Nader Shah's Sword ( fa, شمشیر نادرشاه) refers to the sword carried by Iranian ruler
Nader Shah
Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian h ...
(1736–1747). It is located in
Tehran, Iran.
Under later Iranian ruler
Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (1797–1834), some fifty years or more later, it was inscribed and embellished.
The scabbard of the sword is covered with diamonds.
The modern historian
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 ...
notes that "Nader used the imagery of the sword to describe himself on a number of occasions".
The sword is not visible in any of the portraits of Fath-Ali Shah. There is, however, a mural in the Marble Room of the
Golestan Palace which shows
Mohammad Shah Qajar
Mohammad Shah (; born Mohammad Mirza; 5 January 1808 – 5 September 1848) was the third Qajar dynasty, Qajar ''shah'' of Qajar Iran, Iran from 1834 to 1848, having succeeded his grandfather Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, Fath-Ali Shah. From a young age, M ...
, the successor to Fath-Ali Shah, wearing the sword while on horseback.
The reverse side of the sword and scabbard shows a picture of the Shah on the hilt along with a few lines of verse, and the pictures of two of his sons.
See also
*
Asadullah Isfahani Asadullah Isfahani also known as Assadullah of Isfahan, and Asad Allāh Iṣfahānī (17th century) (), was an Iranian artisan shamshir (English: ''saber'') swordsmith who dedicated a sword for Shah 'Abbas I of Persia who was taken later by Nader ...
References
Middle Eastern swords
Individual weapons
Iranian National Jewels
Iranian folklore
Military history of Afsharid Iran
{{Iran-hist-stub