During the mid-eighteenth century the

Afsharid empire The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly referred to as Afsharid Iran or the Afsharid Empire, was an Iranian empire established by the Turkoman Afshar tribe in Iran's north-eastern province of Khorasan, establishing the Afsharid dynasty that w ...

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

embarked upon the conquest and annexation of the

Khanates A khanate ( ) or khaganate refers to historic polities ruled by a khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. Khanates were typically nomadic Mongol and Turkic or Tatar societies located on the Eurasian Steppe, and politically equivalent in status to k ...

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

and

Khiva Khiva ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Xiva, Хива, ; other names) is a district-level city of approximately 93,000 people in Khorazm Region, Uzbekistan. According to archaeological data, the city was established around 2,500 years ago. In 1997, Khiva celebr ...

. The initial engagements were fought in the late 1730s by Nader Shah's son and viceroy Reza Qoli Mirza who gained a few notable victories in this theatre while Nader was still invading India to the south. Reza Qoli's invasions of

angered Ilbars Khan, the leader of Khiva. When Ilbars threatened to make a counter-attack Nader ordered hostilities to cease despite his son's successes and later returned victoriously from Delhi to embark on a decisive campaign himself. After annexing Khiva he executed Ilbars and replaced him with Abu al-Fayz Khan, whom Nader considered to be more accepting of Nader's overlordship. The conflict resulted in the most overwhelming Persian triumph against the khanates of

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

in modern history and with the admixture of his previous annexation in northern India, Nader's empire in the east surpassed all other Iranian empires before it, back to the

Sassanians The Sasanian dynasty (also known as the Sassanids or the House of Sasan) was the house that founded the Sasanian Empire of Iran, ruling this empire from 224 to 651 AD. It began with Ardashir I, who named the dynasty in honour of his predecessor, ...

and

Achaemenids The Achaemenid dynasty ( ; ; ; ) was a royal house that ruled the Achaemenid Empire, which eventually stretched from Egypt and Thrace in the west to Central Asia and the Indus Valley in the east. Origins The history of the Achaemenid dy ...

of antiquity.svat soucek, a history of inner Asia page 195: in 1740 Nadir Shah, the new ruler of Iran, crossed the

Amu Darya The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...

and, accepting the submission of Muhammad Hakim Bi which was then formalized by the acquiescence of Abu al-Fayz Khan himself, proceeded to attack Khiva. When rebellions broke out in 1743 upon the death of

Muhammad Hakim Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, ...

, the shah dis- patched the ataliq’s son Muhammad Rahim Bi, who had accompanied him to Iran, to quell them. Mohammad hakim bi was ruler of the khanate of bukhara at that time. link:

The Conquest of Bukhara

In 1734-35 Ilbars Khan sent a large party of Turkmens in a raid against Khorasan, where they plundered Chameshgazak Kurds in the regions of the Ala Dagh mountain and Samalqan, but then were defeated by the Persian army. In 1737, when

Reza Qoli Mirza Afshar Reza Qoli Mirza Afshar (; 1719–1747) was the eldest son of Nader Shah of Afsharid Iran. After his father's coronation in 1736, Reza Qoli, aged 17, became the Governor of the province of Khorasan. During his tenure, he subdued rebellious khans ...

, son of Nader Shah and viceroy of the Empire, marched against Bukhara after having subdued the rulers of Balkh and Andkhui, Abu al-Fayz Khan, the ruler of Bukhara, appealed for help to Ilbars Khan, who set out to Transoxania with his army but turned back halfway, apparently in fear of confrontation with Reza Qoli. In 1738, Ilbars Khan set out to invade Khorasan but withdrew after raiding a few localities south of Abivard. Nader Shah intended to invade Turkestan. This first required the building of a bridge over the Oxus, wide enough for two loaded camels to cross it together. This work was completed in 45 days and Nader ordered his troops to build two fortifications on each bank of the river, each housing 5,000 soldiers. After these preparations, the Persian army, under the command of Nader Shah, headed to

where the assault was immediately begun, despite the fatigue of the journey. Nader Shah positioned his army such that the components were as follows; right, left, centre, artillery, tail and ambush troops, each position had its own independent commander. The Persian army opened fire on the Uzbeks with cannons, mortars, howitzers and swivel guns as well as the fire of the Jazayerchi. The Uzbeks were shocked into disarray, having never had to deal with such fire power and many of them took flight. After this battle, 30,000 Uzbek soldiers were pressed into the Persian army as auxiliaries.

The Battle of Pitnak

In 1740, Nader Shah, after his conquest of

, turned against Khwarazm and sent an embassy to Ilbars demanding submission; the ambassadors, two of whom were Juybari shaikhs, were executed by Ilbars Khan. Nader Shah routed the army of Khiva in a battle near Pitnak at the southern limits of Khwarazm. The next battle saw Nader Shah facing the army of Ilbars Khan, which included among others 30,000 Uzbek and Turkmen horsemen. In the battle, the Persian army crossed the Oxus and swept into action against Ilbars Khan. After a short and bloody confrontation between the two armies, the army of Khwarazm army began to collapse. Many times Ilbars Khan rallied his army, but was defeated every time and finally forced to succumb. At this point and after eight-month campaigning, the Persian army had travelled 3,000 kilometers, a logistical and strategic feat. Ilbars Khan, besieged in the city of Khanqah, surrendered to Nader Shah and was executed together with twenty or more of his amirs (according to some accounts, they were buried alive). The execution was ordered by Nader Shah in revenge for the murder of the Juybari shaikhs, upon the request of their heirs.

Rebellions in the Khanates

Persia gained unprecedented influence in the region as a consequence of Nader's campaigns. Even though a rebellion soon broke out against Nader's new appointee and the Persian army had to be recalled to the region to re-establish control. The revolt was quelled, keeping Central Asia under Persian dominion until the collapse of the Empire.

The Conquest of Bukhara

The Battle of Pitnak

Rebellions in the Khanates

See also

References

Further reading