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{{short description|Persian Invasion of Mughal Empire (1738–1740)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Invasion of Northern India
| partof = the [[Naderian Wars]]
| image = Nadir Shah at the sack of Delhi - Battle scene with Nader Shah on horseback, possibly by Muhammad Ali ibn Abd al-Bayg ibn Ali Quli Jabbadar, mid-18th century, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.jpg
| image_size = 230
| caption = Representation of [[Nader Shah]] at the sack of [[Delhi]]
| date = May 10, 1738–1740
| place = Northern [[India]]
| result = Persian{{efn|"Despite the defeat at Karnal and the triumphal entry of the Persians, the inhabitants of Delhi were not overawed by their conquerors at first."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Axworthy |first1=Michael |author1-link=Michael Axworthy |title=The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant |date=2006 |publisher=I.B.Tauris|page=4}}</ref>}}{{efn|"Another significant incident marked the reception. The intrigues of Sa’adat Khan, the governor of Awadh (Oudh), and the Emperor’s other senior nobles, including the Nezam ol-Molk (the regent or viceroy of the Deccan) had done much to weaken the Moghul State prior to the Persian invasion. Sa’adat Khan’s rashness had led directly to the disastrous Moghul defeat at the battle of Karnal on 24 February, and his own capture."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Axworthy |first1=Michael |author1-link=Michael Axworthy |title=The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant |date=2006 |publisher=I.B.Tauris |pages=3}}</ref>}}<ref name="Mikaberidze">{{cite book |editor1-last=Mikaberidze |editor1-first=Alexander |editor1-link=Alexander Mikaberidze |title=Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia |date=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |pages=271-272}}</ref> victory
* [[Delhi]] Sacked and Looted
**[[Mughal Empire#Decline (1707–1857)|Decline of the Mughal Empire]]
| territory = The Persian Empire{{efn|"Nader may well have intended, despite his reinstatement of Mohammad Shah before his departure from Delhi, that he or one of his sons would return to India at a later stage and establish permanent Persian rule there. His annexation of the former Moghul territories west of the Indus, confirmed before he left Delhi, would have facilitated this, as would his naval expansion in the Persian Gulf."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Axworthy |first1=Michael |author1-link=Michael Axworthy |title=The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant |date=2006 |publisher=I.B.Tauris |pages=3}}</ref>}}<ref name="Mikaberidze"/> annexes all lands west of the Indus river and establishes hegemony over the region
| combatant1 = [[File:Nader Shah Flag.svg|36px]] [[Afsharid Iran|Afsharid Empire]]
| combatant2 = [[File:Alam of the Mughal Empire.svg|30px]] [[Mughal Empire]]

[[File:Asafia flag of Hyderabad State.svg|30px]] [[Hyderabad]]
[[File:Flag of Awadh.svg|30px]] [[Oudh]]
| strength1 =
| strength2 =
| casualties1 =
| casualties2 =
| commander1 = [[Nader Shah]]<br>[[Morteza Mirza Afshar (Nassrollah Mirza)|Morteza Mirza Afshar]]<br>[[Ahmad Shah Abdali]]
| commander2 = [[Muhammad Shah]]<br>[[Zakariya Khan Bahadur]]
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Nader}}
}}
Emperor [[Nader Shah]], the [[List of kings of Persia|Shah of Iran]] (1736–47) and the founder of the [[Afsharid dynasty]], invaded Northern India, eventually attacking [[Delhi]] in March 1739. His army had easily defeated the [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]] at the [[Battle of Karnal]] and would eventually capture the Mughal capital in the aftermath of the battle.<ref name=br/>

Nader Shah's victory against the weak and crumbling Mughal Empire in the far east meant that he could afford to turn back and resume war against Persia's archrival, the neighbouring [[Ottoman Empire]], but also the further campaigns in the [[North Caucasus]] and [[Central Asia]].<ref name="books.google.nl">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O4FFQjh-gr8C&pg=PA177 |title=The Sword of Persia:Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant|isbn=9781850437062|access-date=26 June 2014|last1=Axworthy|first1=Michael|date=28 July 2006}}</ref>

