born Oct. 22, 1688, Kobhan, Ṣafavid Iran
died June 1747, near Fatḥābād
Iranian conqueror and ruler.
Originally a bandit of the Turkish Afshar tribes, he helped restore Ṭahmāsp II of the Safavid dynasty to Iran's throne, defeating the Ghilzay Afghan usurper Maḥmūd. He later deposed Ṭahmāsp II to place the latter's infant son on the throne; he made himself regent, then deposed the son and took the throne himself in 1736. He engaged in constant warfare with his neighbours, enlarging his empire from the Indus River to the Caucasus Mountains. Suspicious of those around him and capriciously cruel, he was assassinated by his own troops.
Nādir Shāh, painting by an unknown artist, c. 1740; in the Victoria and Albert ...
By courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London