The siege of Isfahan was a six-month-long siege of
Isfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Region, Isfahan Province, Iran. It is lo ...
, the capital of the
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty (; fa, دودمان صفوی, Dudmâne Safavi, ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of th ...
of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, by the
Hotaki
The Hotak ( ps, هوتک) or Hotaki () is a tribe of the Ghilji confederacy of the Pashtun people. The Hotak started centuries ago as a political family. The first king to take power in Kandahar, Afghanistan, was Mirwais Hotak (1673–1715). A ...
-led Afghan army. It lasted from March to October 1722 and resulted in the city's fall and the beginning of the end of the Safavid dynasty.
Background
The Iranian Safavid Empire, once a powerful empire, had been in decline since the late 17th century. This was brought about by the lack of interest in ruling by many of the Shahs of that period, royal intrigues, civil unrest, especially among many of its subjects, and recurrent wars with their
Ottoman arch rivals.
Some subjects such as
Mir Wais Hotak
Mir Ways ibn Shah 'Alam, also known as Mirwais Khan Hotak (Pashto/Dari: ) (1673–1715) was an Afghan ruler from the Ghilji tribe of Kandahar, Afghanistan, and the founder of the Hotak dynasty.
In 1709, after overthrowing and assassinating Ge ...
, a well-respected tribe leader, attempted to inform
Shah Sultan Hussayn of the risks that a lack of strong leadership could cause for the empire. However, this displeased the Safavid political elite, who were content in their position of power and did not wish to see change in the system.
Hotak was sent to be imprisoned in Isfahan by
Gurgin Khan the governor of Georgia, but used this opportunity to get closer to the Shah and convince him to send him back to
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...
. Once there, he strategically befriended
Gurgin Khan
George XI ( ka, გიორგი XI, ''Giorgi XI''; 1651 – 21 April 1709), known as Gurgin Khan in Iran, was a Georgians, Georgian monarch who ruled the Kingdom of Kartli as a Safavid, Safavid Persian subject from 1676 to 1688 and again from 1 ...
and eventually murdered him, leading to a series of revolts in the region.
The Safavids, at that time being strongly in favor of
Shia Islam
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, m ...
, heavily oppressed the
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
Pashtuns in what is now Afghanistan. Making use of the opportunity provided by the Safavid decline, the Pashtuns led by
Mir Wais Hotak
Mir Ways ibn Shah 'Alam, also known as Mirwais Khan Hotak (Pashto/Dari: ) (1673–1715) was an Afghan ruler from the Ghilji tribe of Kandahar, Afghanistan, and the founder of the Hotak dynasty.
In 1709, after overthrowing and assassinating Geor ...
had rebelled against the Persian overlordship. A series of ensuing punitive campaigns sent by the Safavid government were defeated. However,
Mir Wais Hotak
Mir Ways ibn Shah 'Alam, also known as Mirwais Khan Hotak (Pashto/Dari: ) (1673–1715) was an Afghan ruler from the Ghilji tribe of Kandahar, Afghanistan, and the founder of the Hotak dynasty.
In 1709, after overthrowing and assassinating Ge ...
was captured and imprisoned. He eventually died in 1709, and soon after his death, his son
Mahmud Hotak
Shāh Mahmūd Hotak, (Pashto/Dari: ), also known as Shāh Mahmūd Ghiljī () (lived 1697 – April 22, 1725), was an Afghan ruler of the Hotak dynasty who overthrew the heavily declined Safavid dynasty to briefly become the king of Persia from 1 ...
took over his battle and led the Pashtun army to the capital of the empire Isfahan in 1722.
Siege
Isfahan was besieged by the Afghan forces led by Shah
Mahmud Hotaki
Shāh Mahmūd Hotak, ( Pashto/ Dari: ), also known as Shāh Mahmūd Ghiljī () (lived 1697 – April 22, 1725), was an Afghan ruler of the Hotak dynasty who overthrew the heavily declined Safavid dynasty to briefly become the king of Persia fr ...
after their decisive victory over the Safavid army at the
battle of Gulnabad
The Battle of Gulnabad (Sunday, March 8, 1722) was fought between the military forces from Hotaki Dynasty and the army of the Safavid Empire. It further cemented the eventual fall of the Safavid dynasty, which had been declining for decades.
Af ...
, close to Isfahan, on 8 March 1722. While the exact number of soldiers who fought in this battle is unclear, estimations claim
Mahmud Hotak
Shāh Mahmūd Hotak, (Pashto/Dari: ), also known as Shāh Mahmūd Ghiljī () (lived 1697 – April 22, 1725), was an Afghan ruler of the Hotak dynasty who overthrew the heavily declined Safavid dynasty to briefly become the king of Persia from 1 ...
had about 18,000 troops, while the Persian army counted around 40,000. After the battle, the Safavid forces fell back in disarray to Isfahan. This defeat would eventually cause the end of the Safavid empire, as Afghan troops approached the capital. The Afghans lacked artillery to breach the city walls and blockaded Isfahan in order to bend Shah
Sultan Husayn
Soltan Hoseyn ( fa, شاه سلطان حسین, Soltān-Hoseyn; 1668 – 9 September 1727) was the Safavid shah of Iran from 1694 to 1722. He was the son and successor of Shah Solayman ().
