1729.
Battle of Gulnabad
1722
The Battle of Gulnabad (Sunday, March 8, 1722) was fought between the military
forces from Hotaki Dynasty and the army of the Safavid Empire. It further
cemented the eventual fall of the Safavid dynasty, which had been declining for
decades. After the battle was won, the Hotaks began slowly but surely to march
on deeper into Persia, and eventually towards Isfahan, the Safavid Persian
capital. Numbers and casualty figures of the Gulnabad battle are believed to be
between 5,000 and 15,000 dead Safavid soldiers. The Safavid army is estimated
at 42,000–50,000 with 24 cannon. Thr Hotaki army had only
10,00]–20,000 warriors with 100 zamburaks
Battle of
Damghan - 1729
The Battle of Damghan or Battle of Mehmandoost was fought on September 29 to
October 5, 1729, near the city of Damghan. It resulted in an overwhelming
victory for Nader Shah and the Safavid cause he had taken up, though by itself
it did not end Ashraf's rule in Iran, it was a significant triumph which led to
further successes in the following engagements of the campaign to restore
Tahmasp II to the throne. The Safavid army numbered 25,000 and the Hotaki's had
40,000 to 50,000. The battle was followed by another one in Murcheh-Khort, a
village near Isfahan. Nader's forces were victorious in both battles, which led
him to remove the Ghilzai Afghan dynasty from their short stay on the Persian
throne. The Hotakis were forced back to their territory in what is now southern
Afghanistan. The battle of Damghan proved the supremacy of Nader's
artillery-dependent military system in comparison to the old exclusively
cavalry based system utilised by the Afghans. Although Ashraf sought to remedy
this in the subsequent engagement at Murcheh-Khort - relying on guns and
artillery-men from the Ottomans - he failed to construct an adequate military
structure to hold up against Nader's army.
Ashraf having come to power in the aftermath of a coup against his predecessor,
Mahmud Hotaki, had achieved great success in the war with the Ottomans where
with a much inferior force he overcame a superior Turkish army and agreed to a
settlement which divided the west of the former Safavid Empire of Iran with his
Ottoman adversary in the aftermath of which he secured Turkish support and
acceptance as the legitimate ruler of Iran. Meanwhile, Nader & Tahmasp had
been campaigning in the north-east building up a base from which to challenge
Ashraf's claim on his newly acquired dominion. Hearing of the Nader's march on
Herat, Ashraf set out from Isfahan in August 1729 with a host 30,000 strong, in
the hope of conquering Khorasan while Nader was waging war on the Abdali
Afghans further to the east. Unfortunately for Ashraf, Nader subjugated Herat
and returned to Mashad before Ashraf could invade Khorasan. Upon hearing of
Ashraf's approach Nader gathered his fighting men to set out via Sabzevar on
September 12, 1729. By the time Ashraf reached and besieged Semnan his force
had grown to 40,000 compared to Nader's estimated strength of 25,000. Leaving a
token force behind to resume the siege of Semnan Ashraf marched east towards
Shahroud sending a fraction of his command ahead to seek out and destroy
Nader's artillery. The first clash of arms between the two side occurred in a
small but savagely fought skirmish south-east of Shahroud in which 14 Afghans
were made prisoners whom were taken to Nader for interrogation. Nader continued
to press forward until dusk, whence he began to make camp east of an obscure
village by the name of Mihmandoost. That night Tahmasp promised him his
sister's hand in marriage if Nader gained victory in battle on the following
day.
Battle:
Deployments & pre-engagement manoeuvres:
In the morning of September 29, Ashraf drew up his army in the traditional
fashion in three separate formations making up the centre, left and right as
opposed to the Persian army which Nader had formed up in four divisions. Ashraf
was so confident of victory that he set aside two to three thousand of his
horsemen to hunt down and capture Tahmasp and Nader after his victory. A
rearguard of a few thousand mounted troops covered Nader's ongoing deployment
to the left, on the Tal hills. In a break with conventional deployment patterns
in oriental armies of this period Nader placed his artillery pieces behind his
line infantry, where from their elevated positions on the high ground they
overlooked the compact formations of Persian Jazayerchi (musketeers) at the
base of the hills as well as the valley in front of them.[3] The Afghan left
which had come into contact with the Persian rearguard and instead of pursuing
them fell back in line with the rest of Ashraf's army when the rearguard was
withdrawn. Ashraf gave the order for an all out charge driving his cavalry army
of 40,000 riders towards the Persians whom were now awaiting at the foot of the
Tal hills. The terrifying horde of Afghan riders charged forward with
incredible speed and impetus.
The Afghan charge is broken up:
A harrowing roar of cannon fire echoed throughout the valley as the Persian
guns atop the crest of the hills were submerged under a white cloud of
billowing smoke causing "three or four hundred Afghan soldiers to be
sliced through like cucumbers". As the flanks of the Afghan army came into
range of the Jazayerchi they were shot to pieces as the Persian officers
withheld their infantry's first volley until they could make out their enemies
faces from the crowd, (perhaps a distance of a few dozen metres). This
particular measure which had been perfected over the course of many years and
battles by Nader's veteran Jazayerchi proved devastatingly effective. The
momentum of the Afghan charge had been sapped with the rear ranks falling over
and trampling the remains of their shattered comrades in a staggered advance
giving way to a terrible confusion with dust and smoke all around, incessant
volleys from Persian musketeers, cannonballs striking punching through the
flesh of man and beast alike as the zamburaks having found Ashraf's men within
their range brought their swivel guns to bear. In amidst this bloody chaos
Ashraf's chief standard holder was struck by a cannonball and a few of his own
horses also perished under the unrelenting bombardment of Persian artillery
fire which also succeeded in all but laying waste to the Afghan artillery
(mostly consisting of zamburaks that were notoriously vulnerable to
conventional cannon fire due to being mounted on camels making them easy
targets for greater calibre guns).
A Persian counter-attack materialised in the form of a grouping of Jazayerchi
pressing forward with sabres drawn into the centre of Ashraf's army where the
remains of his artillery were positioned. In the ensuing melee that developed
the Jazayerchi (who were armed with swords as well as other weaponry for
hand-to-hand fighting) succeeded in pushing through the nucleus of their
opponents formation and therefore in effect bisecting Ashraf's army, obliging
it to flee the field having been completely bloodied. A short pursuit of the
enemy followed by a contingent of Afshars that Nader had held in reserve but
only for a few kilometres and the bulk of the Persian army were not allowed to
join in the short lived hunt as Nader suspected a possible ambush further ahead
en route to Semnan. Leaving behind 12,000 dead, Ashraf marched hastily westward
in a frantic bid to make good his losses in time for a subsequent
confrontation. He wagered on an ambush which he set up around Khwar pass.
Meanwhile, Nader and Tahmasp fell out over what course of action to take in the
aftermath of Mihmandoost, as Nader (possibly disingenuously) advocated a return
to Mashad to re-consolidate, to Tahmasp's extreme chagrin. In fact Tahmasp was
so disconcerted by Nader's foot dragging that he marched out of camp in
protest, prompting Nader to send reconciliatory emissaries inviting the King to
return to the army although Nader would leave him at Tehran before resuming the
campaign any further.
Battle of Khwar
Pass 1729
The Battle of Khwar Pass was a failed ambush set up by Ashraf Hotaki during his
retreat in the aftermath of his defeat at the Battle of Damghan (1729).
Gathering what forces lay on his route, Ashraf pulled together another
formidable fighting force around the remains of his badly bloodied force, even
having enough men to spare for an ambush set up at a narrow pass east of
Varamin. Placing hidden guns and sharpshooters on the high ground overlooking
the pass and fortifying the narrow pathway Ashraf even left a significant body
of cavalry behind in order to hunt down the survivors of the ambush. Nader's
spies however reported on Ashraf's designs at Khwar. Skirting around the ambush
Nader, personally taking command, launched a two-pronged assault utilising
musketeers with artillery support, catching the Afghans in an ambush of his
own, forcing the Pashtuns to flee leaving their guns and baggage behind. As a
result of the battle, Nader's advance into the heart of Iran and onto the
capital Isfahan lay open. Nader however chose to take a longer route further to
the west for reasons of superior logistical support. This also had the benefit
of surprise with the defeated Afghans unable to mount a serious obstacle to
Nader's advance on Isfahan until he had already reached Murcheh-Khort, a town
just a mere few kilometres north of Isfahan itself.
Battle of
Murche-Khort 1729
The Battle of Murche-Khort was the last decisive engagement of Nader's campaign
to restore Tahmasp II to the Persian throne. Ashraf Hotak had failed to arrest
Nader's advance into Isfahan at Khwar pass where his ambush was discovered,
surrounded and ambushed itself. The battle was fought in an uncharacteristic
manner by the Afghans who to some extent sought to replicate their foes
tactical systems which had so badly devastated their armies up to this point.
Victory opened a clear road south towards Isfahan and the return of Safavid
rule for a few brief years before Nader himself would overthrow it.
Ashraf's arrival in Isfahan heralded a massacre of over 3,000 Persian
aristocrats & clergymen carried out in the cruel, cold calculation that his
catastrophic defeat at Mihmandoost would encourage an uprising in Isfahan as
soon as he were to ride out of the city with his army to meet Nader's forces
which were bearing down on Isfahan. Removing any potential leaders of revolt in
Isfahan ensured that he would not be caught between the Persian army in the
north and a resurgent Isfahan in the south. This purge was carried out with
particular brutality, looting and destroying much of the Bazaar in a fire,
though the extremity of the measure would count as another of the atrocities
perpetrated by the Afghans during their brief and bloody rule in Persia with a
damning verdict from historians ever since helping to create a very authentic
image in the eyes of posterity of Afghan rule in Iran as a mere case of
uncivilized, brute, beastly, savage barbarians ransacking a civilization.
After Nader's crushing victories against the Ghilzai Afghans in northern Persia
he wrote letters to the Ottomans requesting the immediate withdrawal from
historic Safavid lands which they had acquired from Ashraf by the Treaty of
Hamadan. Realizing the threat of a resurgent Persia on their eastern border the
Ottomans responded to Ashraf's requests for help, sending him both guns and
artillerymen. On October 31, 1729, having augmented his army's fire power
substantially with Ottoman aid Ashraf marched out of Isfahan even more
destitute than at the time of Mahmud's siege.
Moving north the Afghans reached a defensible position near Murche-Khort
approximately 55 kilometres north of Isfahan. On November 13, 1729 Nader's army
came into view. Observing the strength of the entrenched position Ashraf had
selected, Nader attempted to lure him out first by artillery fire and then by
marching around him and towards Isfahan. Alas this ruse met with no more
success than the first. Ashraf was far too cunning to be duped in this manner
and in fact had done excellently in devising a new approach to counter Nader's
seemingly invincible system which was evidently immune to the thundering charge
of Afghan horsemen which had swept all before it in previous engagements, even
the Ottomans.
Recognizing that any attack on the Persian army was doomed to failure, Ashraf
deployed his artillery in a circular fashion all around his centre which was a
long line of entrenched infantry, in effect giving him a pivot to manoeuvre his
cavalry around.
