Khorasan Campaign
123-445: Khorasan Campaign Afghan Campaigns Safavid restoration First Ottoman War Indian Campaign Central Asian Campaign Dagestan Campaign Persian Gulf Campaign Second Ottoman War Rebellions & Civil War Nader Shah Afshar ( Persian : نادر شاه افشار ; 6 August 1698 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of
246-513: A clandestine line of communication between Fathali and Sistani. Nader, fearful that the Qajar contingent may leave if any harm befell their leader, advised Tahmasp to spare his life for the time being. Tahmasp, though agreeing with Nader's judgement, nevertheless had Fathali executed the subsequent day. The Qajar contingent however remained with the Loyalist army despite Fathali's beheading and ironically it
369-528: A dialect of the Southern Oghuz group or a dialect of Azerbaijani . As he was growing up, he must have swiftly learned Persian, which was the language of the cities and high culture . But unless he was speaking to someone who spoke only Persian, he always preferred to communicate in Turkic. His knowledge of Arabic is not documented, but it seems doubtful given his lack of interest in literature and theology. Nader
492-595: A fierce hatred for each other. During Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik 's reign, the Umayyad government appointed Mudaris as governors in Khorasan, except for Asad ibn Abdallah al-Qasri's tenure in 735–738. Nasr's appointment came four months after Asad's death. In the interim, the sources report variously that the province was run either by the Syrian general Ja'far ibn Hanzala al-Bahrani or by Asad's lieutenant Juday' al-Kirmani. At any rate,
615-492: A fifth school ( madhhab ) of Sunni Islam and that the Ottomans would allow its adherents to go on the hajj , or pilgrimage, to Mecca , which was within their territory. In the subsequent peace negotiations, the Ottomans refused to acknowledge Ja'farism as a fifth mazhab but they did allow Iranian pilgrims to go on the hajj . Nader was interested in gaining rights for Iranians to go on the hajj in part because of revenues from
738-463: 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
861-644: A form of Shia Islam he called "Ja'fari", in honour of the sixth Shia imam Ja'far al-Sadiq . He banned certain Shia practices which were particularly offensive to Sunni Muslims , such as the cursing of the first three caliphs of Islam. Personally, Nader is said to have been indifferent towards religion and the French Jesuit who served as his personal physician reported that it was difficult to know which religion he followed and that many who knew him best said that he had none. Nader hoped that "Ja'farism" would be accepted as
984-535: A frontier region between Khorasan and Hindustan . By the late Middle Ages, the term lost its administrative significance, in the west only being loosely applied among the Turko-Persian dynasties of modern Iran to all its territories that lay east and north-east of the Dasht-e Kavir desert. It was therefore subjected to constant change, as the size of their empires changed. In the east, Khwarasan likewise became
1107-410: A hypothetical Proto-Iranian form *miθrāsāna ; see Mithra , Bactrian μιυρο [mihr], for the relevant solar deity ). The province was often subdivided into four quarters, such that Nishapur (present-day Iran), Marv (present-day Turkmenistan ), Herat and Balkh (present-day Afghanistan) were the centers, respectively, of the westernmost, northernmost, central, and easternmost quarters. Khorasan
1230-404: A move to prepare for an improbable conquest of distant Kashgaria . Such a campaign did not materialize, but Nader frequently sent funds and engineers to Merv trying to restore its prosperity and rebuild its ill-fated dam. Merv, however, did not become prosperous. Nader now decided to punish Dagestan for the death of his brother Ebrahim Qoli on a campaign a few years earlier. In 1741, while Nader
1353-470: A result of his illness and his desire to extort more and more tax money to pay for his military campaigns. New revolts broke out and Nader crushed them ruthlessly, building towers from his victims' skulls in imitation of his hero Timur. In 1747, Nader set off for Khorasan, where he intended to punish Kurdish rebels . Some of his officers and courtiers feared he was about to execute them and plotted against him, including two of his relatives: Muhammad Quli Khan,
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#17328454033461476-440: A roar. 'Where is my sword? Bring me my weapons!' The assassins were struck with fear by these words and wanted to escape, but ran straight into the two chiefs of the murder-conspiracy, who allayed their fears and made them go into the tent again. Nader Shah had not yet had time to get dressed; Muhammad Quli Khan ran in first and struck him with a great blow of his sword which felled him to the ground; two or three others followed suit;
1599-555: A rumour broke out that Nader had been assassinated, some 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 (22 March) 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
1722-551: A single major city: Nishapur, Merv, Herat and Balkh. By the 10th century, Ibn Khordadbeh and the Hudud al-'Alam mentions what roughly encompasses the previous regions of Abarshahr , Tokharistan and Sogdia as Khwarasan proper. They further report the southern part of the Hindu Kush, i.e. the regions of Sistan , Rukhkhudh , Zabulistan and Kabul etc. to make up the Khorasan marches ,
