The Battle of Murche-Khort was the last decisive engagement of
Nader's campaign
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to restore
Tahmasp II
Tahmasp II ( fa, طهماسب, translit=Ṭahmāsb or ; 1704? – 11 February 1740) was one of the last Safavid rulers of Persia (Iran).
Name
"Tahmasp" ( fa, طهماسب, translit=Ṭahmāsb) is a New Persian name, ultimately derived from Ol ...
to the Persian throne.
Ashraf Hotak
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 H ...
had failed to arrest Nader's advance onto
Isfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
at
Khwar pass where his ambush was discovered, surrounded and ambushed itself. The battle was fought in an uncharacteristic manner by the Afghans who to some extent sought to replicate their foes tactical systems which had so badly devastated their armies up to this point. Victory opened a clear road south towards Isfahan and the return of
Safavid rule for a few brief years before Nader himself would overthrow it.
Background
Events in Isfahan
Ashraf's arrival in Isfahan heralded a massacre of over 3,000 Persian
aristocrats
Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'.
At the time of the word' ...
& clergymen carried out in the cruel, cold calculation that his catastrophic defeat at
Mihmandoost would encourage an uprising in Isfahan as soon as he were to ride out of the city with his army to meet Nader's forces which were bearing down on Isfahan.
Removing any potential leaders of revolt in Isfahan ensured that he would not be caught between the Persian army in the north and a resurgent Isfahan in the south. This purge was carried out with particular brutality, looting and destroying much of the Bazaar in a fire, though the extremity of the measure would count as another of the atrocities perpetrated by the Afghans during their brief and bloody rule in Persia with a damning verdict from historians ever since helping to create a very authentic image in the eyes of posterity of Afghan rule in Iran as a mere case of uncivilized, brute, beastly, savage barbarians ransacking a civilization.
Ottoman Support
After Nader's crushing victories against the Ghilzai Afghans in northern Persia he wrote letters to the
Ottomans requesting the immediate withdrawal from historic Safavid lands which they had acquired from Ashraf by the
Treaty of Hamadan. Realizing the threat of a resurgent Persia on their eastern border the Ottomans responded to Ashraf's requests for help, sending him both guns and
artillerymen
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, ...
. On October 31, 1729, having augmented his army's fire power substantially with Ottoman aid Ashraf marched out of an Isfahan even more destitute than at the time of
Mahmud's siege.
Battle
Deployment
Moving north the Afghans reached a defensible position near
Murche-Khort approximately 55 kilometres north of Isfahan. On November 13, 1729 Nader's army came into view. Observing the strength of the entrenched position Ashraf had selected, Nader attempted to lure him out first by artillery fire and then by marching around him and towards Isfahan. Alas this ruse met with no more success than the first.
Ashraf was far too cunning to be duped in this manner and in fact had done excellently in devising a new approach to counter Nader's seemingly invincible system which was evidently immune to the thundering charge of Afghan horsemen which had swept all before it in previous engagements, even the Ottomans. Recognizing that any attack on the Persian army was doomed to failure, Ashraf deployed his artillery in a circular fashion all around his centre which was a long line of entrenched infantry, in effect giving him a pivot to manoeuvre his cavalry around.
Engagement
Nader drew up his
Jazāyerchi (musketeers) in a line corresponding to that of their entrenched foes. He sent a contingent of
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
under Haj Beg Afshar around to the east to menace the Afghan right flank and kept the rest of his cavalry in reserve in order foil any attempt by Ashraf to flank or disrupt his
musketeer
A musketeer (french: mousquetaire) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare particularly in Europe as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a pre ...
s onslaught against the Afghan infantry in the centre. The uniform advance of the
Jazāyerchi was little affected by either Afghan musketry and cannon fire, continuing right up to the trenches where they unleashed deadly volleys at close range before drawing swords and coming to grips with the enemy.
No effort was spared by Ashraf to try and relieve the pressure from his infantry in the centre and many charges were made by his cavalry against the Persian infantry's flank and rear but were all intercepted and thrown back by Nader's cavalry reserve.
[ Axworthy, Michael (2009). ''The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from tribal warrior to conquering tyrant'',p. 203. I. B. Tauris] Eventually the centre of the Afghan army dissolved under pressure and Ashraf having done his utmost to keep order amongst his unravelling army was forced to concede another crushing defeat, leading him to flee with the utmost urgency in order to reach Isfahan before Nader.
Aftermath
Such was the panic-stricken haste with which Ashraf and his entourage fled to Isfahan that they rode through the city gates that very afternoon, fresh from their defeat at Murche-Khort. Scrambling for any items of value he loaded as much as he could onto as many four-legged beasts as he could find and along with a few
princesses
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince.
Princess as a subst ...
of the Safavid house left Isfahan for
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...
at dawn. The Ottoman artillerymen who had become Nader's prisoners were treated with mercy and permitted to journey home.
See also
*
Military of the Afsharid dynasty of Persia
The military forces of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran had their origins in the relatively obscure yet bloody inter-factional violence in Khorasan during the collapse of the Safavid state. The small band of warriors under local warlord Nader Qoli ...
*
Restoration of Tahmasp II to the Safavid throne
The restoration of Tahmasp II to the Safavid throne took place in the latter part of 1729 by a series of battles fought between Nader, Tahmasp's commander-in-chief and Ashraf Hotaki. Despite nominally bringing Tahmasp to the seat of power, true ...
*
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 taken ...
*
Battle of Khwar Pass
The Battle of Khwar Pass was a failed ambush set up by Ashraf Hotaki during his retreat in the aftermath of his defeat at the Battle of Damghan (1729). Gathering what forces lay on his route, Ashraf pulled together another formidable fighting for ...
*
Hotaki dynasty
The Hotak dynasty ( ps, fa, ) 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 revolution against t ...
References
{{Reflist
Murche-Khort
1729 in Iran
Murche-Kort
History of Isfahan Province
Campaigns of Nader Shah