Engagement:
Nader drew up his Jazayerchi (musketeers) in a line corresponding to that of
their entrenched foes. He sent a contingent of cavalry under Haj Beg Afshar
around to the east to menace the Afghan right flank and kept the rest of his
cavalry in reserve in order foil any attempt by Ashraf to flank or disrupt his
musketeers onslaught against the Afghan infantry in the centre. The uniform
advance of the Jazayerchi was little affected by either Afghan musketry and
cannon fire, continuing right up to the trenches where they unleashed deadly
volleys at close range before drawing swords and coming to grips with the
enemy. No effort was spared by Ashraf to try and relieve the pressure from his
infantry in the centre and many charges were made by his cavalry against the
Persian infantry's flank and rear but were all intercepted and thrown back by
Nader's cavalry reserve.
Eventually the centre of the Afghan army dissolved under pressure and Ashraf
having done his utmost to keep order amongst his unravelling army was forced to
concede another crushing defeat, leading him to flee with the utmost urgency in
order to reach Isfahan before Nader.
Aftermath:
Such was the panic-stricken haste with which Ashraf and his entourage fled to
Isfahan that they rode through the city gates that very afternoon, fresh from
their defeat at Murche-Khort. Scrambling for any items of value he loaded as
much as he could onto as many four-legged beasts as he could find and along
with a few princesses of the Safavid house left Isfahan for Shiraz at dawn. The
Ottoman artillerymen who had become Nader's prisoners were treated with mercy
and permitted to journey home.
Battle of Yeghevard
1735
The Battle of Yeghevard, also known as the Battle of Baghavard or Morad Tapeh,
was the final major engagement of the Perso-Ottoman War of 1730–1735 where
the principal Ottoman army in the Caucasus theatre under Koprulu Pasha's
command was utterly destroyed by only the advance guard of Nader's army before
the main Persian army could enter into the fray. The complete rout of Koprulu
Pasha's forces led to a number of besieged Ottoman strongholds in the theatre
surrendering as any hope of relief proved ephemeral in light of the crushing
defeat at Yeghevard. One of Nader's most impressive battlefield victories, in
which he decimated a force four or five times the size of his own, it helped
establish his reputation as a military genius and stands alongside many of his
other great triumphs such as at Karnal, Mihmandoost or Kirkuk.
The Caucasus theatre, alongside the Mesopotamian theatre was one of the key
regions where Ottoman and Persian empires had fought for hegemony throughout
much of early modern period. The collapse of the Safavid state during the 1720s
due to the invasion of the Hotaki Afghans gave the Ottomans the opportunity to
seize not only the Caucasian territories under Persian suzerainty but to also
extend their borders deep into western Iran itself. After Nader's successful
campaigns in western Persia and Ottoman Iraq the western frontier of the empire
was once again secure. However to the north, the Ottomans were still entrenched
and Istanbul had seen fit to reinforce the battlements with a fresh army under
Koprulu Pasha to ensure the Caucasus remained under Ottoman rule.
On 3 November 1734 Nader arrived at the gates of Ganja after subduing Shirvan
by capturing its capital Shamakhi in August 1734. The fortifications of Ganja
so impressed Nader that he decided on a protracted siege of the city. Leaving
behind a portion of his force around Ganja, he set off with the remainder
towards Georgia and Armenia in the west, besieging Tbilisi and Yerevan
respectively. Abdollah Koprulu Pasha exited Kars with an army of 50,000
cavalry, 30,000 infantry plus 40 guns in order to find and bring Nader's main
force to battle with the purpose of lifting the sieges of Ottoman holdings in
the region. Although primary sources give the figure of 120,000 Ottoman
soldiers in total. When news of Koprulu Pasha's entrance into area via crossing
the Arpachay river the Armenian chronicler Abraham of Crete records Nader's
reaction as being "praise be to god, I had been awaiting this moment for
such a lengthy time" and immediately set out to meet him with his advance
guard of 15,000–18,000. That night Nader camped on a high ground
overlooking the plain nearby a forest.
Hearing of Nader's proximity as well as the meagreness of his numbers, Koprulu
Pasha hastened his approach. Nader, instead of falling back towards the main
body of the Persian army, started to deploy his advance guard on the spot.
Battle commenced at 2 o'clock in the afternoon with Nader, having deployed a
contingent of troops in the nearby forest, led 3,000 men down onto the valley
below beginning a skirmish with the Ottomans to fix their attentionThe Turks
who were in the process of deploying a significant number of their guns on the
crest of a small hill were caught completely off guard when Nader, in an
aggressive manoeuvre, dispatched 2–3,000 of his elite musketeers (the
Jazayerchi) to seize the hill. The Ottomans were driven off the hill and their
precious artillery pieces were captured causing great dismay among the Ottoman
soldiers who witnessed the ease with which their guns fell into enemy hands in
just the opening phase of the battle.
Nader at this moment sent forward another unit in order to neutralise the other
concentration of Ottoman artillery on the left, after which the order for the
advance of the Persian centre was given. Nader's own artillery was augmented by
the presence of 500 zamburaks (which were essentially swivel guns mounted on
the back of camels, providing light manoeuvrable artillery). Although zamburaks
were extremely vulnerable to cannon fire, all of the Ottoman guns had been
silenced allowing the zamburaks to play a decisive role in the battle.
1. After skirmishing in the centre fixes the Ottomans' attention, Nader orders
aggressive attacks directed at neutralising the main concentrations of Ottoman
artillery
2. The Persian centre advances against its Ottoman counterpart which is
devastated by focused artillery fire by Persian cannon & zamburaks, forcing
the Ottomans back
3. Nader at this point signals his hidden contingent of troops from the nearby
forest to flank the disorganized Ottomans, helping to completely rout them off
the field Now the Persian artillery came into play supporting the centre's
advance into the heart of the Ottoman line by a murderous volley of round shot
in addition to the half a thousand zamburaks that unleashed a devastating fire
on the Ottoman centre which, having been thrown into disarray, subsequently
fell back as the Persians centre closed on them.
In all, the Persian cannon fired over 300 rounds not including the zamburaks
while the Ottoman guns fired a pathetic two or three times before being
silenced for the remainder of the battle. At this crucial juncture, with the
Ottoman centre thrown back and reeling in confusion, Nader summoned his
contingent of troops hidden away at the edge of the nearby forest to settle the
matter decisively by a brilliant flanking manoeuvre, converting the Ottoman's
disarray into a headlong rout. Nader put himself at the head of 1,000 chosen
horsemen to seal the path of retreat on his foe. Koprulu Pasha was set upon
during the rout by a Persian soldier by the name of Rostam who threw him from
his horse, knocking him unconscious just prior to beheading him and taking the
morbid trophy back to camp in order to present it to Nader. Many other
high-ranking generals were also slaughtered and their troops fared even worse,
being pursued and butchered all the way back to the Arpachay River.
The massacre of the Ottoman soldiery was such that Nader himself later wrote
(with little exaggeration) that "we made a butchery of all the
Janissaries; not a single one of them could make away with his life" and
that "an overwhelming number of the Ottoman cavalry... almost all of them
were killed by the grace of god". The defeat at Yeghevard was so crushing
that scarcely 8,000 soldiers made their way back to Kars[16] out of the
original number of 80,000 while Persian casualties were minuscule. In many ways
it was the perfect battle to the end of one of the most tumultuous wars between
the two superpowers where advantages were gained and then lost in an almost
perpetual shift of fortunes. Nader himself, writing to the prince of Gulytsin,
claimed "never in any of my wars have I been as fortunate" and was
content enough to order a monument to be built on the high ground upon which he
had set up camp the night prior to the battle. The strategic ramifications of
the battle were felt almost immediately throughout the Caucasus with Ganja and
Tbilisi surrendering in despair though Yerevan held out until Nader, crossing
the Aparchay river blockaded Kars and the Ottomans were convinced to exchange
Yerevan for the lifting of the blockade on October 13, 1735.
Mirwais_Hotak
1673-1715
Mirwais Khan Hotak (1673–1715), was an Afghan ruler of Hotak dynasty from
the Khilji tribe from Kandahar, Afghanistan and the founder of the Hotak
dynasty that ruled from 1709 to 1738. In 1709, after overthrowing and
assassinating Gurgin Khan, the Safavid Persian governor, Mirwais Hotak,
declared independence of the Loy Kandahar ("Greater Kandahar")
region, which is now southern Afghanistan. Mirwais Hotak is widely known as
Mirwais Nik? or Mirwais Baba "Mirwais the Grandfather" in the Pashto
language.
Gurgin Khan was a Georgian-Safavid general, defeated by the Safavid Empire for
trying to revolt in Georgia; he led his services to the Safavids. Gurgin Khan
was ordered to put down a suspected rebellion and to govern in Kandahar. Sultan
Husayn strongly suspected the Ghilzais had revolted and so sent Gurgin Khan to
Kandahar ahead of a large Persian army. When he arrived, he saw that the
Ghilzais were not revolting, but committed to not submitting easily to
oppression. Although the Ghilzais were loyal to Gurgin Khan, he did not want
this and preferred instead to strike fear into the Afghan tribes. So Gurgin
Khan massively oppressed the Afghans and treated the land as if he had
conquered it. With many high ranking officials sacked, Gurgin Khan treated the
Afghans like slaves. The Ghilzais appealed to Sultan Husayn for proper
representation, but he ignored them so the Ghilzais resorted to planning a
revolt. However, the situation was unfavorable to them, because the best
Persian general at the time was entangled with a large Persian army occupying
Kandahar at that moment.
Prominent amongst the Ghilzai chiefs during these events was Mirwais Hotak
– as head of one of the tribes, he was intelligent, and well mannered, one
of the richest and most influential people in Kandahar.[10] Mirwais had taken a
lead role in the chain of events and signed a petition to Sultan Husayn, as
well as boosting the morale of his countrymen for a future revolt if necessary.
After the petition failed, Mirwais advocated submission to the Safavids for the
time being.[11] Gurgin Khan/George XI of Kartli Gurgin Khan noticed Mirwais's
great influence in the Kandahar region, and viewed him as the only thing
keeping the Ghilzais from revolting in Kandahar. As a result, Gurgin Khan was
determined to strip Mirwais of his influence and power. Thus, Gurgin Khan
ordered the arrest of Mirwais for conspiring against the government. Mirwais
was arrested along with many other fellow compatriots and sent to Isfahan.
Gurgin Khan, now feeling safe in his governorship of Kandahar, then allowed the
greater part of his army to return to Persia. Mirwais arrived at Isfahan, and
immediately noticed the weak state of the Persian court – with corrupt
officials in the court for their own greed.
Mirwais appealed to them, and rather than showing himself as an enemy, Mirwais
portrayed Gurgin Khan as an enemy to the Persian court. Mirwais also demanded
that Sultan Husayn investigate the charges against him. Sultan Husayn
acknowledged Mirwais was innocent, and allowed him to retain his influential
position at the court. Mirwais explained to the court that Gurgin Khan would be
a ferocious enemy if he ever revolted, with the governorship of Kandahar,
Georgia, and Kerman all falling to his rule if he decided to revolt. He
respectfully talked about Ghurghis' power, arousing suspicion amongst the
entire court. Sultan Husayn fell for this, and saw the possibility of
Ghurghis's ambitions growing too big. Having achieved his goal, Mirwais
requested a pilgrimage to Mecca, which the court could not decline, and
therefore allowed. Mirwais wanted to obtain support and approval from religious
leaders, and so he asked multiple questions: "Is it lawful for Muslamans
to take up arms to free themselves from the yoke?""In the case of
which the chief men of several tribes having been forced to take the oath of
allegiance to a sovereign who was a heretic, are not the members of the tribe
released from the oath when the sovereign ceases to observe the convention he
had sworn to?"
