Liberation of Isfahan | |||||||
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Part of Nader's Campaigns | |||||||
Royal Square, Isfahan during the eighteenth century | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Safavid loyalists | Hotaki dynasty | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Nader | Ashraf Hotaki |
The liberation of Isfahan was a direct result of the Battle of Murche-Khort in which the Persian army under Nader Shah attacked and routed Ashraf Hotak's Afghan army. [1] [2] The day after Murche-Khort on November 16, 1729 Nader marched his army into Isfahan where the looting and mob violence that had gripped the city in the chaotic aftermath of Ashraf's departure ceased immediately. Order was restored with many of the Afghans hiding throughout the city being dragged through the streets and massacred without mercy in reprisals. The tomb of Mahmud Hotak was also another target of the mob's rage, being demolished and later becoming home to a public toilet.
On December 9, 1729 Nader awaited outside the city gates for the Shah's arrival. Tahmasp II was received in a ceremony in which as soon as he reached Nader's person he "dismounted from his horse in a show of respect whence Nader did likewise rushing forth to dissuade the Shah from his magnanimous deed, however the Shah insisted they walk together and expressed an inability to reward Nader's ceaseless service to him. After a few more minutes of polite conversation the Shah remounted his steed and led the way back into the city with Nader following close behind".
The Shah's return was greeted with much jubilation from the citizens of Isfahan. Tahmasp however was reduced to tears when he witnessed the destitution and abject condition of the once glorious capital of a mighty empire.
Soltan Hoseyn was the Safavid shah of Iran from 1694 to 1722. He was the son and successor of Shah Suleiman.
The Hotak dynasty was an Afghan monarchy founded by Ghilji Pashtuns that briefly ruled portions of Iran and Afghanistan during the 1720s. It was established in April 1709 by Mirwais Hotak, who led a successful rebellion against the declining Persian Safavid empire in the region of Loy Kandahar in what is now southern Afghanistan.
The Battle of Damghan or Battle of Mehmandoost was fought on September 29 to October 5, 1729, near the city of Damghan. It resulted in an overwhelming victory for Nader Shah and the Safavid cause he had taken up, though by itself it did not end Ashraf's rule in Iran, it was a significant triumph which led to further successes in the following engagements of the campaign to restore Tahmasp II to the throne. The battle was followed by another one in Murcheh-Khort, a village near Isfahan. Nader's forces were victorious in both battles, which led him to remove the Ghilzai Afghan dynasty from their short stay on the Persian throne. The Hotakis were forced back to their territory in what is now southern Afghanistan.
Shāh Mahmūd Hotak,, or Shāh Mahmūd Ghiljī, also known by his epithet, The Conqueror, was the ruler of the Hotak dynasty who overthrew Safavid dynasty to become the king of Persia from 1722 until his death in 1725.
Shāh Ashraf Hotak,, also known as Shāh Ashraf Ghiljī, son of Abdul Aziz Hotak, was the fourth ruler of the Hotak dynasty. An Afghan from the Ghilji Pashtuns, he served as a commander in the army of Mahmud Hotak during his revolt against the heavily declining Safavid Persians. Ashraf also participated in the Battle of Gulnabad. In 1725, he briefly succeeded to the throne to become Shah of Persia after he killed his cousin Mahmud.
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