== Prelude ==
{{main article|Battle of Khyber pass|Battle of Karnal}}

Nader Shah became the ruler of [[Afsharid Iran]] in 1730. His troops captured [[Esfahan]] from the [[Safavid dynasty]] and founded the Afsharid dynasty in that year. In 1738, Nader Shah conquered Kandahar, the last outpost of the [[Hotaki dynasty]] in Afghanistan, he then began to launch raids across the [[Hindu Kush]] mountains into Northern India, which, at that time, was under the rule of the [[Mughal Empire]]. As he moved into the Mughal territories, he was loyally accompanied by his [[Georgians|Georgian]] subject and future king of [[Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti|eastern Georgia]], [[Erekle II]], who led a Georgian contingent as a military commander as part of Nader's force.<ref name="books.google.com">David Marshall Lang. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ITnRAAAAMAAJ&q=Erekle+II+india+georgian+contingent&dq=Erekle+II+india+georgian+contingent&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAGoVChMI8bCcrJuWxgIV4QfbCh0q0wAw ''Russia and the Armenians of Transcaucasia, 1797–1889: a documentary record''] Columbia University Press, 1957 (digitalised March 2009, originally from the [[University of Michigan]]) p 142</ref>

The Mughal empire was weakened by several wars in the three decades following the death of [[Aurangzeb]]. The [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]] had captured vast swathes of territory in Central and Northern India, whilst many of the Mughal nobles had asserted their independence and founded small states. The Mughal ruler, Muhammad Shah, proved unable to stop the disintegration of the empire. The defenses in Afghanistan, especially, were weak after tribal uprisings by the Pashtuns on the Northern Frontier. The imperial court administration was corrupt and weak. Nader Shah, attracted by the country's wealth, sought plunder like so many other foreign invaders before him.<ref name=HTdead/> Delhi was one of the richest capitals in the world at the time. Of the three great Muslim realms in the 18th century, the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]], the [[Safavid Empire|Persian]], and the Mughal, the Mughal was the most affluent and splendid.<ref>{{harvnb|Axworthy|2009}}</ref>

Nader had asked Muhammad Shah to close the Mughal frontiers around Kabul so that the Afghan rebels he was fighting against could not seek refuge in Kabul. Even though the Emperor agreed, he practically took no action. The Delhi Court excused itself on the ground of its pre-occupation with the [[Maratha Empire|"Deccan infidels"]] and repeated its assurances.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.119114/page/n295/mode/2up |title=Parties And Politics At The Mughal Court |author= Satish Chandra |date= 1959 }}</ref> Nader seized upon this as a pretext for war.<ref>http://warfare.atspace.eu/Persia/Nader%20Shah%20Invades%20India.htm{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Prior to embarking on his campaign, Nader more or less sacked [[Isfahan]] for money and provisions for his army.<ref>{{harvnb|Axworthy|2009}}</ref> Together with his [[Georgians|Georgian]] subject [[Erekle II]] (Heraclius II), who took part in the expedition as a commander leading a contingent of Georgian troops,<ref name="books.google.com"/> he began marching into Mughal territory on May 10, 1738.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Nadir Shah in India : Sarkar, Jadunath : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming|url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.53152|access-date=2020-08-18|website=Internet Archive|language=en}}</ref> Before entering India, Nader Shah also kept up the pretence that his motive was to save the Mughal empire from the Marathas.<ref>{{cite book |quote="‘‘My coming to Cabul and possessing myself thereof was purely out of zeal for Islam and friendship for you...my stay on this side of the Attock is with a view that when those infidels (the Marathas) move towards Hindustan, I may send an army of the victorious Kizzilbash to drive them to the abyss of hell|url= https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.119114/page/n295/mode/2up |title=Parties And Politics At The Mughal Court |author= Satish Chandra |date= 1959 }}</ref>

==Invasions==
Nader Shah crossed Mughal territory at the Mukhur spring and halted at [[Qarabagh, Afghanistan|Qarabagh]], south of [[Ghazni]]. A detachment was sent under Nader's son, [[Morteza Mirza Afshar (Nassrollah Mirza)|Nasrullah]], to attack the Afghans of [[Ghorband District|Ghorband]] and [[Bamyan|Bamian]].<ref name=":1" /> When the governor of Ghazni fled upon hearing of Nader's approach, the [[Qadi]], [[Scholar]]s, and rich men of Ghazni gave the invaders presents and submitted to Nader when he entered on May 31.<ref name=":1" /> Meanwhile, the other detachment had defeated the Afghans, pardoning all who surrendered, and exacting cruel punishment on those who resisted.