The replies were in the affirmative, so Mirwais returned to Isfahan. He planned
to depart to Kandahar, however fearing it would cause suspicion, he stayed at
his post of influence in the court of Isfahan. Around the same time that
Mirwais returned from Mecca, he learned of an Armenian named Israel Orri, sent
to Isfahan as an ambassador under diplomatic authority of Peter the Great. The
ambassador had an unusual number of followers to support him, hundreds of
followers supporting him to move toward the court. His goal was more influence
over Persian import and export duties. The story was expanded upon and greatly
exaggerated. Once it reached the court at Isfahan, many rumors added to the
alarm, and Sultan Husayn had asked Mirwais for counsel on what to do. Mirwais
took this to his advantage, and replied:
"It is true that the conjuncture is formidable. If the Tsar of Russia had
desired to send a peaceful mission to this country, he would not have selected
an Armenian as his agent. By sending a man, born a Persian subject, yet of his
own faith, and of the ancient royal family of Armenia, his object must be to
blow with effect the coals of sedition into the very heart of the kingdom. But,
the efforts of Armenia backed by Russia, would mean nothing, could we be sure
of Georgia. But it is only recently that the Georgians, under Ghurghis Khan,
revolted against the Shah. We know that the cousin of Ghurghis Khan is now at
the court of St Petersburg. How can we doubt that as soon as this Armenian
Christian has penetrated with his following into Persia, backed by Russia,
Ghurghis Khan, who was once a Christian, who is probably a Christian in heart
now, who is, moreover, the lineal descent of descendant of the ancient kings of
Georgia, who can doubt but that he will turn Georgia, Kerman, and Kandahar
against us, and strike a blow at the heart of the empire".
These and similar arguments sent Sultan Husayn into a panic. In fear of
provoking Russia, he allowed Israel Orri to travel to Isfahan, and suspicion of
Gurgin Khan plagued both the court and the Shah. As a result, Sultan Husayn had
reappointed Mirwais to his position, to spy on Gurgin Khan, and by any means,
to remove him from power if he was thought to have started anything suspicious.
Mirwais then returned to Kandahar, enraging Gurgin Khan, who had to appoint
Mirwais back to his positions. Gurgin Khan, plotted to advure things toward him
and demanded that Mirwais hand over his daughter to be his concubine. Mirwais,
insulted by this, communicated with the heads of many other tribes. They met in
Mirwais' tent and consulted on plans for revolt. Mirwais asked to lead any
revolt and askedthe tribes to follow him, which they respected, waiting for him
to give the signal. Mirwais disguised a young-looking girl and dressed her to
take the place of his daughter and sent her to Gurgin Khan, which worked.
Mirwais was now ready for revolt, but had one obstacle in his way. When Gurgin
Khan allowed the Persians to return to Persia, he kept the Georgians of the
army as his bodyguards.
Mirwais had gone around this by informing the Tarins – tribal governors of
the Pishin Valley – to stop paying tribute to Gurgin Khan. Gurgin Khan,
not tolerating plans for rebellion, dispatched the majority of his Georgian
troops to the region. Mirwais meanwhile had been arranging members of the
branch of the Ghilzais tribe, with him being the chief and marched out to
approach within a few miles of Kandahar. Mirwais then invited the marching
Georgians, including Gurgin Khan, to a banquet, expressing his distaste for the
Tarins acting out. Gurgin Khan, unsuspicious of treachery, was welcomed and
respected, attended with a few friends of his. With everything going well,
Mirwais gave the signal to slaughter the Georgians and Gurgin Khan. With
Ghurhis Khan slain, they turned their attention to the remainders of the
Georgian army, which was unaware of what had happened. Mirwais ordered Gurgin
Khan and all his men stripped and he and his men disguised themselves in their
armor as Gurgin Khan and his men and set out for Kandahar, their appearance
preventing suspicion. They entered the gates and turned on the Georgian army,
cutting down the guards and admitting the awaiting Afghans from the rear. The
Georgian army then was completely slaughtered by Mirwais and his followers.
With the coup succeeding, Mirwais assembled the inhabitants of Kandahar, and
made a speech about how the loss of Ghurghis Khan had weakened Persia, and the
opportunity for freedom and liberty was now available to Afghans. Mirwais
declared the infamous words: "If there are any amongst you, who have not
the courage to enjoy this precious gift of liberty now dropped down to you from
heaven, let him declare himself; no harm shall be done to him, he shall be
permitted to go in search of some new tyrant beyond the frontier of this happy
state."
The reply left nothing to be desired, with every Afghan hearing the speech now
inspired to defend the liberty granted to them. Mirwais then assembled leading
men of the different tribes and presented the situation to them: that the
Persians likely would send a punitive expedition. Mirwais was then given
complete executive power. Mirwais began arming his forces and also spread the
word of his successes to other tribes to encourage them to join the revolt.
Soon after, on the fourth day after Gurgin Khan's murder, the rest of the
Georgian dispatch returned from their campaign to suppress the Tarins,
numbering around 600 disciplined Georgian men. Mirwais allowed them to approach
within range of musket shot fire, then directed the guns to open up on the
Georgian army. Mirwais opened up from another gate with over 5,000 cavalrymen
of his own to cut off the Georgian retreat. However, 600 Georgians managed to
slash their way through the cavalry. Mirwais then pursued the Georgian army for
days; though repelled, he inflicted heavy casualties on them.
The retreating Georgians carried news of the revolution at Kandahar. The
Persian court then tried to solve the issue diplomatically due to fear of the
Hotaks calling in the Mughal Empire. The Persians sent an ambassador, Jani
Khan, to assure Mirwais that the murder of Gurgin Khan would be forgiven if
they allowed a Persian garrison in Kandahar. (The Persians also made war-time
preparations just in case the plan failed.) The ambassador arrived in Kandahar
and delivered his message, Mirwais imprisoned him in order to stall for time,
and delay Persia’s preparations by not replying to the court. Mirwais had
guessed the court's moves correctly. After it heard nothing from Jani Khan, it
sent another ambassador to Kandahar. This time, they sent the governor of
Herat, Muhammad Khan, as he had good ties with the Ghilzais, and they believed
that he could de-escalate the situation. Muhammad Khan was informed that he
should "never make base proposals to men who are free." When the
ambassador returned, the Persian court realized that war was the only option to
bring Mirwais and his followers to subjugation.
In 1710 the Persians dispatched a force under the governor of Herat to march on
Kandahar to put down the Hotaki Rebellion. Mirwais, having heard that the army
was mostly made up of Persians, advanced with over 5,000 cavalrymen, and
completely defeated the Persian army.[30] In the course of another 18 months,
the Persians dispatched another four armies to try to quell Mirwais and his
followers, but time after time were defeated again. On the last attempt, the
Persians advanced with over 5,000 men, commanded by Mahammad Khan, governor of
Tabriz.
Yet, the Persian army was completely repelled by the 500-man Afghan army, with
the Persians suffering over 1,000 killed and wounded. Amongst the prisoners
from the battle was the governor of Tabriz himself and his three sons. In the
wake of these defeats, the Persian court now focused all the imperial resources
of the Persian empire on the Hotaki Rebellion. Gurgin Khan's nephew Khusru Khan
marched with a large Persian army to Kandahar against Mirwais and his
followers. Khusru scouted ahead after advancing as far as Farah, and Mirwais
taking up heavy positions near Ghirisk on the banks of the Helmand River,
leaving the passes unguarded. Khusru led his army of 42,000 through the pass
where he met Mirwais and his army. The Afghans, inferior in numbers, were
defeated by Khusru, and with this victory, Khusru began marching on Kandahar.
Khusru demanded that Kandahar surrender to him, but the Afghans decided to
resist. Mirwais hastened to the south of Kandahar, mobilizing a force of
Balochs and Tarins. With this force, Mirwais marched toward Kandahar to lift
the siege. He cut off enemy supply lines, laid waste to the land around
Kandahar, and threatened enemy communications. Khusru tried to keep up the
siege as long as he could, attempting multiple assaults; however, his army bled
away, and he lost two-thirds of his force to scorched earth tactics and enemy
counterattacks. With this, Khusru called for a retreat, but too late. Mirwais
closed in on Khusru's exhausted and wounded force with over 16,000 Afghans; the
Persian army was destroyed and Khusru Khan was killed. The Persians tried again
in 1713-1714, with an army led by Muhammad Rustum Khan, but after all these
attempts, the Persian armies were still defeated in every encounter with
Mirwais. Muhammad Rustum Khan was forced to withdraw in 1714 from the Afghan
armies. This was the last attempt by Sultan Husayn and his court to put down
Mirwais's rebellion
Mirwais remained in power until his death in November 1715 and was succeeded by
his brother Abdul Aziz, who was later killed by Mirwais' son Mahmud, allegedly
for planning to give Kandahar's sovereignty back to Persia. In 1717, Mahmud
took advantage of the political weakness of the Persian Shah (Sultan Husayn)
and briefly conquered large parts of Persia. Mirwais is buried in his mausoleum
in the Kokaran section of Kandahar, which is in the western end of the city. He
is regarded as one of Afghanistan's greatest national heroes and admired by
many Afghans, especially the Pashtuns. Steven Otfinoski referred to him as
Afghanistan's George Washington in his 2004 book Afghanistan. There is a
neighborhood called Mirwais Mina as well as a hospital called Mirwais Hospital,
a high school and a business center named after him in Kandahar. There are also
schools and a number of institutions or places across Afghanistan built to
honor him. A few direct descendants of Mirwais are living today among the Hotak
tribe.
Hotak Dynasty
The Hotak dynasty was an Afghan monarchy founded by Ghilji Pashtuns that
briefly ruled portions of Iran and Afghanistan during the 1720s. It was
established in April 1709 by Mirwais Hotak, who led a successful revolution
against the declining Persian Safavid empire in the region of Loy Kandahar
("Greater Kandahar") in what is now southern Afghanistan. In 1715,
Mirwais died of natural causes and his brother Abdul Aziz succeeded him. He did
not reign long as he was killed by his nephew Mahmud, who deposed the Safavid
shah and proclaimed his own rule over Iran. Mahmud in turn was succeeded by his
cousin Ashraf following a palace coup in 1725. Ashraf, however, did not retain
his throne for long, as the Iranian conqueror Nader-Qoli Beg (later Shah),
leading the resurgent Safavid banner, defeated him at the Battle of Damghan of
1729 and banished Ashraf Hotak to what is now southern Afghanistan, confining
Hotak rule to a small corner of their former empire. In 1738, Hotak rule ended
when Nader Shah defeated Ashraf's successor Hussain Hotak after a lengthy siege
of Kandahar. Subsequently, Nader Shah began reestablishing Iranian suzerainty
over regions lost decades before to Iran's archrivals—the Ottoman and
Russian Empires.
Decline of the Safavids:
The Shi'a Safavids ruled Loy Kandahar as their far easternmost territory from
the 16th century until the early 18th century. At the same time, the native
Afghan tribes living in the area were Sunni Muslims. Immediately to the east
began the Sunni Mughal Empire, who occasionally fought wars with the powerful
Safavids over the territory of southern Afghanistan. The Khanate of Bukhara
controlled the area to the north at the same time. By the late 17th century,
the Safavids started to decline. With the death of Shah Abbas in 1629,
succeeding Safavid rulers weren't as effective and caused the empire to
decline. On 29 July 1694 Shah Suleiman died and Sultan Husayn took the throne.
