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Nader Shah Afshar. Photo by Unknown author on

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Nader Shah

Nader Shah was born on August 1688 in the Fortress of Dastgerd. He was from the Qereqlu clan of the Afshars.

Nader Shah was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran. He was one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian History. He ruled as a Shah(King) of Iran from 1736 to 1747.

Nader Shah fought numerous campaigns throughout the Middle East, the Caucasus, and Central and South Asia. The battles were such as the battle of Herar,Mihmandust, Murche-Khort, Agh-Darband, Yeghevard, Khyber Pass, Karnal and Kars. Because of his military genius.

Although brilliantly successful as a soldier and general, N膩dir Sh膩h had little talent for statesmanship or administration. Iran became utterly exhausted during the later years of his reign.

Let鈥檚 learn about the Top 10 Amazing Facts about Nader Shah:

1. He was a Son of a Poor Peasant

Nader Shah was born into the Qereqlu clan of the Afshars. This was a semi-nomadic Turkic Qizilbash pastoralist tribe.

The tribe was settled in the northern valleys of Khorasan. A province in the northeast of the Iranian Empire.

Nader鈥檚 father was a herdsman who was also a coat maker. His family lived a nomadic way of life.

However, at the age of 13, his father died. Nader had to find a way to support himself and his mother. He gathered sticks for firewood and transported them to the market.

2. Nader and his Mother were Captured and Forced into Slavery

In 1704, at the age of 17, a band of marauding Uzbeks invaded the province of Khorasan. This was where Nader lived with his mother.

The band killed many peasants. Nader and his mother were among those who were carried off into slavery. His mother died in captivity.

Nader escaped and lived for a while as a robber. He later developed his skills as a soldier under a local tribal leader.

3. He Rose from Obscurity to Control an Empire

Nader Shah – Battle of Karnal. Photo by Adel adili on

Nader had an obscure beginning in the Turkic Afshar tribe. The tribe was loyal to the Safavid Shahs of Iran. The Safavid had ruled for 200 Years.

After serving under a local Chieftain, Nader formed and led a band of robbers. He showed a marked power of leadership.

As the head of the band, he Led 5,00 followers in support of the Safavid Shah Tahmasp II in 1726. The Shah was seeking to regain the throne his father had lost four years earlier. The Throne was lost to the Ghilzay Afghan Mahmud.

Nader reformed Iran鈥檚 military forces. He defeated the Ghilzay Afghans in a series of brilliant victories. Nader restored 峁琣hm膩sp to the Iranian throne.

4. He Forced Tahmasp II to Abdicate in Favour of the Shah鈥檚 Baby Son

Nader鈥檚 relationship with the Shah had declined. This was after Tahmasp had grown jealous of Nader鈥檚 military successes.

While Nader was absent in the east, Tahmasp tried to assert himself. This was by launching a foolhardy campaign to recapture Yerevan.

However, Tahmasp ended up losing all of Nader鈥檚 recent gains to the Ottomans. He signed a treaty ceding Georgia and Armenia in exchange for Tabriz.

Nader denounced the treaty, seeking popular support for a war against the Ottomans. In Isfahan, Nader got Tahmasp drunk and 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鈥檚 baby son, Abbas III. Nader became regent.

5. He Suggested To be Proclaimed the New Shah

Nader Shah Afshar. Photo by Unknown author on

In January 1736, Nader held a qoroltai. This was a grand meeting in the tradition of Genghis Khan and Timur. The meeting was held on the Moghan Plain in Azerbaijan.

The leading figures in Persian political and religious life attended. Nader suggested he should be proclaimed the new shah in place of the young Abbas III. Everyone agreed. However, the rest feared Nader鈥檚 anger if they showed support for the deposed Safavids. Nader was crowned Shah of Iran on March 8, 1736.

6. The Main Highlight in Nadir鈥檚 Reign was the Invasion of India

In 1738, Nader Shah Conquered Kandahar. The last outpost of the Ghilzai Afghans.