With his flank secure, Nader was free to march on Kabul. The chief men of the city tried to give in peacefully, but Sharza Khan decided to give resistance. On June 10, Nader reached the city and the garrison sallied out to try and attack the Persians, who then just retreated to a safe distance where they could besiege the city. Nader arrived on the 11th and surveyed the city's defenses from atop the Black Rock.<ref name=":1" /> The garrison tried to attack again, but were driven out by the Persian army. The city was besieged for a week until on June 19, the tower of Aqa-bin collapsed, and the citadel capitulated.

Nader settled down in Kabul to handle the province's affairs. He received word that the Mughal Emperor would not receive Nader's letter to him, nor would he let his ambassador leave. In response, he sent an envoy to the imperial court, and expresses that his only wish is to do the Mughals a favor and rid them of the Afghans; how they have done more damage to India, and that the Kabul garrison's hostility forced him to fight them. The envoy sent to deliver the letter was turned back at [[Jalalabad]], and then murdered by a neighboring chieftain.<ref name=":1" />

While this was going on, Nader left Kabul due to lack of supplies and started for [[Gandamak]] on August 25. The Afsharids reached Jalalabad and sacked the city on September 7 in revenge for the murder of Nader's courier. Nader sent his son, [[Reza Qoli Mirza Afshar|Reza]] to Iran (3 November).

=== Conquest of Punjab ===
On 6 November, the march through India was resumed. Nasir Khan, the Mughal governor of Afghanistan, was in Peshawar when he heard of Nader Shah's invasion. He hastily assembled some 20,000 poorly-trained tribal levies that would be no match for Nader's veteran soldiery. Nader marched rapidly through the steep path and outflanked the Mughal army at the [[Khyber Pass]] and [[Battle of Khyber Pass|annihilated it]]. Three days after the battle, Nader occupied Peshawar without resistance.

On December 12, they resumed marching. They built a bridge over the Indus river by [[Attock]] and crossed the Chenab near [[Wazirabad]] on January 8, 1739. In the [[Battle of Karnal]] on 24 February 1739, Nader led his army to victory over the Mughals. Muhammad Shah surrendered and both entered [[Delhi]] together.<ref name="Browne">{{Cite web|url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=90001014&ct=33|title=AN OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY OF PERSIA DURING THE LAST TWO CENTURIES (A.D. 1722–1922)|page=33|work=Edward G. Browne|publisher=Packard Humanities Institute|location=London|access-date=2010-09-24}}</ref>
The keys to the capital of Delhi were surrendered to Nader. He entered the city on 20 March 1739. The next day, the Shah (Nader Shah) held a [[durbar (court)|durbar]] in Delhi.

{{plain image with caption|image=A Nawab of Awadh, Lucknow, India. 19th century.jpg|caption=The [[Safdarjung|Mughal Emperor's envoy]] and the Afsharid invaders negotiate.|align=right|caption position=bottom|upright=1}}
{{plain image with caption|image=Nader Shah afshar.jpg|caption=A vilifying portrayal of Nader Shah in the battle of Karnal by Adel Adili|align=right|caption position=bottom|upright=1}}
{{plain image with caption|image=THE FIRST SIGHT THAT MET HIS GAZE WAS THE BODIES OF HIS MURDERED COUNTRYMEN..gif|caption=Nader Shah finds his troops had been killed in rioting. From {{cite book |last=Surridge|first=Victor |date=1909 |title=Romance of Empire: India}}|align=right|caption position=bottom|upright=1}}

==Massacre==
The Afsharid occupation led to price increases in the city. The city administrator attempted to fix prices at a lower level and Afsharid troops were sent to the market at [[Paharganj]], Delhi to enforce them. However, the local merchants refused to accept the lower prices and this resulted in violence during which some Afsharid troops were assaulted and killed.