1845-697: A term associated with the great urban centers of Central Asia. It is mentioned in the Memoirs of Babur (from the 1580s) that: The people of Hindustān call every country beyond their own Khorasān, in the same manner as the Arabs term all except Arabia, Ajem . On the road between Hindustān and Khorasān, there are two great marts: the one Kābul, the other Kandahār . Caravans, from Ferghāna, Tūrkestān, Samarkand, Balkh, Bokhāra, Hissār, and Badakhshān , all resort to Kābul; while those from Khorasān repair to Kandahār . This country lies between Hindustān and Khorasān. In modern times,
1968-700: A vast and loosely defined region of Khorasan, which might even extend to the Indus Valley and the Pamir Mountains. The boundary between these two was the region surrounding the cities of Gurgan and Qumis . In particular, the Ghaznavids , Seljuqs and Timurids divided their empires into Iraqi and Khorasani regions. Khorasan is believed to have been bounded in the southwest by desert and the town of Tabas , known as "the Gate of Khorasan", from which it extended eastward to
2091-506: Is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West and Central Asia that encompasses western and northern Afghanistan , northeastern Iran , the eastern halves of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan , western Tajikistan , and portions of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan . The extent of the region referred to as Khorasan varied over time. In its stricter historical sense, it comprised
2214-505: Is known to have acquired reading and writing skills at some point in his life, probably later on. Approximately three million people or more were nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists in Iran in the beginning of the 18th-century, accounting for one-third of the country's population. Strong ties of kinship as well as customs of helping each other out with fights and finances kept their tribal groups united. Despite being partially or fully absorbed into
2337-654: Is now part of or includes Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Georgia, India, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Oman, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, the North Caucasus , and the Persian Gulf , but his military spending had a ruinous effect on the Iranian economy. 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
2460-550: Is possibly the forerunner of the Sasanian administrative division of Khurasan, occurring after their takeover of Hephthalite territories south of the Oxus. The transformation of the term and its identification with a larger region is thus a development of the late Sasanian and early Islamic periods. Early Islamic usage often regarded everywhere east of Jibal or what was subsequently termed Iraq Ajami (Persian Iraq) , as being included in
2583-766: The Napoleon of Persia , the Sword of Persia , or the Second Alexander . Nader belonged to the Turkoman Afshars , one of the seven Qizilbash tribes that helped the Safavid dynasty establish their power in Iran . Nader rose to power during a period of chaos in Iran after a rebellion by the Hotaki Afghans had overthrown the weak Shah Soltan Hoseyn ( r. 1694–1722 ), while
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#17328454033462706-936: 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
2829-683: The Battle of the Oxus River . The next year, Ibn Amir concluded a peace treaty with Kanadbak , an Iranian nobleman and the kanarang of Tus . The Sasanian rebel Burzin Shah , of the Karen family , revolted against Ibn Amir, though the latter crushed the rebels in the Battle of Nishapur . After the invasion of Persia under Rashidun was completed in five years and almost all of the Persian territories came under Arab control, it also inevitable created new problems for
2952-549: The Chenab valley, and seized a large amount of the booty and freed most of the slaves in captivity. The Persians, however, were unable to pursue the Sikhs, because they were overloaded with the remaining plunder and overwhelmed by the terrible heat of that May. Traveling with an advance guard, Nader Shah stopped at Lahore where he learned of his losses. He traveled back to his forces, accompanied by Governor Zakariya Khan . Upon learning about
3075-571: The Ghilji Pashtuns from Kandahar and became part of the Hotaki dynasty from 1722 to 1729. Nader Shah recaptured Khorasan in 1729 and chose Mashhad as the capital of Persia. Following his assassination in 1747, the eastern parts of Khorasan, including Herat were annexed with the Durrani Empire . Mashhad area was under control of Nader Shah's grandson Shahrukh Afshar until it was captured by
3198-574: 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. With regard to Central Asia, Nader viewed Merv (present-day Bayramali , Turkmenistan ) vital to his north-eastern defenses. He also tried to secure
3321-617: 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
3444-513: The Mongol subjugation of Khorasan, carrying out the task "with a thoroughness from which that region has never recovered." Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century, the majority of Islamic archaeological efforts were focused on the medieval era, predominantly in areas near what is today Central Asia . Under Caliph Umar ( r. 634–644 ), the Rashidun Caliphate seized nearly