Under his reign the problem got worse. Husayn barely left the palace during his
reign, not an uncommon aspect of many later Safavid Shahs. Later Safavid rulers
were immobile and their courts were riddled with factionalism unlike their more
mobile ancestors who spent more time on campaigns and had smaller courts. The
government was weak and the army was ineffective. This power vacuum allowed
tribal groups like the Turkmen, Baluch, Arabs, Kurds, Dagestanis, and Afghans
from constantly raiding frontier provinces.
Governorship of Gurgin Khan:
In 1704, the Safavid Shah Husayn appointed his Georgian subject and king of
Kartli George XI (Gurgin Khan), a convert to Islam, as the governor of
Kandahar.In early May 1704 he marched from Kerman and after a seven-week march,
he crushed disturbances going on in the province at the time. He soon
encountered Mirwais Hotak, the mayor (kalantar) of Kandahar and one of the most
richest and influential people among the Ghilzais. At first Mirwais had good
relations with the Georgians but it began to sour when Mirwais was removed from
his position as mayor in 1706 and replaced by Alam Shah Afghan
The Georgians were hated throughout the province. They ruled with brutality
towards the local population. This would encourage the Ghilzais to revolt
against Safavid rule, and Mirwais was involved in one of these revolts. Gurgin
Khan found out and sent Mirwais to Isfahan. While there, he saw the weakness of
the Safavid court and complained about the brutality of Gurgin Khan. He turned
the shah and his court against Gurgin Khan, and then went on a pilgrimage to
Mecca. He managed to get a fatwa from the religious authorities approving
Mirwais's plan to overthrow tyrannical Safavid rule. In the summer of 1708 or
January 1709 he returned to Kandahar and waited for the opportunity to kill
Gurgin Khan.
Rebellion:
That opportunity came in April 1709. The Kakar tribe refused to pay taxes and
revolted, so Gurgin Khan and his men went out to campaign against them.
Protected by the Ghaznavid Nasher Khans, Mirwais and his men ambushed Gurgin
Khan on April 21 and killed him. They expelled the Georgian garrison from
Kandahar and the surviving Georgians fled to Gereshk and waited. When the
Safavid court heard of this, they sent Kaikhosro Khan with 12,000 men to
recapture Kandahar. He left Isfahan for Qandahar in November 1709, and were
aided by members of the Abdali tribe. The army progressed slowly as the court
was unwilling to help much, and they arrived at Farah in April–May or
November 1710. In the summer of 1711 Kaikhosro marched to Kandahar and besieged
it. The Ghilzais sued for peace but Kaikhosro refused to accept it, so they
kept fighting. The Baluchis frequently harassed the Georgians and forced them
to retreat on October 26. The defenders of Kandahar emerged and pursued the
Georgians, resulting in the death of Kaikhosro. Another Persian army was sent
to Kandahar in 1712 but they never made it there as their commander died in
Herat, leaving the Hotaks to their own devices. With this, Mirwais was able to
extend his control over the entire province of Kandahar. After his peaceful
passing in November 1715 from natural causes, his brother Abdul Aziz succeeded
him; the latter was murdered later by Mirwais' son Mahmud after having only
ruled for eighteen months.
Invasion of Iran:
In 1720, Mahmud's Afghan forces crossed the deserts of Sistan and captured
Kerman. He planned to conquer the Persian capital, Isfahan. After defeating the
Persian army at the Battle of Gulnabad on March 8, 1722, he proceeded to
besiege Isfahan. The siege lasted about six months and the people of Isfahan
were in such a state of hunger that they were forced to eat rats and dogs. on
October 23, 1722, Sultan Husayn abdicated and acknowledged Mahmud as the new
Shah of Persia. For the next seven years until 1729, the Hotaks were the de
facto rulers of most of Persia, and the southern areas of Afghanistan remained
under their control until 1738. The Hotak dynasty was a troubled and violent
one from the very start as an internecine conflict made it difficult to
establish permanent control. The majority of Persians rejected the leaders as
usurpers, and the dynasty lived under great turmoil due to bloody succession
feuds that made their hold on power tenuous. After the massacre of thousands of
civilians in Isfahan – including more than three thousand religious
scholars, nobles, and members of the Safavid family – the Hotak dynasty
was eventually removed from power in Persia.
Decline :
Ashraf Hotak took over the monarchy following Shah Mahmud's death in 1725. His
army was defeated in the October 1729 Battle of Damghan by Nader Shah Afshar,
an Iranian soldier of fortune from the Afshar tribe, and the founder of the
Afsharid dynasty that replaced the Safavids in Persia. Nader Shah had driven
out and banished the remaining Ghilji forces from Persia and began enlisting
some of the Abdali Afghans of Farah and Kandahar in his military. Nader Shah's
forces, among them Ahmad Shah Abdali and his 4,000 Abdali troops, went on to
conquer Kandahar in 1738. They besieged and destroyed the last Hotak seat of
power, which was held by Hussain Hotak (or Shah Hussain). Nader Shah then built
a new town nearby, named "Naderabad" after himself. The Abdalis were
then restored to the general area of Kandahar, with the Ghilji's being pushed
back to their former stronghold of Kalat-i Ghilji. This arrangement lasts to
the present day.
Mahmud Hotak
Shah Mahmud Hotak, also known as Shah Mahmud Ghilji (lived 1697 – April
22, 1725), was an Afghan ruler of the Hotak dynasty who overthrew the heavily
declined Safavid dynasty to briefly become the king of Persia from 1722 until
his death in 1725. He was the eldest son of Mirwais Hotak, the chief of the
Ghilji Pashtun tribe of Afghanistan and Pakistan, who had made the Kandahar
region independent from Persian rule in 1709. When Mirwais died in 1715, he was
succeeded by his brother, Abdul Aziz, but the Ghilji Pashtuns persuaded Mahmud
to seize power for himself and in 1717 he overthrew and killed his uncle.
In the very early days of his rule, Mahmud displayed benevolence, treating the
captured royal family well and bringing in food supplies to the starving
capital. But he was confronted with a rival claimant to the throne when
Hosein's son, Tahmasp declared himself shah in November. Mahmud sent an army
against Tahmasp's base, Qazvin. Tahmasp escaped and the Pashtuns took the city
but, shocked at the treatment they received at the hands of the conquering
army, the population rose up against them in January 1723. The revolt was a
success and Mahmud was worried about the reaction when the surviving Pashtuns
returned to Isfahan to bring news of the defeat. Suffering from mental
illnesses and fearing a revolt by his subjects, Mahmud invited his Persian
ministers and nobles to a meeting under false pretences and had them
slaughtered. He also executed up to 3,000 of the Persian royal guards. At the
same time the Persian arch rivals, Ottomans, and the Russians took advantage of
the chaos in Persia to seize land for themselves, limiting the amount of
territory under Mahmud's control.[6] His failure to impose his rule across
Persia made Mahmud depressed and suspicious. He was also concerned about the
loyalty of his own men, since many Pashtun tribes preferred his cousin Ashraf
Khan. In February 1725, believing a rumour that one of Sultan Husayn's sons,
Safi Mirza, had escaped, Mahmud ordered the execution of all the other Safavid
princes who were in his hands, with the exception of Sultan Husayn himself.
When Sultan Husayn tried to stop the massacre, he was wounded, but his action
led to Mahmud sparing the lives of two of his young children.
In 1720, Mahmud and the Ghiljis defeated the rival ethnic Pashtun tribe of the
Abdalis (now called the Durranis) However, Mahmud had designs on the Persian
empire itself. He had already launched an expedition against Kerman in 1719 and
in 1721 he besieged the city again. Failing in this attempt and in another
siege on Yazd, in early 1722, Mahmud turned his attention to the shah's capital
Isfahan, after first defeating the Persians at the Battle of Gulnabad. Rather
than biding his time within the city and resisting a siege in which the small
Pashtun army was unlikely to succeed, Sultan Husayn marched out to meet
Mahmud's force at Golnabad. Here, on March 8, the Persian royal army was
thoroughly routed and fled back to Isfahan in disarray. The shah was urged to
escape to the provinces to raise more troops but he decided to remain in the
capital which was now encircled by the Pashtuns. Mahmud's siege of Isfahan
lasted from March to October, 1722. Lacking artillery, he was forced to resort
to a long blockade in the hope of starving the Persians into submission. Sultan
Husayn's command during the siege displayed his customary lack of decisiveness
and the loyalty of his provincial governors wavered in the face of such
incompetence. Starvation and disease finally forced Isfahan into submission (it
is estimated that 80,000 of its inhabitants died during the siege). On October
23, Sultan Husayn abdicated and acknowledged Mahmud as the new shah of Persia.
Ashraf Hotak 1700
-1730
Shah Ashraf Hotak,, also known as Shah Ashraf Ghilji (died 1730), son of Abdul
Aziz Hotak, was the fourth ruler of the Hotak dynasty. An Afghan from the
Ghilji Pashtuns, he served as a commander in the army of Mahmud Hotak during
his revolt against the heavily declining Safavid Persians. Ashraf also
participated in the Battle of Gulnabad. In 1725, he briefly succeeded to the
throne to become Shah of Persia after he killed his cousin Mahmud. The nephew
of Mirwais Hotak, his reign was noted for the sudden decline in the Hotak
tribal rule under increasing pressure from the two great powers of the time
Turkish, Russian, and Persian forces. Ashraf Khan halted both the Russian and
Turkish onslaughts. He defeated the Ottoman Empire, who wanted to reestablish
their former arch rivals, the Safavids, back on the throne, in a battle near
Kermanshah after the enemy had come close to Isfahan. This led to peace
negotiations with the Sublime Porte, which were briefly disrupted after
Ashraf's ambassador insisted his master should be Caliph of the East and the
Ottoman Sultan Caliph of the West. This caused great umbrage to the Ottomans,
but a peace agreement was finally signed (Treaty of Hamedan) due to superior
Ottoman diplomacy in October 1727. Ultimately, the royal Persian army of Shah
Tahmasp II (One of the Shah Sultan Husayn's sons) under the leadership of Nader
defeated Ashraf's Ghilji forces in a decisive battle known as the Battle of
Damghan in October 1729, banishing and driving out the Afghans back to what is
now Afghanistan.
Muhammad Shah
1702-1748
Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Mu?ammad Shah (born Roshan Akhtar (7 August 1702 – 26
April 1748) was the thirteenth Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1719 to 1748.
He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. With the help
of the Sayyid brothers, he ascended the throne at the young age of 16. He later
got rid of them with the help of Asaf Jah I – Syed Hussain Ali Khan was
murdered at Fatehpur Sikri in 1720 and Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha was fatally
poisoned in 1722. Muhammad Shah was a great patron of the arts, including
musical, cultural and administrative developments. His pen-name was Sada
Rangila (Ever Joyous) and he is often referred to as "Muhammad Shah
Rangila", also sometimes as "Bahadur Shah Rangila" after his
grand father Bahadur Shah I. Although he was a patron of the arts, Muhammad
Shah's reign was marked by rapid and irreversible decline of the Mughal Empire.