When a rumour spread that Nader had been assassinated by a female guard at the Red Fort, some Indians attacked and killed 3,000 Afsharid troops during the riots that broke out on the night of 21 March.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Koh-i-Noor|last=William Dalrymple, Anita Anand|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|year=2017|isbn=978-1408888858|pages=52}}</ref> Nader, furious at the killings, retaliated by ordering his soldiers to carry out the notorious ''qatl-e-aam'' (massacre - qatl = killing, aam = common public, in open) of Delhi.

On the morning of 22 March, the Shah sat at [[Sunehri Masjid (Chandni Chowk)|Sunehri Masjid]] of [[Roshan-ud-Daulah]]. He then, to the accompaniment of the rolling of drums and the blaring of trumpets, unsheathed his great battle sword in a grand flourish to the great and loud acclaim and wild cheers of the Afsharid troops present. This was the signal to start the onslaught and carnage. Almost immediately, the fully armed Afsharid army of occupation turned their swords and guns on to the unarmed and defenceless civilians in the city. The Afsharid soldiers were given full licence to do as they pleased and promised a share of the wealth as the city was plundered.

Areas of Delhi such as [[Chandni Chowk]] and [[Dariba Kalan]], Fatehpuri, Faiz Bazar, Hauz Kazi, Johri Bazar and the Lahori, Ajmeri and Kabuli gates, all of which were densely populated by both Hindus and Muslims, were soon covered with [[corpse]]s. Muslims, like Hindus, resorted to killing their women, children and themselves rather than submit to the Afsharid soldiers.

In the words of the Tazkira:

{{quote|text="Here and there some opposition was offered, but in most places people were butchered unresistingly. The Persians laid violent hands on everything and everybody. For a long time, streets remained strewn with corpses, as the walks of a garden with dead leaves and flowers. The town was reduced to ashes."<ref name=HTdead>{{cite news|title=When the dead speak|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/ColumnsOthers/When-the-dead-speak/Article1-822407.aspx|access-date=9 March 2012|newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]]|date=March 7, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413143221/http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/ColumnsOthers/When-the-dead-speak/Article1-822407.aspx|archive-date=13 April 2012}}</ref>}}

Muhammad Shah was forced to beg for mercy.<ref>Axworthy p.8</ref> These horrific events were recorded in contemporary chronicles such as the Tarikh-e-Hindi of Rustam Ali, the Bayan-e-Waqai of Abdul Karim and the Tazkira of Anand Ram Mukhlis.<ref name=HTdead/>

Finally, after many hours of desperate pleading by the Mughals for mercy, Nader Shah relented and signalled a halt to the bloodshed by sheathing his battle sword once again.

==Casualties==
It has been estimated that during the course of six hours in one day, 22 March 1739, approximately 20,000 to 30,000 [[Indian people|Indian]] men, women and children were slaughtered by the Afsharid troops during the massacre in the city.<ref name=Ma200>[[#Ma|Marshman, P. 200]]</ref> Exact casualty figures are uncertain, as after the massacre, the bodies of the victims were simply buried in mass burial pits or cremated in grand funeral pyres without any proper record being made of the numbers cremated or buried. In addition, some 10,000 women and children were taken slaves, according to a representative of the [[Dutch East India Company]] in Delhi.<ref name=":0" />

==Plunder==
{{plain image with caption|image=Croquis du Koh-i-Noor d'après Tavernier.jpg|caption=Tavernier's illustration of the [[Koh-i-Noor]] under different angles|align=right|caption position=bottom|upright=1}}
The city was [[Looting|sack]]ed for several days. An enormous fine of 20 million rupees was levied on the people of Delhi. Muhammad Shah handed over the keys to the royal treasury, and lost the [[Takht e Taus|Peacock Throne]], to Nader Shah, which thereafter served as a symbol of Persian imperial might. Amongst a treasure trove of other fabulous jewels, Nader also gained the [[Koh-i-Noor]] and [[Darya-i-Noor]] ("Mountain of Light" and "Sea of Light," respectively) [[diamond]]s; they are now part of the British and Iranian Crown Jewels, respectively. Nader and his Afsharid troops left Delhi in the beginning of May 1739, but before they left, he ceded back all territories to the east of the Indus, which he had overrun, to Muhammad Shah.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Axworthy|first1=Michael|title=Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant|date=2010|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=978-0857733474|pages=212, 216}}</ref> The sack of the city and defeat of the Mughals was made easier since both parties were originally from Persian cultures.<ref>{{harvnb|Axworthy|2009}}</ref>