3567-534: 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
3690-643: The Ottoman Empire regained the lost territories in Western Armenia and Mesopotamia . Finally, Karim Khan founded the Zand dynasty and became ruler of Iran by 1760. Erekle II and Teimuraz II , who, in 1744, had been made the kings of Kakheti and Kartli respectively by Nader himself for their loyal service, capitalized on the eruption of instability, and declared de facto independence. Erekle II assumed control over Kartli after Teimuraz II's death, thus unifying
3813-453: 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
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3936-518: The Ottoman Empire . He believed that Safavid Shia Islam had intensified the conflict with the Sunni Ottoman Empire. His army was a mix of Shia and Sunni Muslims (with a notable minority of Christians and Kurds ) and included his own Qizilbash as well as Uzbeks , Afghans , Christian Georgians , and Armenians , and others. He wanted Iran to adopt a form of religion that would be more acceptable to Sunni Muslims and suggested that Iran adopt
4059-532: The Pamir Mountains . Greater Khorasan is today sometimes used to distinguish the larger historical region from the former Khorasan Province of Iran (1906–2004), which roughly encompassed the western portion of the historical Greater Khorasan. The name Khorāsān is Persian (from Middle Persian Xwarāsān , sp. xwlʾsʾn' , meaning "where the sun arrives from" or "the Eastern Province"). The name
4182-670: The Qajar dynasty in 1796. In 1856, the Iranians, under the Qajar dynasty, briefly recaptured Herat; by the Treaty of Paris of 1857 , signed between Iran and the British Empire to end the Anglo-Persian War , the Iranian troops withdrew from Herat . Later, in 1881, Iran relinquished its claims to a part of the northern areas of Khorasan to the Russian Empire , principally comprising Merv , by
4305-690: 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
4428-606: The Treaty of Akhal (also known as the Treaty of Akhal-Khorasan ). Khorasan has had a great cultural importance among other regions in Greater Iran . The literary New Persian language developed in Khorasan and Transoxiana and gradually supplanted the Parthian language . The New Persian literature arose and flourished in Khorasan and Transoxiana where the early Iranian dynasties such as Tahirids , Samanids , Saffirids and Ghaznavids (a Turco-Persian dynasty) were based. Until
4551-514: 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
4674-665: The Turkoman Afshar tribe , which was one of the seven tribes of the Qizilbash who helped the Safavid dynasty establish their power in Iran. The Afshar tribe had originally lived in the Turkestan region, but during the 13th-century they moved to the Azerbaijan region in northwestern Iran as a result of the expansion of the Mongol Empire . Nader was from the semi-nomadic Qirqlu clan of
4797-598: The mountains of central Afghanistan . Sources from the 10th century onwards refer to areas in the south of the Hindu Kush as the Khorasan Marches, forming a frontier region between Khorasan and Hindustan . First established in the 6th century as one of four administrative (military) divisions by the Sasanian Empire , the scope of the region has varied considerably during its nearly 1,500-year history. Initially,
4920-609: 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,
5043-469: The Afshars, which lived in the Khorasan region of northeastern Iran. They had either settled there during the reign of the first Safavid Shah Ismail I ( r. 1501–1524 ), or had been resettled by Shah Abbas I ( r. 1588–1629 ) to fend off Uzbek attacks. Regardless, Afshars moving to Khorasan was already taking place by start of the 16th-century. The Afshar dialect is categorized either as
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5166-404: 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 . Nader changed
5289-768: The Hotaki leader Mahmud Hotaki . In a pitched battle Mahmud inflicted a humiliating defeat on the Imperial forces sent from Isfehan in the battle of Gulnabad , after which he marched on the capital itself where he captured Isfehan after a terrible siege . A courtier in Isfahan by the name of Malek Mahmoud Sistani reached an accord with the Hotaki Afghan conquerors in which he would set up an independent kingdom in khorasan in exchange for his recognition of Mahmud as Shah of Persia. Sistani entered Khorasan and managed to regain most of Khorasan from
5412-450: The Iranian coinage system. He minted silver coins, called Naderi , that were equal to the Mughal rupee . Nader discontinued the policy of paying soldiers based on land tenure. Like the late Safavids he resettled tribes. Nader Shah transformed the Shahsevan , a nomadic group living around Azerbaijan whose name literally means "shah lover", into a tribal confederacy which defended Iran against
5535-512: 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
5658-426: The Khorasan division of the Sasanian Empire covered the northeastern military gains of the empire, at its height including cities such as Nishapur , Herat , Merv , Faryab , Taloqan , Balkh , Bukhara , Badghis , Abiward , Gharjistan , Tus and Sarakhs . With the rise of the Umayyad Caliphate , the designation was inherited and likewise stretched as far as their military gains in the east, starting off with
