SAEDNEWS: Nader Shah’s extreme madness and paranoia drove two of his officers—fearing arrest and for their own lives—to slip into his command tent during a military campaign and assassinate him in the night.
According to the Saed News Society Service, Nader Shah Afshar, the founder of the Turkic Afshar dynasty, was born in 1114 AH (1736 CE). In the mid-18th century, Nader Shah rose to power after killing Ashraf Afghan, the second king of the Hotaki dynasty who had briefly toppled the Safavids, and deposing Shah Abbas III (heir to Tahmasp III) at the Council of Elders in Dasht-e Moghan, thereby establishing the Afsharid dynasty.
Nader, often called the “Napoleon of Iran,” managed to expand Iran’s borders to their widest extent since the fall of the Sassanid Empire, stretching across modern-day Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Bahrain, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. However, after his death, the Afsharid dynasty quickly disintegrated, and power fragmented among the Zand dynasty, the Durranis, and the Caucasus khanates.
Nader was also the commander who defeated Sultan Muhammad of the Mughal Empire at the Battle of Karnal and captured Delhi—a victory that brought immense wealth and spoils to the Afsharids. Historians remember Nader as a king who never lost a battle, yet his twelve-year reign is divided into two distinct periods. During the first seven years, he restored Iran’s waning power with successive military victories, but a failed assassination attempt triggered deep paranoia. Nader became distrustful of everyone around him, even blinding his heir, Reza Qoli.
His extreme paranoia and growing madness eventually led two of his officers—fearing arrest and death—to sneak into his military tent one night and assassinate him.
A fractured image of Nader Shah’s skull, rediscovered in 1963 during excavation of his tomb, offers a haunting reminder of one of Iran’s most enigmatic historical figures. The skull was recovered among his bones during the tomb’s renovation and was reburied after the restoration was complete, symbolizing the enduring mystery and intrigue surrounding the life of Khan Afshar.
