The Battle of Khwar Pass was a failed ambush set up by

Ashraf Hotaki Shāh Ashraf Hotak, (Pashto/Persian: ; died 1730), 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 Hota ...

during his retreat in the aftermath of his defeat at the

Battle of Damghan (1729) The Battle of Damghan ( fa, نبرد دامغان) or Battle of Mehmandoost (Persian: ) was fought on September 29 to October 5, 1729, near the city of Damghan. It resulted in an overwhelming victory for Nader and the Safavid cause he had take ...

. Gathering what forces lay on his route, Ashraf pulled together another formidable fighting force around the remains of his badly bloodied force, even having enough men to spare for an ambush set up at a narrow pass east of

Varamin Varamin (; fa, ورامين, also Romanized as Varāmīn and Verāmin) is a city and capital of Varamin County, Tehran Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 218,991, and at the 2006 census, its population was 208,569, in 53,63 ...

Battle

Placing hidden guns and sharpshooters on the high ground overlooking the pass and fortifying the narrow pathway Ashraf even left a significant body of cavalry behind in order to hunt down the survivors of the ambush. Nader's spies however reported on Ashraf's designs at Khwar. Skirting around the ambush Nader, personally taking command, launched a two-pronged assault utilizing musketeers with artillery support, catching the Afghans in an ambush of his own, forcing the

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

to flee leaving their guns and baggage behind.

Consequences

As a result of the battle, Nader's advance into the heart of Iran and onto the capital Isfahan lay open. Nader however chose to take a longer route further to the west for reasons of superior logistical support. This also had the benefit of surprise with the defeated Afghans unable to mount a serious obstacle to Nader's advance on Isfahan until he had already reached Murcheh-Khort, a town just a mere few kilometres north of Isfahan itself.

Sources

Michael Axworthy Michael George Andrew Axworthy (26 September 1962 – 16 March 2019) was a British academic, author, and commentator. He was the head of the Iran section at the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office between 1998 and 2000. Personal life and fam ...

, ''The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant'' Hardcover 348 pages (26 July 2006) Publisher:

I.B. Tauris I.B. Tauris is an educational publishing house and imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. It was an independent publishing house with offices in London and New York City until its purchase in May 2018 by Bloomsbury Publishing. It specialises in non ...

Language: English

Battle

Consequences

Sources

See also