5781-430: The Kurds and successfully incorporated many of them into his small army). A combined force of 30,000 men lay siege to Mashad with Sistani and his commander-in-chief Pir Mohammad trapped within the city's walls. Tahmasp had developed a tense relationship with Fathali Khan and matters came to a head on October 10, 1726, when Nader brought Tahmasp an intercepted letter, the damning contents of which provided abundant evidence of
5904-411: 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. 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
6027-514: 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. The Safavids had forced Shia Islam as
6150-485: The Ottomans and Mughals more closely than the Safavids had been, Nader Shah started creating new concepts. One of these was a focus on a shared Turkmen descent, by having several official documents evoke how Nader Shah, the Ottomans, Uzbeks, and Mughals all had a shared Turkmen background. In a broad sense, this concept mirrored the origin fables of 15th century Anatolian Turkmen dynasties . The Ottomans, however, were left unimpressed with Nader Shah's new concept. According to
6273-425: The Ottomans and Mughals. He may have perceived a need to unite disparate components of the ummah against the expanding power of Europe at that time, however his view of Muslim unity was different from later concepts of it. He proposed a peace treaty with the Ottomans , in it, he proclaimed the Persians wanted the Ja'fari Maddhab to be incorporated as a Madhhab of Islam. While only a nominal claim, Nader's army
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#17328454033466396-413: 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
6519-401: The Shah's baby son, Abbas III, to whom Nader became regent . Nader decided, as he continued the 1730–1735 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. the soldiers under
6642-487: The Sikhs, he told Khan that these rebels would one day rule the land. Still, the remaining plunder his forces had seized from India was so much that Nader was able to stop taxation in Iran for three years following his return. Many historians believe that Nader attacked the Mughal Empire to give his country some breathing space after previous turmoil. His successful campaign and replenishment of funds meant that he could continue his wars against Iran's archrival and neighbour,
6765-737: The advent of the Zands and Qajars, its rulers had various forms of autonomy, but stayed vassals and subjects to the Iranian king. In the far east, Ahmad Shah Durrani had already proclaimed independence, marking the foundation of modern Afghanistan . Iran finally lost Bahrain to House of Khalifa during Invasion of Bani Utbah in 1783. Khorasan campaign of Nader Shah Afghan Campaigns Safavid restoration First Ottoman War Indian Campaign Central Asian Campaign Dagestan Campaign Persian Gulf Campaign Second Ottoman War Rebellions & Civil War The conquest of Khorasan (Persian: جنگ خراسان) by Safavid loyalist forces against separatists in Khorasan
6888-440: 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
7011-479: 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
7134-410: The assassination of large numbers of suspected enemies. Following the orders of Nadir Shah, his soldiers executed 150 monks at Monastery of Saint Elijah after they refused to convert to Islam . 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
7257-464: 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. Nader Shah left the area via the mountains in Northern Punjab . Learning of his planned route, the Sikhs started gathering light cavalry bands, and planned an attack to capture his plunder. The Sikhs fell upon Nadir's army in
7380-414: The caliphate. Pockets of tribal resistance continued for centuries in the Afghan territories. During the 7th century, Arab armies made their way into the region of Afghanistan from Khorasan. A second problem was as a corollary to the Muslim conquest of Persia, the Muslims became neighbors of the city states of Transoxiana . Although Transoxiana was included in the loosely defined "Turkestan" region, only
7503-427: The capital, Isfahan . After the Shah failed to escape or to rally a relief force elsewhere, the city was starved into submission and Soltan 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. Soltan Husayn's son had declared himself Shah Tahmasp II , but found little support and fled to
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#17328454033467626-434: The captain of the guards, and Salah Khan, the overseer of Nader's household. Nader Shah was assassinated on 20 June 1747, at Quchan in Khorasan . He was surprised in his sleep by around fifteen conspirators, and stabbed to death. Nader was able to kill two of the assassins before he died. The most detailed account of Nader's assassination comes from Père Louis Bazin, Nader's physician at the time of his death, who relied on
7749-445: The command of Mohammad Khan Baloch to besiege finally, after hours of fighting, Nader's troops were defeated and retreated. 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