The Mughal Empire was already decaying, but the invasion by Nader Shah of
Persia and the subsequent sacking of Delhi, the Mughal capital, greatly
accelerated the pace. The course of events not only shocked and mortified the
Mughals themselves, but also other foreigners, including the British.
On 29 September 1719, Muhammad Shah was given the title Abu Al-Fatah
Nasir-ud-Din Roshan Akhtar Muhammad Shah and enthroned in the Red Fort. His
mother was given an allowance of 15 thousand rupees monthly for her needs, but
the Sayyid Brothers kept the new emperor under strict supervision. The Mughal
Grand Vizier Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha and his brother the Mughal commander
and chief Syed Hussain Ali Khan Barha were well aware that Asaf Jah I and his
companions Zain ud-din Ahmad Khan intended to dissolve their administration.
The Sayyid Brothers quickly nominated an amateur, Prince Muhammad Ibrahim, who
proclaimed himself Mughal Emperor, but he was quickly defeated by the new
loyalists of the young Muhammad Shah on 13 November 1720.
On 9 October 1720, Syed Hussain Ali Khan Barha, the commander and chief of the
most elite Mughal Army, was assassinated in his encampment in Toba Bhim. The
Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah took direct command of his forces. Asaf Jah I was
then dispatched to gain complete control of six Mughal provinces in the Deccan,
and Muhammad Amin Khan Turani was assigned as the Mansabdar of 8,000. He was
sent to pursue the Mughal Grand Vizier Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha, who was
defeated at the Battle of Hasanpur by Turani, Mir Muhammad Amin Irani and
Muhammad Haider Beg. He was captured by Muhammad Shah on 15 November 1720 and
executed two years later.
Previously the emperor had to fight Muhammad Ibrahim, but young Muhammad Shah
defeated him on 13 November 1720. The fall of the Sayyid Brothers marked the
beginning of the end of the Mughal Empire's direct control over its dominions
in the Deccan. In the year 1721, young Muhammad Shah married the daughter of
the previously deposed Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar. On 21 February 1722,
Muhammad Shah appointed the Asaf Jah I as Grand Vizier. He advised Muhammad
Shah to be "as cautious as Akbar and as brave as Aurangzeb". Asaf Jah
I resigned his post as the Grand Vizier when Muhammad Shah expressed negligence
towards his administration. Asaf Jah I appointed commander Ewaz Khan as the
master of the garrison at Aurangabad, and much of his logistical duties were
carried out by Inayatullah Kashmiri.
Asaf Jah I left the imperial court in disgust. In 1723 he set out on an
expedition to the Deccan, where he fought Mubariz Khan, the Mughal Subedar of
the Deccan, who kept the ravaging Marathas at bay. Taking advantage of Mubariz
Khan's conventional weaknesses, Asaf Jah I defeated and eliminated his opponent
during the Battle of Shakar Kheda. Asaf Jah I then established the Nizam of
Hyderabad in 1725. The imperial Diwan of the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah
During this time, the Mughal-Maratha Wars (1728–1763)[8] would cause
irreparable devastation to the inhabitants of the ill-administered Mughal
Empire. Despite efforts to counter the rise of rebellions in 1724, by the Nawab
of Awadh Saadat Ali Khan and the Mughal Subedar in Bangalore, Dilawar Khan
(r.1726–1756), who established a well-protected bastion in the Malabar
Coast. Muhammad Ali Khan the Mughal Faujdar of Rangpur and his stern ally Deena
Narayan were ambushed out of Koch Bihar by Upendra Narayan a Hindu Bihari and
Mipham Wangpo (r.1729–1736) the ruler of Bhutan.
Ali Mohammed Khan had established the barons of Rohilakhand. The Nawab of
Bhopal, Yar Muhammad Khan Bahadur, also ratified by the Mughal Emperor Muhammad
Shah in 1728, countered ceaseless raids by the Marathas in Malwa and nearly
began to lose half of his territories in the year 1742. Muhammad Shah
eventually learned the skills of statesmanship after removing his three
incompetent advisors, namely Koki Jee (his foster sister), Roshan-ud-Daula (his
mercantile friend) and Sufi Abdul Ghafur of Thatta (his spiritual teacher). In
the Punjab region, the Sikhs were at war with Mughal Subedars, and the
hit-and-run tactics of the Sikh warriors caused devastation. In Ajmer, Ajit
Singh carved out a vast territory and allied himself with the renegade
Marathas.
While in the Deccan the Marathas had ruined Mughal fortifications and were
already on the warpath. All this greatly contributed to the decline of the
Mughal Empire. In 1737, the Marathas under Baji Rao I annexed Gujarat, Malwa
and Bundelkhand, and raided the Mughal capital Delhi.
In 1739, Nader Shah of Persia, lured by the wealth and weakness of the Mughals,
took advantage of a rebellion on his eastern borders near Kandahar and
initiated a campaign against the Mughal Empire capturing Ghazni, Kabul, Lahore,
and Sindh. He then advanced against Muhammad Shah and defeated him at the
Battle of Karnal. The Persians, having crushed the Mughal armies in less than
three hours, marched upon and sacked Delhi, hoarding priceless treasures that
were taken back to Persia. This event weakened the Mughals significantly,
paving the path for more invaders and eventually the East India Company.
In 1748, Ahmad Shah Durrani of Afghanistan invaded the Mughal Empire. Heir
apparent Ahmad Shah Bahadur, Grand Vizier Qamaruddin Khan and his son
Moin-ul-Mulk better known as Mir Mannu, Intizam-ud-Daula and Safdarjung were
sent with 75,000 men after the defeat of Shahnawaz Khan in Lahore. At the
Battle of Manupur (1748), Durrani's 12,000 men were defeated, and he was forced
to retreat. There was a great rejoicing for this event throughout the Mughal
Empire. Cultural developments:
The phrase Zuban-i Urdu-yi Mu?allá (literally "Language of the
exalted Horde", contextually the exalted Urdu Language) written in
Nasta?liq script Lashkari Zaban ("military camp language" or
"Battalionese language") title in Nasta?liq script Baagh e Naazir was
built by Muhammad Shah the year 1748. While Urdu (derived from Zuban-i Urdu-yi
Mu?allá or in local translation Lashkari Zaban, shortened to Lashkari)
was already in use before Muhammad Shah's reign, it was during his reign that
it became more popular among the people and he declared it as the court
language, replacing Persian. During Muhammad Shah's reign, Qawwali was
reintroduced into the Mughal imperial court and it quickly spread throughout
South Asia. Muhammad Shah is also known to have introduced religious
institutions for education such as Maktabs. During his reign, the Quran was
translated for the first time in simple Persian and Urdu. Also, during his
reign, the formal Turkic dress, normally worn by the high Mughal nobility since
Mughals originally hailed from Samarqand, was replaced by the Sherwani.
Mohammad Shah was a patron of the performing arts, almost at the cost of
administrative priorities, paving the way for the disintegration of governance.
While Mughal political power did decline in his reign, the Emperor encouraged
the arts, employing master artists such as Nidha Mal (active 1735–75) and
Chitarman, whose vivacious paintings depict scenes of court life, such as Holi
celebrations, hunting and hawking.[10] The Mughal court of the time had
musicians such as Naimat Khan, also known as Sadarang, and his nephew Firoz
Khan (Adarang), whose compositions popularised the musical form of Khyal.Naimat
Khan composed Khyal for his disciples and he never performed Khyal. This key
component of Indian classical music evolved, ascended and received princely
patronage at the court of Muhammad Shah.
Nader Shah 1688 - 1747
Nader Shah Afshar Nader Qoli Beyg or Tahmasp Qoli Khan(August 1688[6] – 19
June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most
powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736
to 1747, when he was assassinated during a rebellion. He fought numerous
campaigns throughout the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central and South Asia,
such as the battles of Herat, Mihmandust, Murche-Khort, Agh-Darband, Yeghevard,
Khyber Pass, Karnal and Kars Because of his military genius, some historians
have described him as the Napoleon of Persia, the Sword of Persia, or the
Second Alexander. Nader belonged to the Turkoman Afshar tribe, a semi-nomadic
tribe settled in Khorasan in northeastern Iran, which had supplied military
power to the Safavid dynasty since the time of Shah Ismail I.
Nader rose to power during a period of chaos in Iran after a rebellion by the
Hotaki Pashtuns had overthrown the weak Shah Sultan Husayn, 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 Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Georgia, the North Caucasus, Iraq, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan,
Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Pakistan, Oman and the Persian Gulf, but his military
spending had a ruinous effect on the Iranian economy. Nader idolized Genghis
Khan and Timur, the previous conquerors from Central Asia. He imitated their
military prowess and—especially later in his reign—their cruelty. His
victories during his campaigns briefly made him West Asia's most powerful
sovereign, ruling over what was arguably the most powerful empire in the world,
but his empire and the dynasty he founded quickly disintegrated after he was
assassinated in 1747. The turning point in his military career started from his
second and third campaigns against the by then revolting Lezgians, as well as
other ethnic groups of Dagestan in the northwestern parts of his domain. Nader
Shah has been described as "the last great Asiatic military
conqueror".
Nader Shah was born in the fortress of Dastgerd into the Qereqlu clan of the
Afshars, a semi-nomadic Turkic Qizilbash pastoralist tribe settled in the
northern valleys of Khorasan, a province in the northeast of the Iranian
Empire. His father, Emam Qoli, was a herdsman who may also have been a
coatmaker. His family lived a nomadic way of life. Nader was a long-waited son
in his family. 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 promising help in future,
Nader returned to the province of Khorasan in 1708. 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.
Nader grew up during the final years of the Safavid dynasty which had ruled
Iran since 1502. At its peak, under such figures as Abbas the Great, Safavid
Iran had been a powerful empire, but by the early 18th century the state was in
serious decline and the reigning shah, Sultan Husayn, was a weak ruler. When
Sultan Husayn attempted to quell a rebellion by the Ghilzai Afghans in
Kandahar, the governor he sent (Gurgin Khan) was killed. Under their leader
Mahmud Hotaki, the rebellious Afghans moved westwards against the shah himself
and in 1722 they defeated a force at the Battle of Gulnabad and then besieged
the capital, Isfahan. After the Shah failed to escape or to rally a relief
force elsewhere, the city was starved into submission and Sultan Husayn
abdicated, handing power to Mahmud. In Khorasan, Nader at first submitted to
the local Afghan governor of Mashhad, Malek Mahmud, but then rebelled and built
up his own small army. Sultan Husayn's son had declared himself Shah Tahmasp
II, but found little support and fled to the Qajar tribe, who offered to back
him. Meanwhile, Iran's imperial neighboring rivals, the Ottomans and the
Russians, took advantage of the chaos in the country to seize and divide
territory for themselves.
In 1722, Russia, led by Peter the Great and further aided by some of the most
notable Caucasian regents of the disintegrating Safavid Empire, such as
Vakhtang VI, launched the Russo-Iranian War (1722-1723) in which Russia
captured swaths of Iran's territories in the North Caucasus, South Caucasus, as
well as in northern mainland Iran. This included mainly, but was not limited
to, the losses of Dagestan (including its principal city of Derbent), Baku,
Gilan, Mazandaran, and Astrabad. The regions to the west of that, mainly
Iranian territories in Georgia, Iranian Azerbaijan, and Armenia, were taken by
the Ottomans. The newly gained Russian and Turkish possessions were confirmed
and further divided amongst themselves in the Treaty of Constantinople (1724).
