Nader Shah Afshar | |
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Shahanshah of Iran |
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Portrait of Nader Shah
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Shah of Iran | |
Reign | 1736–1747 |
Coronation | 1736 |
Predecessor | Abbas III |
Successor | Adil Shah |
Born | 22 November 1688 Dargaz, Persia |
Died | 19 June 1747 (aged 58) Quchan, Persia |
Burial | Mashhad, Iran |
Queen and regent | Razia Sultan Safavi |
Issue |
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Dynasty | House of Afshar |
Father | Emam Qoli |
Religion | Personally irreligious Born Twelver Shia Muslim Officially Ja'fari school of Shia Islam |
Seal |
Nader Shah (Persian: نادر شاه افشار Nāder Šāh Afšār; also known as Nader Qoli Beygنادر قلی بیگ or Tahmāsp Qoli Khanتهماسپ قلی خان) (6 August 1698 – 19 June 1747) was one of the most powerful Iranian rulers in the history of that nation, ruling as Shah of Persia from 1736 to 1747 when he was assassinated during a rebellion. Because of his military genius as evidenced in numerous martial encounters throughout his campaigns, such as the battles of Herat, Mihmandust, Murche-Khort, Kirkuk, Yeghevard, Khyber Pass, Karnal and Kars, some historians have described him as the Napoleon of Persia or the Second Alexander. Nader Shah was an Iranian who belonged to the Turcoman Afshar tribe of Greater 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 Persian territory for themselves. Nader reunited the Persian 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 briefly encompassed what is now part of or includes Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the North Caucasus, Iraq, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, North India, Oman and the Persian Gulf, but his military spending had a ruinous effect on the Persian economy.