7872-409: The conclusion of the Siege of Isfahan , Mamud sent a contingent of his Afghans to subdue Qazvin where a new Safavid pretender Tahmasp had risen and proclaimed himself Shah. He was forced to flee Qazvin but could not stay in the region permanently as those areas not under Afghan control were unremittingly coming under the marching boots of Ottoman soldiers invading from the west. Tahmasp was chased from
7995-518: 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
8118-662: The devastating Mongol invasion of the 13th century, Khorasan remained the cultural capital of Persia. It has produced scientists such as Avicenna , Al-Farabi , Al-Biruni , Omar Khayyam , Al-Khwarizmi , Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi (known as Albumasar or Albuxar in the west), Alfraganus , Abu Wafa , Nasir al-Din al-Tusi , Sharaf al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī , and many others who are widely well known for their significant contributions in various domains such as mathematics, astronomy , medicine, physics , geography , and geology. There have been many archaeological sites throughout Khorasan, however many of these expeditions were illegal or committed in
8241-424: The early days of the Muslim conquests , Arab armies were divided into regiments drawn from individual tribes or tribal confederations ( butun or ‘asha‘ir ). Despite the fact that many of these groupings were recent creations, created for reasons of military efficiency rather than any common ancestry, they soon developed a strong and distinct identity. By the beginning of the Umayyad period, this system progressed to
8364-407: The entire Persia from the Sasanian Empire . However, the areas of Khorasan weren't conquered until c. 651 during the caliphate of Uthman ( r. 644–656 ). The Rashidun commanders Ahnaf ibn Qays and Abd Allah ibn Amir were assigned to lead the invasion of Khorasan. In late 651, the Rashidun army defeated the combined forces of the Sasanian and the First Turkic Khaganate in
8487-446: The eventual conquest. In July 738, at the age of 74, Nasr was appointed as governor of Khorasan. Despite his age, he was widely respected both for his military record, his knowledge of the affairs of Khorasan and his abilities as a statesman. Julius Wellhausen wrote of him that "His age did not affect the freshness of his mind, as is testified not only by his deeds, but also by the verses in which he gave expression to his feelings till
8610-477: The eyewitness testimony of Chuki, one of Nader's favourite concubines : Around fifteen of the conspirators were impatient or merely eager to distinguish themselves, and so turned up prematurely at the agreed meeting place. They entered the enclosure of the royal tent, pushing and smashing their way through any obstacles, and penetrated into the sleeping quarters of that ill-starred monarch. The noise they made on entering woke him up: 'Who goes there?' he shouted out in
8733-554: The first four caliphs of Islam . Alternatively, it has also been recorded that the four peaks symbolised the territories of Persia , India , Turkestan , and Khwarezm . In 1741, eight Muslim scholars and three European and five Armenian priests translated the Koran and the Gospels. The commission was supervised by Mīrzā Moḥammad Mahdī Khan Monšī , the court historiographer and author of the Tarikh-e-Jahangoshay-e-Naderi ( History of Nader Shah's Wars ). Finished translations were presented to Nāder Shah in Qazvīn in June 1741, who, however,
8856-701: The following year when he became suspect in Nader's eyes). The results of the siege had gifted the capital of Khorasan to Tahmasp as well as gifting Fathali's position to the sole person of Nader as he now took to subdue the remaining Khans and tribes of the province hence further augmenting his forces. His conquest of Khorasan allowed the Safavid loyalist movement to next focus on an expedition further east towards Herat. Greater Khorasan Greater Khorasan ( Middle Persian : 𐬒𐬊𐬭𐬀𐬯𐬀𐬥 , romanized: Xwarāsān ; Persian : خراسان , [xoɾɒːˈsɒːn] )
8979-547: The formation of ever-larger super-groupings, culminating in the two super-groups : the northern Arab Mudaris or Qaysis , and the south Arabs or "Yemenis" ( Yaman ), dominated by the Azd and Rabi'ah tribes. By the 8th century, this division had become firmly established across the Caliphate and was a source of constant internal instability, as the two groups formed in essence two rival political parties, jockeying for power and separated by
9102-467: The fortress of Dastgerd 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
9225-410: The 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
9348-465: 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
9471-467: 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
9594-473: The major portion of Khorasān, as two of the four main capitals of Khorasān (Herat and Balkh) are now located in Afghanistan. Ghobar uses the terms "Proper Khorasan" and " Improper Khorasan" in his book to distinguish between the usage of Khorasān in its strict sense and its usage in a loose sense. According to him, Proper Khorasan contained regions lying between Balkh in the east, Merv in the north, Sistan in
9717-550: The military installations at Nishapur and Merv , slowly expanding eastwards into Tokharistan and Sogdia . Under the Caliphs , Khorasan was the name of one of the three political zones under their dominion (the other two being Eraq-e Arab "Arabic Iraq" and Eraq-e Ajam "Non-Arabic Iraq or Persian Iraq"). Under the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, Khorasan was divided into four major sections or quarters ( rub′ ), each section based on
