Nadir Shah (
1688 -
1747) was a leader of
Persia and has sometimes been described as the "Persian Napoleon". He drove out the Afghans who were occupying Persia and took the throne in
1736. In
1738, he conquered
Kandahar and
Kabul. He continued on to
India, defeating a great
Mughal army, plundering
Delhi starting on
March 20,
1739, and massacring thousands of its people. He returned home with vast treasures, including the
Peacock Throne[?], which thereafter served as a symbol of Iranian imperial might and the
Koh-i-Noor diamond. He was assassinated in 1747.
See also Mohammed Nadir Shah, king of Afghanistan from 1929 to 1933.