During the chaos, Nader cut a deal with Mahmud Hotaki to rule Kalat in the
north of Iran. However, when Mahmud Hotaki began minting coins in his name and
asked for everyone's allegiance, Nader refused.
Tahmasp and the Qajar leader Fath Ali Khan (the ancestor of Agha Mohammad Khan
Qajar) contacted Nader and asked him to join their cause and drive the Ghilzai
Afghans out of Khorasan. He agreed and thus became a figure of national
importance. When Nader discovered that Fath Ali Khan was in treacherous
correspondence with Malek Mahmud and revealed this to the shah, Tahmasp
executed him and made Nader the chief of his army instead. Nader subsequently
took on the title Tahmasp Qoli (Servant of Tahmasp). In late 1726, Nader
recaptured Mashhad.
Nader chose not to march directly on Isfahan. First, in May 1729, he defeated
the Abdali Afghans near Herat. Many of the Abdali Afghans subsequently joined
his army. The new shah of the Ghilzai Afghans, Ashraf, decided to move against
Nader but in September 1729, Nader defeated him at the Battle of Damghan and
again decisively in November at Murchakhort. Ashraf fled and Nader finally
entered Isfahan, handing it over to Tahmasp in December. The citizens'
rejoicing was cut short when Nader plundered them to pay his army. Tahmasp made
Nader governor over many eastern provinces, including his native Khorasan, and
Tahmasp's sister was given in marriage to Nader's son. Nader pursued and
defeated Ashraf, who was murdered by his own followers. In 1738 Nader Shah
besieged and destroyed the last Hotaki seat of power at Kandahar. He built a
new city near Kandahar, which he named "Naderabad
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. 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.
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. Nader decided, as he continued the 1730-35
war, that he could win back the territory in Armenia and Georgia by seizing
Ottoman Baghdad and then offering it in exchange for the lost provinces, 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, earning a
Russian alliance 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, those which had not been ceded back by the 1732 Treaty of
Resht yet, resulting in the reestablishment of Iranian rule over all of the
Caucasus and northern mainland Iran again.
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. The small group
of close intimates, Nader's friends, included Tahmasp Khan Jalayer and
Hasan-Ali Beg Bestami. Following Nader's suggestion, the group did not
"demur", and Hasan-Ali remained silent. 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".
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. The summonses for the people to attend had gone out in November
1735, and they began arriving in January 1736. 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".
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 March 8,
1736, a date his astrologers had chosen as being especially propitious, 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. 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 Omar
and Uthman, avoid beating themselves to draw blood at the Ashura festival,
accept Sunni practices as legitimate, and to obey Nader's children and
relatives after his death, thereby setting up a dynasty in his name. He was
effectively realigning Persia with Sunni Islam. The notables accepted.
In 1738, Nader Shah conquered Kandahar, the last outpost of the Hotaki dynasty.
His thoughts now turned to the Mughal Empire of India. This once powerful
Muslim state to the east was falling apart as the nobles became increasingly
disobedient and local opponents such as the Sikhs and Hindu Marathas of the
Maratha Empire were expanding upon its territory. Its ruler Muhammad Shah was
powerless to reverse this 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 far eastern empire, and in a
brilliant campaign against the governor of Peshawar 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 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. At the
Battle of Karnal, Nader crushed an enormous Mughal army six times greater than
his own 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 13 February 1739.
After this spectacular victory, Nader captured Mohammad Shah and entered Delhi.
When a rumour broke out that Nader had been assassinated, some of the 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 (March 22) 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 (meaning "Mountain of Light"
in Persian) and Darya-ye Noor (meaning "Sea of Light") 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. On Nader's return to Iran, Sikhs fell upon
Nadir's army and seized a large amount of booty and freed the slaves in
captivity. Still the plunder seized from India was so much that Nader stopped
taxation in Iran for a period of three years following his return. Many
historians believe that Nader attacked the Mughal Empire to, perhaps, give his
country some breathing space after previous turmoils. His successful campaign
and replenishment of funds meant that he could continue his wars against Iran's
archrival and neighbour, the Ottoman Empire, as well as the campaigns in the
North Caucasus. Nader also secured one of the Mughal emperor's daughters, Jahan
Afruz Banu Begum, as a bride for his youngest son.
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. The Battle of Kars (1745) was the
last major field battle Nader fought in his spectacular military career Nader
now decided to punish Daghestan for the death of his brother Ebrahim Qoli on a
campaign a few years earlier. In 1741, while Nader was passing through the
forest of Mazanderan on his way to fight the Daghestanis, an assassin took a
shot at him but Nader was only lightly wounded. He began to suspect his son was
behind the attempt and confined him to Tehran. Nader's increasing ill health
made his temper ever worse. Perhaps it was his illness that made Nader lose the
initiative in his war against the Lezgin tribes of Daghestan. Frustratingly for
him, they resorted to guerrilla warfare and the Iranians could make little
headway against them. Though Nader managed to take most of Dagestan during his
campaign, the effective guerrilla warfare as deployed by the Lezgins, but also
the Avars and Laks made the Iranian re-conquest of the particular North
Caucasian region a short lived one; several years later, Nader was forced to
withdraw. During the same period, Nader accused his son of being behind the
assassination attempt in Mazanderan. Reza Qoli angrily protested his innocence,
but Nader had him blinded as punishment, and ordered his eyes to be brought to
him on a platter. When his orders had been carried out, however, Nader
instantly regretted it, crying out to his courtiers, "What is a father?
What is a son?" 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. 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.
Battle of Karnal
1739
The Battle of Karnal (24 February 1739) was a decisive victory for Nader Shah,
the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran, during his invasion of India.
Nader's forces defeated the army of Muhammad Shah within three hours, paving
the way for the Iranian sack of Delhi. The engagement is considered the
crowning jewel in Nader's military career as well as a tactical masterpiece.
The battle took place near Karnal, 110 kilometres (68 mi) north of Delhi,
India. The battle was the culminating point of Nader Shah's invasion of the
Mughal Empire. After his conquest of eastern Afghanistan and invasion via Kabul
and Peshawar, Nader led his forces south towards the Mughal capital. At Delhi
Muhammad Shah gathered an extremely large force with which he marched north
before his cumbersome army ground to a halt at Karnal. Nader gave battle and
won a crushing victory. In the negotiations following the catastrophic defeat,
Muhammad Shah agreed to pay a large indemnity in exchange for maintaining his
imperium over his lands. Nader however, forced the Mughal emperor to submit
utterly and marched him to his capital, Delhi, where the Mughal treasury was
plundered. An uprising against Nader's soldiers by Delhi's citizens ended in a
bloody massacre where the entire city was sacked and looted. The enormous
plunder gained in Delhi caused Nader to issue an imperial decree removing all
taxes for a total of three years. The Persian army soon after departed leaving
behind 30,000 dead. Muhammad Shah was also forced to concede all his lands west
of the Indus which were annexed by Nader Shah. As a result of the overwhelming
defeat of the Mughal Empire at Karnal, the already declining Mughal dynasty was
critically weakened to such an extent as to hasten its demise. According to
Axworthy, it is also possible that without the ruinous effects of Nader's
invasion of India, European colonial takeover of the Indian subcontinent would
have come in a different form or perhaps not at all.
A popular destination for the plethora of Afghan mercenaries and warlords who
were defeated in Nader's numerous campaigns against the various polities in
Afghanistan, were the northern border areas of the Mughal Empire. Nader had
sent a number of requests to the local governors and statesman of northern
India requesting that these fugitives be captured and handed over to him. In
the aftermath of his conquest of Afghanistan Nader was seeking a pretext for
invading the Mughal Empire. Naturally he seized upon this opportunity to mask
his invasion in the form of a hunt for the Afghan warriors who had found asylum
in the rugged terrain of the northern Mughal realm.] It is also noteworthy that
Nader had been in contact with one of the main Mughal ministers, Nizam-ul-Mulk,
who some at the time accused of treachery against the Mughal emperor. Whilst it
is possible that Nizam-ul-Mulk did in fact provoke Nader's invasion of the
Mughal Empire, it remains an implausible conjecture. Whether or not the Mughal
Empire could have defused the situation diplomatically is still a matter of
discussion. The ability of the Mughal state to find and imprison Afghan
fugitives in its border regions is a seriously doubtful issue as is the actual
number of fugitives who in fact escaped to these regions to begin with. It is
very possible that they were an insubstantial number.
Nader Shah's intention to invade Mughal India would have continued, regardless
of whether or not the Mughal authorities granted his request for seeking out
and handing over fugitives. It is quite probable that Nader Shah utilised the
demand for fugitives & the demand not having been met in full, as a pretext
to invade & plunder. As Nader moved into the Mughal territories, he was
accompanied by his Georgian subject and future king of eastern Georgia, Erekle
II, who led a Georgian contingent in the Imperial Persian army. Hearing of
Nader Shah's approach from Qandahar, the governor of Peshawar & Kabul
raised an army of 20,000 men, mostly made up of Afghan mercenaries drawn from
the tribes of Eastern Afghanistan in order to check the Persian advance. The
position that had been chosen to resist the Persian army could scarcely have
been better selected, as through the narrow Khyber pass only a small column of
men could hope to march and any deployment into fighting formations would be an
impossibility.
Nader, convinced of the futility of a head-on struggle, instead opted for an
alternative approach. A local guide informed him of a difficult yet traversable
pass running parallel to that of Kheibar called the pass of Chatchoobi. Setting
out on 26 November from near Jalal Abad the Persian army arrived at Barikab (33
kilometres from the Kheibar pass) where Nader divided his army, leaving Morteza
Mirza behind with the bulk of the forces at his disposal and sending forth
12,000 men to the Kheibar pass under Nasrollah Qoli whilst he gathered 10,000
chosen light cavalry under his direct command. Beginning an epic flank-march of
over 80 kilometres through some of the most unnavigable terrain in Asia Nader
reached Ali-Masjed whence the 10,000 curved their route of march northwards and
onto the eastern end of the Kheibar pass. The abrupt emergence of a strong body
of cavalry in their rear caught the governor's forces in a difficult position,
though they managed to resist for a short while before Nader's light cavalry
routed them entirely. Thus the path to the north-lands of the Mughal Empire was
cleared and the main body of the Imperial Persian army could march into the
Mughal interior.
On 16 November 1739, Nader marched his advance guard out of Peshawar heading
south towards Sindh river in Punjab. Upon crossing the river the Persian army
fell upon the defenceless countryside on its way to Lahor pillaging and burning
as they went. The governor of Lahor began augmenting his battlements in the
hope of resistance. Nader hastened his advance and attacked from an unexpected
direction with such force that after a mere day had passed, the governor
surrendered to the Shah's will. The gift of two million rupees to the Shah
secured the governor in his position as ruler of Lahor.
The news of the series of conquests by Nader's invading army had caused much
consternation at the Mughal court of Muhammad Shah residing in Delhi.