Born and raised in the royal harem, Soltan Hoseyn ascen ...
Safavi, and the city's defenders into surrender. Ill-organized Safavid efforts to relieve the siege failed and the shah's disillusioned Georgian vassal,
Vakhtang VI of Kartli
Vakhtang VI ( ka, ვახტანგ VI), also known as Vakhtang the Scholar, Vakhtang the Lawgiver and Ḥosaynqolī Khan ( fa, حسینقلی خان, translit=Hoseyn-Qoli Xān) (September 15, 1675 – March 26, 1737), was a Georgian m ...
, refused to come to the Safavid aid. Shah Husayn's son,
Tahmasp, and some 600 soldiers fled their way out of the city in order to release a relief army. However, after 8 months the famine soon prevailed and the shah capitulated on 23 October, abdicating in favor of Mahmud, who triumphantly entered the city on 25 October 1722. The Afghans would remain in Persia until 1729.
Aftermath
After the
battle of Gulnabad
The Battle of Gulnabad (Sunday, March 8, 1722) was fought between the military forces from Hotaki Dynasty and the army of the Safavid Empire. It further cemented the eventual fall of the Safavid dynasty, which had been declining for decades.
Af ...
in 1722 and until 1729, political control shifted from the Safavid dynasty to the succession of rule by the
Ghilza'i afghans
Mahmud
Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''.
Siam Mahmud
*Mahmood (singer) (born 199 ...
, followed by his cousin
Ashraf
Sharīf ( ar, شريف, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef or sherif, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the Maghreb) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, fr ...
. Most of the Safavi princes, as well as the Shah Sultan Husayn, were executed under the Ghilza supremacy. During that time, this political crisis motivated the Russian and Ottoman empire to declare war and conquer important Persian territories. Former Safavi-governed land in the Gilan and Azarbayjan area and in the Kurdish and Luristan territory were acquisitioned by both empires with the
Treaty of Constantinople in 1724. This treaty was actually a settlement to avoid a potential war break-out, as the two empires wanted control of the north of Iran. Indeed, Russia's
Peter I Peter I may refer to:
Religious hierarchs
* Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus
* Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint
* Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...
had plans to build a trade route to India through the countries east of the Caspian Sea, while the Ottomans wanted Russia to stay away from that area due to its close proximity to Turkey.
Ashraf wanted full sovereignty over Iran. To do so, in 1727, he made an arrangement to incorporate western Iran to the Ottoman empire; in exchange, they recognized him as ruler.
In 1729, the Persian military, under the rule of Shah
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 Old ...
, son of ousted Shah
Sultan Husayn
Soltan Hoseyn ( fa, شاه سلطان حسین, Soltān-Hoseyn; 1668 – 9 September 1727) was the Safavid shah of Iran from 1694 to 1722. He was the son and successor of Shah Solayman ().
Born and raised in the royal harem, Soltan Hoseyn ascen ...
, and his general
Tahmasp Qoli Khan (later known as
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 ...
), defeated the Afghan army in Khorasan in a quest to restore Safafid domains, and Ashraf was killed. This led to a series of
victorious battles by the Safavids under brilliant military commandment by Nader. This concluded Afghan rule in 1730, followed by the restoration of the former Safavid political-economic system under Tahmasp II. Nader was proclaimed shah in 1736 after deposing the newly appointed shah,
Abbas III
Abbas III (January 1732 – February 1740) ( fa, شاه عباس سوم) was a son of Shah Tahmasp II and Shahpari Begum of the Safavid dynasty and reigned from 1732 to 1736. After the deposition of his father by Nader Khan (the future Nader ...
, son of Tahmasp II.
Now ruler of Persia, he set to conquer India, with the opening
Battle of Karnal
The Battle of Karnal (24 February 1739), was a decisive victory for Nader Shah, the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran, during his invasion of India. Nader's forces defeated the army of Muhammad Shah within three hours, paving the way fo ...
in 1739. In 1743, he went to
war for the second time against the Ottoman Empire, which lasted until 1746. Nader Shah was assassinated by his own troops in 1747 while trying to dissolute an uprising against him in
Khorasan
Khorasan may refer to:
* Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
* Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
.
References
{{Reflist
Battles involving Safavid Iran
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 ...
Conflicts in 1722
1722 in Iran
1722 in Asia
Isfahan