His thoughts now turned to Mughal India to the south. This was a powerful Muslim state. However, it was falling apart as the nobles became increasingly disobedient.

Its ruler Mohammed Shah was powerless to reverse this disintegration. Nader used the pretext of his Afghan enemies taking refuge in India to cross the border and capture Kabul, Ghazni, and Lahore.

Nader advanced deeper into India by crossing the river Indus before the end of the year. During the battle of Karnal in February 1739, he deafened the Mughal army.

Nader captured Mohammad Shah and entered with him into Delhi. When a rumour broke out that Nader had been assassinated, some of the Indians attacked and killed Persian troops.

Nader reacted and ordered his soldiers to massacre the population and plunder the city. The Soldiers Killed 20,000 to 30,000 Indians, forcing Mohammad Shah to beg for mercy.

Nader Shah agreed to withdraw, but Mohammad Shah paid the consequence of handing over the keys of his royal treasury and losing even the Peacock Throne to the Persian emperor. Among a trove of other fabulous jewels, Nader also gained the Koh-i-Noor (Mountain of Light) and Darya-ye Noor diamonds(Sea of Light).

Additionally, Nader鈥檚 soldiers also took with them thousands of elephants, horses, and camels, loaded with the booty they had collected. The plunder seized from India was so rich that Nader stopped taxation in Iran for three years following his return.

7. He Proposed Religious Reforms

Painting of Nader Shah, he was Shah of Iran from 1736 to 1747, he created the Afsharid dynasty, an Iranian empire. Photo by Public domain on

Shi鈥檃 Islam was introduced by the Safavids as the State region of Persia. Nader believed this had intensified the conflict with the Ottoman Empire which was Sunni.

Nader鈥檚 army was a mixture of Sunni and Shi鈥檃 Muslims. His aim was for Persia to adopt a form of religion that would be more acceptable to Sunnis.

Nader suggested Persia adopt a form of Shi鈥檌sm he called 鈥淛a鈥檉ari. He banned certain Shi鈥檃 practices which were particularly offensive to Sunnis. The practices were such as the cursing of the first three caliphs.

 Nader hoped that 鈥淛a鈥檉arism鈥� would be accepted as a fifth school (mazhab) of Sunni Islam. He also hoped that the Ottomans would allow its adherents to go on the hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, which was within their territory.

However, the Ottomans did not acknowledge Ja鈥檉arism as a fifth mazhab. They allowed Persian pilgrims to go on the hajj.

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 symbolized the first four caliphs.

8. He Changed the Iranian Coinage System

Coin of Nader. Photo by LouisAragon on

Changing the Coinage System was one of the domestic policies during Nader鈥檚 reign. He minted silver coins and they were called Naderi. The coins were equal to the Mughal Rupee.

Additionally, Nader discontinued the policy of paying soldiers based on land tenure. His reforms may have strengthened the country. However, they did little to improve Iran鈥檚 suffering economy.

9. Nader Shah Resettled Tribes

Nader transformed the Shahsevan into a tribal confederacy. The confederacy defended Iran against the neighbouring Ottomans and Russians. Shahsevan was a nomadic group living around Azerbaijan.

In addition, he increased the number of soldiers under his command and reduced the number of soldiers under tribal and provincial control. However, he also always paid his troops on time, no matter what.

Iran Became Utterly Exhausted during the Later Years of his Reign. Nader became crueller as a result of his ill health. He exerted more tax to pay for his military campaigns.

New revolts broke out and Nader crushed them ruthlessly. He built towers from his victims鈥� skulls.

10. His Officers and Two Relatives were behind His Assassination

In 1747, Nadee went to Khorasan on, a bus intended to punish the Kurdish rebels. However, some of his officers and courtiers feared being executed by Nader.

The officers and two of his relatives plotted against him. The relatives were Muhammad Quli Khan, the captain of the guards and Salah Khan, the overseer of Nader鈥檚 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.

N膩dir Sh膩h鈥檚 only interests were war and conquest. Once, when informed that there was no warfare in paradise, he remarked: 鈥淗ow then can there be any delights there?鈥