Afsharid dynasty facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Afsharid dynasty
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| 1736–1796 | |||||||||||||
.svg) Flag
 Coat of arms
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Afsharid Kingdom before the conquest of India, Oman, and Northern Central Asia
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| Capital | Mashhad | ||||||||||||
| Common languages | Turkish, Persian | ||||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||
| Shah | |||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
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• Afsharid dynasty begins
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1736 | ||||||||||||
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• Afsharid dynasty ends
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1796 | ||||||||||||
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The Afsharid dynasty was a powerful Iranian family. They came from the Turkic Afshar tribe in northeastern Khorasan, Iran. This family ruled Persia (modern-day Iran) in the mid-1700s. The dynasty was started in 1736 by a brilliant military leader named Nader Shah. He became the great king, or Shah, of Iran.
Under Nader Shah, Iran became very strong. It reached its largest size since the ancient Sassanid Empire. His empire controlled a huge area. This included modern-day Iran, Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. It also covered parts of the North Caucasus (Dagestan), Afghanistan, Bahrain, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan. Plus, it held parts of Iraq, Turkey, and Oman.
After Nader Shah died, his large empire broke apart. Most of it was divided among other groups. These included the Zands, Durranis, Georgians, and various local rulers in the Caucasus. The Afsharid family then only ruled a small area in Khorasan. Finally, in 1796, Mohammad Khan Qajar ended the Afsharid dynasty. He then started a new Iranian empire.
The dynasty got its name from the Turkic Afshar tribe. Nader Shah belonged to this tribe. The Afshars had moved from Turkestan to Azerbaijan in the 1200s. Later, in the early 1600s, Shah Abbas the Great moved many Afshars. He moved them from Azerbaijan to Khorasan. This was to help defend Iran's northeastern borders against the Uzbeks. Nader Shah was from the Qereqlu branch of the Afshars.
How the Afsharid Dynasty Began
Nader Shah was born as Nader Qoli. He came from a humble family of the Afshar tribe in Khorasan. He grew up to become a local warlord. His journey to power began in 1722. That year, Shah Mahmud of the Ghilzai tribe overthrew the weak Safavid king, Sultan Husayn. At the same time, the Ottoman and Russian armies took over parts of Persia.
Nader joined forces with Sultan Husayn's son, Tahmasp II. Together, they led the fight against the Ghilzai Afghans. Nader drove their leader, Ashraf Khan, out of the capital city in 1729. He then helped Tahmasp become the new king.
Nader continued to fight. He wanted to get back the lands lost to the Ottomans. He also wanted to bring the Afghans back under Persian control. While Nader was away fighting in the east, Tahmasp allowed the Ottomans to take back land in the west. Nader was very upset by this. So, in 1732, he removed Tahmasp from power. He put Tahmasp's baby son, Abbas III, on the throne instead.
Four years later, Nader had won back most of the lost Persian lands. He felt strong enough to become Shah himself. He was officially declared Shah at a special ceremony on the Moghan Plain. This marked the official start of the Afsharid dynasty.
See also
In Spanish: Dinastía afsárida para niños