9840-532: 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
9963-467: The modern historian Ernest Tucker, comparing this concept to an early version of " pan-Turkism " would be "anachronistic and misleading." He adds that this was part of unpolished drafts of concepts that would get polished throughout the 11 years of Nader Shah's reign, and would include wide political and religious aspects. Nader's concepts regarding the Ja'farism and common Turkmen descent were directed primarily at
10086-503: The more progressive, urbanized Persian culture, many of them nevertheless identified culturally with the Turco-Mongol heritage that had been passed down from the era of Timur and Genghis Khan . The settled population was seen by the semi-nomads and nomads as inferior. Nader was part of this heritage, which the British academic Michael Axworthy calls "paradoxical". Nader Shah was born in
10209-593: 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 Asia, and South Asia, such as the battles of Herat , Mihmandust , Murche-Khort , Kirkuk , Yeghevārd , Khyber Pass , Karnal , and Kars . Because of his military genius, some historians have described him as
10332-556: The most prominent men of the Marwanid period". Asad's arrival in Khorasan found the province in peril: his predecessor, Muslim ibn Sa'id al-Kilabi , had just attempted a campaign against Ferghana and suffered a major defeat, the so-called " Day of Thirst ", at the hands of the Turgesh Turks and the Soghdian principalities of Transoxiana that had risen up against Muslim rule. From
10455-415: The neighbouring Ottomans and Russians . In addition, he increased the number of soldiers under his command and reduced the number of soldiers under tribal and provincial control. His reforms may have strengthened the country, but they did little to improve Iran's suffering economy. He also always paid his troops on time, no matter what. In order to construct a broad political framework that could link him to
10578-452: 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
10701-521: 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
10824-469: The pilgrimage trade. Nader's other primary aim in his religious reforms was to weaken the Safavids further since Shia Islam had always been a major element in support for the dynasty. He had a Shia mullah of Iran strangled after he was heard expressing support for the Safavids. Among his reforms was the introduction of what came to be known as the kolah-e Naderi . This was a hat with four peaks which symbolised
10947-443: The poor. Throughout his career, he was only interested in his own advancement. Legend has it that in 1704, when he was about 17, a band of marauding Uzbeks invaded the province of Khorasan, where Nader lived with his mother. They killed many peasants. Nader and his mother were among those who were carried off into slavery. His mother died in captivity. According to another story, Nader managed to convince Turkmens by promising help in
11070-557: The present territories of northeastern Iran , parts of Afghanistan and southern parts of Central Asia , extending as far as the Amu Darya (Oxus) river. However, the name has often been used in a loose sense to include a wider region that included most of Transoxiana (encompassing Bukhara and Samarqand in present-day Uzbekistan ), extended westward to the Caspian coast and to the Dasht-e Kavir southward to Sistan , and eastward to
11193-400: The proposal of Nader becoming the new king, many—if not most—enthusiastically, the rest fearing Nader's anger if they showed support for the deposed Safavids. Nader was crowned Shah of Iran on 8 March 1736, a date his astrologers had chosen as being especially favorable, in attendance of an "exceptionally large assembly" composed of the military, religious and nobility of the nation, as well as
11316-419: The rebels and local warlords in a relatively short period of time with the capital Mashad falling into his hands. At this juncture Nader had established himself in the fortress of kalat north of Mashad and with a mere force of 1,200 men raided Sistani's territory, although they did not come into direct confrontation Nader had established himself as the only real challenge to Sistani's influence in Khorasan. After
11439-530: The ruler of Bukhara as his vassal, imitating previous great conquerors of Mongol - Timurid descent. According to a British scholar Peter Avery, Nader's attitude towards Bukhara was irredentist to an extent that he "may even have thought that, if only the Ottoman power in the west could be contained, he might make Bukhara a base for conquests further afield in Central Asia". Nader dispatched numerous artisans to Merv in
11562-718: The ruling elite of Transoxiana was partially of Turkic origins whereas the local population was mostly a diverse mix of local Iranian populations. As the Arabs reached Transoxiana following the conquest of the Sassanid Persian Empire, local Iranian-Turkic and Arab armies clashed over the control of Transoxiana's Silk Road cities. In particular, the Turgesh under the leadership of Suluk, and Khazars under Barjik clashed with their Arab neighbours in order to control this economically important region. Two notable Umayyad generals, Qutayba ibn Muslim and Nasr ibn Sayyar , were instrumental in
