Nader Shah

A herdsman's son from the Khorasan frontier rose to take Delhi, then was killed by his own officers.

In 1722 the Safavid capital of Isfahan fell to Afghan invaders, and Iran seemed to be coming apart. Within a generation, a tribal commander named Nader Afshar had recovered the capital, set aside the old dynasty, and been crowned shah. In 1739 his army crushed the Mughal host at Karnal and occupied Delhi.

This history of Nader Shah follows his career from the winter pastures of Khorasan to the camp at Fathabad. It covers the Afghan conquest and the Safavid collapse, the wars with the Ottoman Empire including the siege of Baghdad, the assembly at Mughan, the siege of Kandahar, the sack of Delhi and the removal of the Peacock Throne, the Oxus and Dagestan campaigns, the blinding of his eldest son, the rebellion at Shiraz, and the plot that ended his life in 1747.

The book also examines the state he built, including its taxes, its salaried army, and its religious policy toward the Ottomans, and explains why an empire won so quickly came apart soon after his death. Where the evidence is uncertain, such as the exact death toll at Delhi, the narrative says so plainly.

Written for readers of Persian history, eighteenth-century Iran, military history, and the Mughal and Ottoman worlds, it offers clear context without assuming prior knowledge.

Discover how one commander rebuilt a shattered kingdom, and why it could not outlast him. Start reading today.