Nadir Shah Afshar's capture of Samarkand, one of the political and economic centers of the region, during his Central Asian campaign. According to Nader Shah, who was an admirer of Amir Timur, Samarkand had a symbolic meaning. The capture occurred in 1740 and Nader Shah entered Samarkand almost unopposed. According to legend, Nader Shah brought the double doors of the Bibi-Khanym Mosque made of gold, silver, precious stones, jewelry and other precious metals, located in Samarkand, as well as a number of architects, artists, and scientists, to the center of the Afshar Empire.

Background

The foundations of the campaign that would lead to the capture of

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

appeared in the 1730s. At this time, Nader was on the Indian campaign, and his successor, Prince Reza Qoli Mirza Afshar, had managed to win several brilliant victories over the states 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 ...

. Rzagulu's capture of

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 ...

angered Ilbars Khan, the ruler of Khiva, who threatened him to launch a counterattack. Since Nader himself was far away, he ordered his son to end hostilities. His plan was to carry out more successful operations under his command after his return. After the annexation of Khiva, Nader had Ilbars executed and replaced him with Abulfaz Khan. Nadir thought he would be more faithful. As a result of this campaign, a victory was won over Central Asia that almost none of the states which existed in the region, including the

Safavids The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

, could achieve.

The start of the campaign to Central Asia

Nader Shah wanted to conquer

Turkestan Turkestan,; ; ; ; also spelled Turkistan, is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and East Turkestan (Xinjiang). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its ...

. As the first step for this, he built a bridge over 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 ...

. This bridge was convenient for two loaded camels to cross side by side. After the construction of the bridge which took 45 days, fortifications were erected on both sides of the bridge according to the order of Nader. Five thousand soldiers were placed in each fortification. After these preparations, Afsharid's army under the command of Nader Shah began to march towards Bukhara, and despite the fact that the army was exhausted, it quickly launched attacks. From the camp on the shore of Amu Darya, Nader Shah sent an army of eight thousand people to Reza Qoli Mirza to capture the city of Charjo. Another commander, Ali Qoli Khan, was instructed to advance towards the cities located in the east of the river and capture unsubordinated places. By the time Reza Qoli Mirza approached Charjo, the city had long been left. The population of the city heard about the approach of Afsharid's army, left the city and went to

Khwarazm Khwarazm (; ; , ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the east by the Kyzylkum Desert, on the south by th ...

. Ali Qoli Khan also subdued the necessary places without facing strong resistance. The governor of

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 ...

, Abulfaz Khan, was afraid of the strength of Nader's army and sent the vizier Bi Ataliq to Nader's camp. Nader, who welcomed the ambassador with respect, welcomed his peace offer, but rejected Abulfaz Khan's offer to meet in Garagul. Nadir said that if Abulfaz Khan wanted peace, he should have come to this camp himself, and this request was accepted. But at this time, Abulfaz Khan received the news that an army of 100,000 people gathered from different tribes was ready to help him. He thought about the possibility of defeating Nader with this army and increasing his influence in the region, and he refused to negotiate with Nader about peace. Many nobles and army chiefs of Turkestan also defended Abulfaz Khan's decision to go to war with Nader. At the end, Abulfaz Khan prepared his armies and left Bukhara. He wanted to meet Nader in the precinct called Islam, which is located two miles from Bukhara. After Nader saw that there was no news from Abulfaz Khan, he learned what was happening through his scouts and started discussions with his generals. To ensure the security of the troops, the duty of guard was assigned to a group of 3,000 under the leadership of Haji Khan Kurd and Gasim Bay Afshar. This guard unit came face to face with Abulfaz Khan's guard unit near Qatartut and a battle took place between them. Nader's troops won this heavy battle.

Capture of Bukhara

Nader Shah's artillery inflicted heavy losses on Abulfaz Khan's troops. The Uzbek and Turkmen forces met for the first time with cannons, which influenced to the confusion among them. In particular, the forces in the center collided. However, Abulfaz Khan's troops did not retreat. When they saw that it was impossible to advance from the center, they continued the attack from the flanks, from the directions where the cannons did not work. In any case, the mutual efforts of the opposing sides created the basis for the intensification of close combat. Despite all the existing tension, Nader Shah managed to direct the main strike force of his troops to the positions where Abulfaz Khan was standing. This destroyed the fighting power of Turkestan troops. Seeing the disintegration of the general ranks, the general of Agili left the battlefield and turned back. When this happened, Abulfaz Khan was sure that he would not be able to win and retreated to the Bukhara fortress. Realizing that he would not be able to win against Nader, Abulfaz Khan again sent a messenger and declared that he agreed to peace. Nader Shah accepted this reconciliation proposal and even sent valuable gifts to Abulfaz Khan through the messengers who came to him. After hearing the news brought by Doctor Ataliq, Abulfaz Khan also sent valuable gifts to Nader Shah. After peace was gained with Abulfaz Khan, Nader Shah moved towards Bukhara. In order not to endanger the population of Bukhara, Nader Shah entrusted the issue of supplying the troops to Hakim Ataliq. During Nader Shah's stay in Bukhara, Hakim Ataliq had to provide food for his troops. The commanders of the troops were instructed that the fighters should not disturb the local population regarding the issues of food and catering. Nader Shah also instructed the commanders to keep discipline among the troops under control. According to Nader's order, those who touched the local population and violated the discipline should be arrested and executed. After entering Bukhara, a sermon was read in the name of Nader Shah and a coin was minted. At that time, the capture of the city of Samarkand was ahead.

Capture of Samarkand

Nader Shah's army attacked Samarkand in 1740. At that time, the

Khanate of Bukhara The Khanate of Bukhara was an Uzbek state in Central Asia from 1501 to 1785, founded by the Abu'l-Khayrid dynasty, a branch of the Shaybanids. From 1533 to 1540, Bukhara briefly became its capital during the reign of Ubaidullah Khan. The Khana ...

was already dependent on the state of Nader Shah. According to Nader Shah, who was an admirer of Amir Timur, Samarkand had a symbolic meaning. Nader Shah entered Samarkand almost unopposed, and from there prepared to march on Ilbars Khan, who was still a threat to his state. Nader Shah, who easily captured Samarkand, received information that an army consisting of 20,000 soldiers of Samarkand, Bukhara and

Kokand Kokand ( ) is a city in Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. Administratively, Kokand is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Muqimiy. The population of Kokand was ap ...

forces was approaching him. An army was sent against them under the leadership of Lutfali Khan, and although the rebels learned about this and began to retreat, Lutfali Khan managed to catch up with them and defeated their army. According to legend, Nader Shah brought the double doors of the Bibi-Khanym Mosque made of gold, silver, precious stones, jewelry and other precious metals, located in Samarkand, as well as a number of architects, artists, and scientists, to the center of the Afshar Empire.

References

Literature