== Aftermath ==
On Nader's return to Iran, [[Sikhs]] fell upon his army and seized a large amount of booty and freed the slaves in captivity and Nader's army could not pursue them successfully as they were oppressed by the terrible heat of May, and being overloaded with booty.<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Hari Ram Gupta]]|title=History of the Sikhs: Evolution of Sikh confederacies, 1708-69|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/History_of_the_Sikhs_Evolution_of_Sikh_c/eGwwAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0|date=1999|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal|isbn=9788121502481|pages=54}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=[[Vidya Dhar Mahajan]]|title=Modern Indian History|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Modern_Indian_History/vDscEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA57|date=2020|publisher=S. Chand Limited|isbn=9789352836192|pages=57}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Paul Joseph|title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of War: Social Science Perspectives|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_SAGE_Encyclopedia_of_War_Social_Scie/_3pZDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PT3857|date=2016|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=9781483359908}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Axworthy|2009}}</ref> But, still the plunder seized from Delhi was so much that Nader stopped [[taxation]] in Persia for a period of three years following his return.<ref name=br>{{cite web |title= Nadir Shah|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/401451/Nadir-Shah |publisher=[[Britannica.com]] }}</ref><ref>This section: Axworthy pp.1–16, 175–210</ref> The governor of Sindh didn't comply with Nader Shah's demands. Nader Shah's victory against the crumbling [[Mughal Empire]] in the East meant that he could afford to turn to the West and face the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]]. 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.<ref name="Farooqi1989">{{cite book|author=Naimur Rahman Farooqi|title=Mughal-Ottoman relations: a study of political & diplomatic relations between Mughal India and the Ottoman Empire, 1556–1748|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uB1uAAAAMAAJ&q=Muhammad+Shah|access-date=6 April 2012|year=1989|publisher=Idarah-i Adabiyat-i Delli}}</ref> According to Axworthy, Nader's Indian campaign alerted the [[East India Company]] to the extreme weakness of the Mughal Empire and the possibility of expanding to fill the power vacuum. Axworthy claims that without Nader, "eventual [[British rule in India]] would have come later and in a different form, perhaps never at all - with important global effects".<ref>Axworthy, p. xvi.</ref>

Nader's son, Nasrollah, married a Mughal princess after the sack.<ref>{{harvnb|Axworthy|2009}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
; Sources
* [[Michael Axworthy]], ''The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant'' Hardcover 348 pages (26 July 2006) Publisher: [[I.B. Tauris]] Language: English {{ISBN|1-85043-706-8}}
* {{cite book |title=The History of India|chapter=Nadir Shah|author=John Clark Marshman |author-link=John Clark Marshman |publisher=Serampore Press |year=1863|page=199 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OHcIAAAAQAAJ&q=nadir+shah+India&pg=PA199 |ref=Ma }}
* [[Jadunath Sarkar]], [[iarchive:in.gov.ignca.53152|Nader Shah in India]] 110 Pages (1925) Book from the Archaeological Survey of India Central Archaeological Library, New Delhi

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=The Cambridge History of India |chapter=Muhammad Shah|publisher=CUP Archive |year=358–364|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yoI8AAAAIAAJ&q=nadir+shah+India&pg=PA360 |ref=CUP }}
* ''Jassa Singh Ahluwalia:The Forgotten Hero of Punjab'' by Harish Dhillon
* Grant, RG: ''Battle''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150511193151/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main?url=pf%3Ffile%3D90001014%26ct%3D33 (Nader Shah) Until His Assassination In A.D. 1747.] ''A Literary History of Persia'' by Edward G. Browne. Publisher T. Fisher Unwin, 1924.

{{Mughal Empire}}
{{Empires}}

[[Category:Conflicts in 1738]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1739]]
[[Category:1739 in India]]
[[Category:18th century in Delhi]]
[[Category:1730s in the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:Invasions of India]]
[[Category:Wars involving the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:Wars involving Afsharid Iran]]

Nader Shah's invasion of India - Revision history

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