11685-481: 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
11808-622: The sources agree that al-Kirmani stood at the time as the most prominent man in Khorasan and should have been the clear choice for governor. His Yemeni roots (he was the leader of the Azd in Khorasan), however, made him unpalatable to the Caliph. Khorasan became the headquarters of the Abbasid Revolution against the Umayyads . It was led by Abu Muslim , who himself belonged to Khorasan. This province
11931-485: The south, Nishapur in the west and Herat, known as the Pearl of Khorasan , in the center. Improper Khorasan's boundaries extended to as far as Hazarajat and Kabul in the east, Baluchistan in the south, Transoxiana and Khwarezm in the north, and Damghan and Gorgan in the west. During the Sasanian era, likely in the reign of Khusrow I , Persia was divided into four regions (known as kust Middle Persian), Khwārvarān in
12054-437: The state religion of Iran. Nader may have been brought up as a Shiite on the basis of his name and background but later replaced Shia law with a version that was more sympathetic and compatible with Sunni law he called the "Ja'fari school" in an effort to disassociate radical Shia Islam from the state in part to please his supporters and also to improve relationships with other Sunni powers. as he gained power and began to push into
12177-563: The state was in serious decline and the reigning shah, Soltan Hoseyn , was a weak ruler. When Soltan 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
12300-527: 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
12423-554: The term has been source of great nostalgia and nationalism, especially amongst the Tajiks of Central Asia. Many Tajiks regard Khorasan as an integral part of their national identity, which has preserved an interest in the term, including its meaning and cultural significance, both in common discussion and academia, despite its falling out of political use in the region. According to Afghan historian Ghulam Mohammad Ghobar (1897–1978), Afghanistan's current Persian-speaking territories formed
12546-517: The throne to Khorasan following the Arab invasion in the western parts of the empire. After the assassination of the king, Khorasan was conquered by Arab Muslims in 647 AD. Like other provinces of Persia it became a province of the Umayyad Caliphate . The first movement against the Arab conquest was led by Abu Muslim Khorasani between 747 and 750. Originally from Isfahan , scholars believe Abu Muslim
12669-559: The two as the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti , becoming the first Georgian ruler in three centuries to preside over a politically unified eastern Georgia, and due to the frantic turn of events in mainland Iran he would be able to maintain its autonomy until the advent of the Iranian Qajar dynasty . The rest of the Iranian territories in the Caucasus, comprising modern-day Azerbaijan , Armenia , and Dagestan broke away into various khanates . Until
12792-537: The very end of his life". However, in the climate of the times, his nomination owed more to his appropriate tribal affiliation than his personal qualities. In 724, immediately after the rise of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 724–743) to the throne, Asad's brother Khalid al-Qasri was appointed to the important post of governor of Iraq , with responsibility over the entire Islamic East, which he held until 738. Khalid in turn named Asad as governor of Khorasan. The two brothers thus became, according to Patricia Crone , "among
12915-539: The west of the country and in Astarabad found a loyal if difficult subject warlord by the name of Fathali Khan of the Qajar clan. Deciding that it was too soon to march on Isfahan to liberate the heartland of Persia they would begin in Khorasan where they could forge alliances and rally more troops under their banner. Marching toward Khorasan they came into contact with Nader whose loyalty they acquired along with his now much enlarged fighting force (Nader had campaigned against
13038-441: The west, apāxtar in the north, nīmrūz in the south and Khorasan in the east. Since the Sasanian territories were more or less remained stable up to Islamic conquests, it can be concluded that Sasanian Khorasan was bordered to the south by Sistan and Kerman, to the west by the central deserts of modern Iran, and to the east by China and India. In the Sasanian era, Khorasan was further divided into four smaller regions, and each region
13161-483: The wretched monarch, covered in his own blood, attempted – but was too weak – to get up, and cried out, 'Why do you want to kill me? Spare my life and all I have shall be yours!' He was still pleading when Salah Khan ran up, sword in hand and severed his head, which he dropped into the hands of a waiting soldier. Thus perished the wealthiest monarch on earth. After his death, he was succeeded by his nephew Ali Qoli, who renamed himself Adel Shah ("righteous king"). Adel Shah
13284-420: Was Nader Shah 's first major military campaign which he waged on behalf of the new Safavid pretender to the throne, Tahmasp II . It would propel him into the centre of the political landscape of war-torn early eighteenth-century Persia. Revolts swept through the province during the 1720s as a direct consequence of the Afghan revolt in the eastern provinces of the empire which eventually led to an invasion led by