Nizam-ul-Mulk was summoned to the Emperor's presence and many summons were sent
out across northern India for contribution of military forces. 13 December saw
the Mughal army march out of Delhi to confront the invading forces to the
north. The enormity of its size was such that the length of the column was 25
kilometres and the width was 3 kilometres. Muhammad Shah himself joined this
army. Due to the cumbersome size of the Mughal army, Muhammad Shah could not
take his forces any further than Karnal, approximately 120 kilometres north of
Delhi. Mughal artillery was antiquated in comparison to Nader's reformed
Persian artillery. In total, Muhammad Shah commanded a war-camp of 300,000
troops including the non-combatants equipped with 3,000 guns along with 2,000
war elephants. Out these the force deployed on the field were numbered at
75,000.] Despite the large numbers at the Mughal's disposal they suffered from
obsolescent war material and antiquated tactical systems. Almost all of the
guns in the army were far too large in calibre to be considered field artillery
as they were practically impossible to manoeuvre during battle and took such a
long time to reload that they would have minimal effect even in cases of
correct utilisation.
In contrast most of Nader's artillery was lighter and much more manoeuvrable
than their Mughal counterparts, as well as the zamburaks which provided extra
mobile fire power. In contrast to the Mughal army's infantry, all of the 20,000
Persian musketeers (jazyarechi) were uniformed, drilled and homogeneously
organised. Although the 50,000 cavalry contingent in the Mughal army was of
excellent quality there was nothing to suggest a common and cohesive underlying
military structure set out for their deployment and use. The Persian cavalry
was composed of two parts. The troops of the state which were trained and
drilled via a uniform system, and the auxiliary troops which were recruited
into the Imperial army after the conquest of their homeland. Nader sent out a
raiding party of 6,000 Kurdish riders with the objective of gathering
intelligence and bringing back prisoners for the purposes of interrogation. The
raiding party ambushed a contingent of the Mughal artillery and made away with
a number of prisoners which they carried back to camp. Leaving the main body of
his forces under the command of his son, Morteza Mirza, Nader gathered a
smaller force and advanced on an old fortress, Azimabad, a mere 32 kilometres
from Karnal. Azimabad was easily subdued after the Persian guns had been
brought up against its fortifications. Here Nader met with the leader of the
6,000 strong scouting division of Kurds. He was informed on the geography of
the surroundings of Karnal and the strength of the Mughal camp's division. He
decided to quietly position his forces far east of the Mughal camp and to draw
Muhammad Shah into battle at a place of his choosing.
Dispositions & deployments:
On 23 February, the Persian army broke camp and entered the valley between the
Alimardan & Jamna rivers. Encamping north of the village of Kanjpura, Nader
rode out to inspect the enemy's position himself. Upon returning to camp, Nader
summoned all the officers in the army for a speech. Later in the day, news
reached Nader of a large contingent of Mughals marching through Panipat with
the purpose of joining Muhammad Shah's army. The man leading this contingent
was a confidant of Muhammad Shah and high ranking statesman of the Mughal
Empire, Sa'adat Khan. Nader began devising a stratagem based around using
Sa'adat Khan's approach in order to lure the main Mughal army across Alimardan
river and into the valley before Kanjpura village where he intended to give
battle from an advantageous position. The long-awaited Sa'adat Khan entered the
Mughal encampment to much jubilation; however, the bulk of his column (some
twenty or thirty thousand soldiers) was still en route. A diagram of the battle
of Karnal in its entirety based on Axworthy's The Sword of Persia. On the
morning of 24 February, Nader divided his men into three main bodies. The
centre of the army was positioned just north of the village of Kanjpura facing
west and commanded by Nader's son, Morteza Mirza (who would later be renamed
Nassrollah Qoli in honour of his achievements in the coming battle), with a
retinue of senior advisers at his disposal. To Morteza Qoli's north,
Tahmasp Khan Jalayer commanded the right flank of the army whilst to the south,
joint command of the left was given to Fath-Ali Khan Kiani and Lotf-Ali Khan
Afshar.
At this juncture, news was brought to Sa'adat Khan that the rearguard of his
column had come under attack and the baggage had been captured and carried off
by the enemy. Although Sa'adat Khan had managed to reach the Mughal camp late
the previous night, a large portion of his forces, some twenty or thirty
thousand men, were still en route at the time of his arrival.[30] Without
consulting or convening either Muhammad Shah or other commanders, Sa'adat Khan
immediately mounted his war elephant and rode out to the reported site of the
skirmish. He was accompanied by 2,000 cavalry and infantry in addition to the
numerous artillery units which trailed behind him. More of his men would join
him soon after his departure from camp. Sa'adat Khan engaged the isolated
Persian cavalry units deployed in the vicinity of the area, which made a show
of resistance before feigning a rout towards the east. Sending urgent reports
back to camp of the upper hand he had gained, Sa'adat Khan pleaded for
reinforcements in order to complete the victory. As the reports reached the
Mughal high command, disagreement arose as to whether these calls for
reinforcement ought to be answered. Muhammad Shah was eager to join Sa'adat
Khan in the field whilst his two chief advisers, Nizam-ul-Mulk and Khan Dowran,
advised caution against rash decisions. A frustrated Muhammad Shah made
insinuations regarding the martial character of Khan Dowran, to which he
responded zealously by donning armour and mounting his war elephant in
preparation for battle. The initial total of men leaving the Mughal camp
alongside Khan Dowran amounted to no more than 8,000–9,000 men, mostly
cavalry and some musket-bearing infantry. A steady stream of reinforcements
left the Mughal encampment to cross the Alimardan river and join battle
throughout the day, but there was no effort to bring these large numbers under
a unified deployment east of the Alimardan river in support of Mughal units
already engaged. Instead, the Mughals at the front would receive a continuous
line of reinforcements with no grand tactical plan to help direct them.
As Nader observed the advance of Sa'adat Khan in the direction of the Persian
centre, he ordered that the zamburaks be taken forth so as to maximise fire
power in the initial exchange. Personally commanding a chosen force of 1,000
cavalry drawn from the ranks of the Afshar clan, he deployed three elite units
of cavalry, armed with Jazayerchi muskets, in the vicinity of Kanjpura village.
These units (each a thousand strong) were also supported by Nader's deployment
of zamburaks. Sending out two units of his elite Jazayerchi on mounts with the
purpose of diverting the Mughal advance onto the Persian centre, Nader then
sent out another unit to set Khan Dowran on a divergent path and eventually
lure him towards the army's left wing which was waiting in ambush around
Kanjpura. A dramatised scene from the battle woven into a Persian rug, (note
the camels in the top corner of the rug with their backs on fire, referencing
the myth of the Persian army using this tactic to scare the Mughal war
elephants. Although Sa'adat Khan in fact halted his advance temporarily, in
anticipation of Khan Dowran's reinforcements, due to Nader's brilliant
diversionary tactics Khan Dowran was led away from Sa'adat Khan's forces and
Sa'adat Khan himself was teased into resuming his advance east without
consolidating with upcoming reinforcements. Nizam-ul-Mulk began forming up his
men behind the Alimardan river in a lethargic attempt at moving up to support
the leading elements of the army. The Persian centre was eagerly awaiting the
arrival of Sa'adat Khan's men with loaded muskets and guns. As the Mughals came
into musketry range, the screening force of mounted troops fell away to reveal
a line of jazayerchi with levelled muskets. A uniform volley was fired into the
upcoming enemy. A great testament to the bravery of Sa'adat Khan's men, the
Mughals braced and took the punishing fire from the Persian line. They were
even able to close with the centre and a general melee ensued bringing great
pressure on the Persian centre
The ambush at Kanjpura :
Further to the south, where the Persian left flank was positioned at Kanjpura,
Khan Dowran played right into Nader's hands as his pursuit suddenly marched
right into a bloody ambush. The sudden appearance of Persian troops from the
environs of Kanjpura paralysed the Mughals. The sheer volume of fire from the
Jazayerchi and zamburaks raked incredible destruction on the unfortunate Mughal
soldiers caught in the bewildering mayhem Nader had concocted. Nader observed
the massacre from behind the main line of Jazayerchi as they fired volley after
volley into the reeling enemy before them. The heavy bullets of the Jazayer
muskets easily penetrated the armour of the war elephants and many nobles were
killed and captured amongst the Mughals. Khan Dowran himself was struck; badly
injured, he fell from his elephant as his own blood splattered over him,
prompting his remaining retainers to scramble to his aid. Tahmasp Khan Jalayer,
in command of the Persian right, was not engaged until this phase in the battle
and began wrapping his forces around the left flank of Sa'adat Khan's men from
the north. After two hours of intense fighting in the centre, Sa'adat Khan's
war elephant became entangled with another and in the frenzy a Persian soldier
climbed the side of the Khan's beast and implored him to surrender. Being
caught in an impossible set of circumstances Sa'adat Khan decided to lay down
his arms.
Many other Mughal soldiers followed suit whilst others broke and fled west.
With the cream of the enemy army utterly decimated and the rest fleeing across
the Alimardan river the Persians engaged in an organised pursuit with Nader
halting his forces just out of range of the Mughal battle line drawn up behind
the river. Unwilling to engage the Mughals on disadvantageous ground Nader
re-established his lines in the valley to the east. The large array of Mughal
soldiers deployed behind the river under Nizam-il-Mulk's command could do very
little in terms of contributing to the outcome of the battle which had been so
disastrous for them. Nader later sent troops around the periphery of the Mughal
encampment to form a blockade by cutting the logistical lines leading into
Muhammad Shah's camp. The news of Sa'adat Khan's capture and the rumoured death
of Khan Dowran along with so many other high ranking Mughal officers caused a
collapse in the morale of the army. The loss of hope led to mutiny in some
cases and groups of soldiers began plundering the camp.
Losses & consequences:
The Mughals suffered far heavier casualties than the Persians. Exact figures
are uncertain as accounts of that period were prone to bombast. Various
contemporary commentators estimated Mughal casualties being up to 30,000 men
slain with most agreeing on a figure of around 20,000 and with Axworthy giving
an estimate of roughly 10,000 Mughal soldiers killed. Nader himself claimed
that his army slew 20,000 and imprisoned "many more".The number of
Mughal officers slain amounted to a staggering 400. Though as a proportion of
the entire Mughal army the actual casualties suffered were not excessive, this
masks the fact that the casualties constituted the very best of the Mughal
army, including an overwhelming number of its leaders. The Mughals had been
defeated in part due to their outdated cannons. In addition, Indian elephants
were an easy target for Persian artillery and Persian troops were more skilled
with a musket. The nature of the casualties caused great despair amongst the
remaining Mughals who as a consequence of the crushing defeat were unable to
maintain their discipline. Soon after morale collapsed, the soldiers looted
their own camp, many deserted and any will to fight again evaporated. One of
the most painful losses was that of Khan Dowran. He was brought back badly
wounded and his loyal retainers could not even find a place for him to rest his
head. Nizam-ul-Mulk, due to a long-standing enmity, came to Khan Dowran's side
as he was dying in order to ridicule him before his death. The Khan died that
evening surrounded by his few surviving followers. Recent scholarship gives an
estimate of the total Persian casualties at a mere 1,100 including 400 killed
and 700 wounded. This number comprised such a small fraction of the Persian
army as to be negligible.
Sa'adat Khan was taken to Nader that very evening. The Khan advised the Shah to
call upon Nizam-ul-Mulk as he was the "key to the Empire". Soon
after, Nizam-ul-Mulk and a following of other Mughal negotiators arrived at
Nader's camp. Although the meeting was initially tense, with the Mughal
plenipotentiaries arriving with armour instead of plain clothing, Nader soon
requested that he and Nizam-ul-Mulk be left alone to discuss matters more
freely. Once alone with the Shah, Nizam-ul-Mulk humbly claimed that his life
was entirely at his mercy. Nader impressed upon him the importance of Muhammad
Shah agreeing to pay an indemnity to the Persian crown. Having convinced
Nizam-ul-Mulk to request the Mughal Emperor's personal presence in the Persian
camp, Nader sent him away. 26 February saw the Mughal Emperor travel to meet
with his Persian counterpart amongst much pomp and circumstance. Nader paid
Muhammad Shah the respect worthy of an Emperor and conversed with him in
Turkic.
After the conclusion of the negotiations the Mughal party returned to their
encampment west of Alimardan river. A sharp dispute arose regarding who would
replace Khan Dowran in his office. Muhammad Shah interceded on Nizam-ul-Mulk's
behalf which enraged many other notables, chief amongst them Sa'adat Khan. It
is claimed that Sa'adat Khan entered into secret correspondence with Nader and
incited the Shah to march to Delhi in order to extract a much larger indemnity
from Muhammad Shah. In early March, Nader summoned Nizam-ul-Mulk once again and
unilaterally declared the previous agreements to be null and void.
Nizam-ul-Mulk protested this but was forced to write Muhammad Shah to implore
him to once again travel to the Persian camp. Muhammad Shah complied and
thereafter permanently remained in Nader's presence (and custody). In an act of
mercy, Nader allowed the Mughal soldiers still in their camp to leave with
their mounts and livestock, and he also gave an advance payment to all of his
own soldiers in addition to the Persian camp followers.[citation needed]
Tahmasp Khan Jalayer, one of Nader's most dependable lieutenants, was given the
task of marching ahead in the company of Sa'adat Khan on the route to Delhi.
Persian occupation of Delhi:
Nader entered Delhi with Mohammed Shah as his vassal on 20 March 1739. The
person of the Shah was accompanied by 20,000 Savaran-e Saltanati (royal guard),
and 100 war elephants mounted by his Jazayerchi. As the conqueror of Delhi
entered, the city's fortification fired their guns in salute. The Persians
received a sumptuous welcome in Muhammad Shah's palace. Sa'adat Khan was tasked
by Nader to collect taxes from the citizens of Delhi and did his best to please
the Shah in an attempt to ingratiate himself with his obsequious behaviour.
However, when Sa'adat Khan sought an audience with Nader, the Shah chastised
him harshly for not collecting the taxes with satisfactory speed. After Sa'adat
Khan's humiliating defeat at Karnal, his open disloyalty to his emperor in the
aftermath, his ignominious failure to curry favour with the person he believed
was his new patron, forced to rob his own people of their wealth for a foreign
invading host, he became burdened to such an extent that he died in Delhi no
more than just a few days after his arrival in that city.
Nader Shah was intent on establishing control through his new vassal, Muhammad
Shah, and made clear his intent to keep him enthroned. As such, strict military
discipline was maintained and a decree made any harassment of civilians
punishable by mutilation. Nader found the Mughal aristocracy soft and weak. In
an encounter with a Mughal minister, Nader enquired as to how many women he had
in his harem, the minister answered 850. Nader quipped that he would add
another 150 slave girls in order to promote him to the rank of minbashi
(commander of a thousand). On 21 March Nader celebrated Nowruz, the Persian new
year, and many generals and officers were given gifts and promotions. Rumours
began spreading amongst the populace of Delhi that a gratuitous levy was
imminent. There were also tales of Muhammad Shah seizing Nader and or having
him killed one way or another. When a rumour broke out that Nader himself had
been assassinated, a posse of Delhi citizens gathered around a granary as a
group of Persian soldiers had been sent to negotiate prices, and the posse
attacked and killed five Persian soldiers. The event sparked an uprising, and
bands of civilians swept through the city and targeted isolated Persian
soldiers in succession. When news of this was taken to Nader, he was
dismissive, believing his soldiers were seeking out a pretext to ransack the
city. But after successive reports of lynchings, Nader sent one of his
retainers to verify these claims. He sent another of his inner circle also, but
both were killed by the baying crowds. Nader sent out a fowj (a thousand-strong
unit) but ordered them to engage only those involved in the violence.
The uprising & the sack of Delhi:
The uprising in Delhi took on greater momentum as the reinforcing detachments
sent by Nader to restore order came under fire from muskets and arrows.
Numerous isolated contingents from the Persian army were caught holed up in
scattered complexes throughout the city that night. On the morning of 22 March,
Nader rode out from the palace in which he had quartered during the night and
headed towards the Rowshan O-Dowleh mosque. En route, a musket was fired from a
nearby building, narrowly missing Nader and instead killing one of his
generals. Once atop the roof of the mosque, Nader ordered his men to enter into
all the districts where Persian soldiers had been killed and leave not a single
survivor. He raised his sword, signifying the start of a massacre. Rowshan
O-Dowleh Mosque, where Nader gave the signal for the initiation of the massacre
by raising his sword. Three thousand soldiers marched out of the mosque's
courtyard and began a gruesome and blood-curdling mass killing. Nader Shah
"sat with sword in hand, wearing a solemn face steeped in melancholy and
lost in deep thought. No man dared break the silence."
Smoke rose above the city with ceaseless sounds of suffering and pleading
echoing throughout. There was sparse resistance and most people were killed
with no fighting chance. Many men were arrested and taken to the river Yamuna
where they were all beheaded in cold blood. The soldiers entered houses and
killed all the inhabitants, plundered all the riches they found and then set
fire to what remained. The murder and rapine was such that many men chose to
kill both themselves and their families instead of being subjected and
slaughtered by the Persian soldiery.
Two of the most important Mughal nobles who were involved in instigating the
uprising were Seyed Niaz Khan and Shahnawaz Khan. Niaz Khan and a small band of
followers took the small group of Persian soldiers posted outside his residence
for his protection by surprise and killed all of them. He next joined up with
Shahnawaz Khan and attacked the stables in which Nader Shah had stored all the
captured Indian war elephants. The stables were soon overrun and the two even
managed to escape the city during the cacophony of violence with the elephants.
They took refuge in a fort near the city. The Persian soldiers, however, sought
them out and broke into the fort, taking Niaz Khan and Shahnawaz Khan prisoner
with their few hundred followers. All of them were taken to Nader near the
mosque. All of them were beheaded by Nader's command on the spot. The only
group of prisoners Nader released were women.
The slaughter, which had begun late in the evening the day before, continued
until dawn the next day, when Nader sent out his officers and messengers
proclaiming the end of the massacre. The swiftness of the Persian army's
cessation of hostility was remarkable and many contemporary commentators stated
their admiration for the strict discipline of Nader's army. Although the
killing lasted only a few hours, the number of dead was immense. Some 30,000
men, women and children perished at the hands of the Persian soldiers. After
the conclusion of this most unfortunate episode in Delhi's history, Nader's
officials began collecting taxes and some were also sent out to Delhi's
environs to do the same. Not even Muhammad Shah's ministers were safe, and one
in particular was tortured and his wealth seized by force of arms.
Nader sent forth 1,000 cavalrymen to each district of the city to ensure the
collection of taxes. But perhaps the greatest riches were plundered from the
treasuries of the Mughal dynasty's capital. The Peacock Throne was also taken
away by the Persian army, and thereafter served as a symbol of Persian imperial
might. Among a trove of other fabulous jewels, Nader also gained the Koh-i-Noor
("Mountain of Light") and Darya-ye Noor ("Sea of Light")
diamonds. It is estimated that the total worth of the treasures plundered came
to perhaps 700 million rupees. This was roughly the equivalent to £90
million sterling at the time, or £8.2 billion sterling in the early 21st
century. The Mughal Emperor was forced to sign a number of treaties which
brought further ruin to his realm. All lands west of the Indus were ceded to
the Persian Empire. Nader also sought to establish marital bonds between the
two dynasties and arranged marriages for his sons and generals as well as
himself. Having gained all the riches he desired, Nader made preparations for
his departure. Persian troops left Delhi at the beginning of May 1739, also
taking with them thousands of elephants, horses, and camels, all loaded with
the booty they had collected. The plunder seized from India was so rich that
Nader stopped taxation in Persia for a period of three years following his
return.
On Nader's return to Iran, Sikhs fell upon Nader's army and seized a large
amount of booty and freed the slaves in captivity. The Persian army marched
north toward the Hindu Kush. An audience of governors was called by Nader from
his newly acquired lands in northern India. All came bearing gifts and
protestations of their loyalty to their new overlord except one. Khodayar Khan,
governor of Sindh, had bargained on Nader being content with his enormous
plunder and already considerable territorial acquisitions, and so he deemed
himself safe from Nader. Khodayar Khan believed that Nader would not traverse
the punishingly rugged terrain of the Hindu Kush mountains so late into the
campaigning season. He was mistaken.
Nader Shah's victory against the crumbling Mughal Empire in the East meant that
he could afford to turn to the West and face Persia's archrivals, the Ottomans,
once again. The Ottoman Sultan Mahmud I initiated the Ottoman-Persian War
(1743-1746), in which Muhammad Shah closely cooperated with the Ottomans until
his death in 1748. Nader's Indian campaign alerted the British East India
Company to the extreme weakness of the Mughal Empire and the possibility of
expanding British imperialism to fill the power vacuum. As a result of the
defeat of the Mughal Empire at Karnal, the already declining Mughal dynasty was
critically weakened to such an extent as to hasten its demise. According to
historian Axworthy is also possible that without the ruinous effects of Nader's
invasion of India, European colonial takeover of the Indian subcontinent would
have come in a different form or perhaps not at all, fundamentally changing the
history of the Indian subcontinent.
Third Battle of
Panipat 1761
The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761 at Panipat, about 97
km (60 miles) north of Delhi, between the Maratha Empire and the invading
Afghan army (of Ahmad Shah Durrani), supported by four Indian allies: the
Rohillas under the command of Najib-ud-daulah, Afghans of the Doab region, and
the Nawab of Awadh, Shuja-ud-Daula. The Maratha army was led by Sadashivrao
Bhau who was third in authority after the Chhatrapati (Maratha King) and the
Peshwa (Maratha Prime Minister). The main Maratha army was stationed in Deccan
with the Peshwa. Militarily, the battle pitted the artillery and cavalry of the
Marathas against the heavy cavalry and mounted artillery (zamburak and jezail)
of the Afghans and Rohillas led by Abdali and Najib-ud-Daulah, both ethnic
Afghans. The battle is considered one of the largest and most eventful fought
in the 18th century, and it has perhaps the largest number of fatalities in a
single day reported in a classic formation battle between two armies. The
specific site of the battle itself is disputed by historians, but most consider
it to have occurred somewhere near modern-day Kaalaa Aamb and Sanauli Road. The
battle lasted for several days and involved over 125,000 troops. Protracted
skirmishes occurred, with losses and gains on both sides. The forces led by
Ahmad Shah Durrani came out victorious after destroying several Maratha flanks.
The extent of the losses on both sides is heavily disputed by historians, but
it is believed that between 60,000–70,000 were killed in fighting, while
the numbers of injured and prisoners taken vary considerably. According to the
single best eyewitness chronicle—the bakhar by Shuja-ud-Daulah's Diwan
Kashi Raj—about 40,000 Maratha prisoners were slaughtered in cold blood
the day after the battle.
Zamburak
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