13407-404: Was a betrayal on the other side of the conflict that brought the siege to an end where Pir Mohammad allowed Nader to infiltrate the city walls forcing Sistani to take refuge in the citadel, surrendering shortly after. The defeated Malek Mahmoud Sistani was surprisingly treated with courtesy and in a show of reconciliatory mercy allowed to spend the rest of his life as a sage (Though he was executed
13530-423: Was arguably the most powerful empire in the world. Following his assassination in 1747, his empire quickly disintegrated and Iran fell into a civil war. His grandson Shahrokh Shah was the last of his dynasty to rule, ultimately being deposed in 1796 by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar , who crowned himself shah the same year. Nader Shah has been described as "the last great Asiatic military conqueror". Nader belonged to
13653-460: Was first established as an administrative division in the 6th century (approximately after 520) by the Sasanians , during the reign of Kavad I ( r. 488–496, 498/9–531 ) or Khosrow I ( r. 531–579 ), and comprised the eastern and northeastern parts of the empire. The use of Bactrian Miirosan 'the east' as an administrative designation under Alkhan rulers in the same region
13776-478: Was first given to the eastern province of Persia (Ancient Iran) during the Sasanian Empire and was used from the late Middle Ages in distinction to neighbouring Transoxiana. The Sassanian name Xwarāsān has in turn been argued to be a calque of the Bactrian name of the region, Miirosan (Bactrian spelling: μιιροσανο, μιροσανο, earlier μιυροασανο), which had the same meaning 'sunrise, east' (corresponding to
13899-407: 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
14022-562: Was increasingly drawing from Sunni Afghans, Kurds , Turkmens , Baloch , and others who were happy with a less sectarian Persia. Externally he presented Persia as completely sympathetic to Sunnis. He probably did this for political reasons in order to increase his legitimacy within the Muslim world; he would have never been accepted if he remained a radical Shia Muslim like the Safavid Shahs . Though as stated countless times before, internally, he
14145-410: 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
14268-621: Was more a matter of political and territorial gain. Tahir had helped the Caliph subdue other nationalistic movements in other parts of Persia such as Maziar 's movement in Tabaristan . Other major independent dynasties who ruled over Khorasan were the Saffarids from Zaranj (861–1003), Samanids from Bukhara (875–999), Ghaznavids from Ghazni (963–1167), Seljuqs (1037–1194), Khwarezmids (1077–1231), Ghurids (1149–1212), and Timurids (1370–1506). In 1221, Genghis Khan 's son Tolui oversaw
14391-519: Was not impressed. Nader diverted money going to Shia mullahs and redirected it to his army instead. 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
14514-610: Was part of the Iranian world that had been heavily colonised by Arab tribes following the Muslim conquest with the intent of replacing Umayyad dynasty which is proved to be successful under the sign of the Black Standard . Between the early 16th and early 18th centuries, parts of Khorasan were contested between the Safavids and the Uzbeks . A part of the Khorasan region was conquered in 1722 by
14637-566: Was passing through the forest of Mazanderan on his way to fight the Dagestanis, 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 Dagestan. Frustratingly for him, they resorted to guerrilla warfare and
14760-515: Was probably Persian. It's possible he may have been born a slave. According to the ancient Persian historian Al-Shahrastani , he was a Kaysanite . This revolutionary Shi'a movement rejected the three Caliphs that had preceded Ali . Abu Muslim helped the Abbasids come to power but was later killed by Al-Mansur, an Abbasid Caliph. The first kingdom independent from Arab rule was established in Khorasan by Tahir Phoshanji in 821, but it seems that it
14883-411: Was probably agnostic. Whenever Nader laid siege to a city, he would construct a city of his own outside the walls. His encampment was filled with markets, mosques, bathhouses, coffeehouses, and stables. He did this to show the besieged his army would be there for the long haul, to prevent diseases from spreading within his troops' ranks, and to occupy his troops' time. Nader became increasingly cruel as
15006-466: Was probably involved in the assassination plot. Adel Shah was deposed within a year. During the struggle between Adel Shah, his brother Ibrahim Khan and Nader's grandson Shah Rukh and almost all provincial governors declared independence , established their own states, and the entire Empire of Nader Shah fell into anarchy . Oman and the Uzbek khanates of Bukhara and Khiva regained independence, while
15129-513: Was ruled by a marzban . These four regions were Nishapur, Marv, Herat and Balkh. Khorasan in the east saw some conflict with the Hephthalites who became the new rulers in the area but the borders remained stable. Being the eastern parts of the Sassanids and further away from Arabia , Khorasan region was conquered after the remaining Persia. The last Sassanid king of Persia, Yazdgerd III , moved
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