Mushed, and went to the fort of Khelat in the same province, which was
in the possession of his uncle, who appears at this period to have been
at the head of a small branch of the Affshars. He resided there but a
short time, before his relation, alarmed at his violence and ambition,
compelled him to retire. He appears next to have resumed his occupation
of a robber; but his depredations were now on a more extended scale. The
Afghans had become masters of Ispahan; and the rule of the Suffavean
monarchs over the distant provinces of the kingdom was subverted,
without that of their conquerors being firmly established. At such a
moment a plunderer of known valor and experience could not want
followers; and in the course of a short time we find Nadir, a chief of
reputation, at the head of a body of three thousand men, levying large
contributions on the inhabitants of Khorasan.
His uncle, alarmed at his increasing power, sought his friendship. He
addressed a kind letter to him, and proposed that he should enter the
service of Shah Tamasp, and aid that Prince in expelling the Afghans
from Persia. Nadir pretended to listen to this overture, and earnestly
desired that the King should grant him a pardon for his past offences.
This was easily obtained; and he went to Khelat to receive it. He
appears to have always deemed the Governor of that place as the chief
obstacle to his rise; and at this moment he laid a plan to destroy him
and to seize his fortress. He completely succeeded in both; and, after
having slain his uncle with his own hand, he proceeded to employ the
means he had acquired by this crime in overthrowing the Afghan ruler of
Khorasan. This popular attack upon the enemies of his country enabled
him to obtain a second pardon from Shah Tamasp, whose service he
entered, and to whose cause he brought a great accession of strength and
reputation.
Shah Tamasp early entertained the greatest jealousy of Nadir: and upon
his disobeying a mandate he had sent him to return from an expedition on
which he was engaged, the weak monarch ventured to proclaim him a rebel
and a traitor. The indignant chief, the moment he heard of these
proceedings, marched against the court, which he soon compelled to
submit on the terms he chose to dictate. From the occurrence of this
open rupture we may date the annihilation of the little power Tamasp had
ever enjoyed. Nadir continued to treat him with respect till he deemed
the time mature for his usurpation of the throne; but we discover that,
as early as his first expedition into Khorasan, he began to prepare the
minds of his countrymen for his future elevation.
Like Ardisheer, the founder of the Sassanian race of Persian kings, he
had his visions of future grandeur. He saw, we are told, in one of
these, a water-fowl and a white fish with four horns; he dreamt that he
shot the bird; and, after all his attendants had failed in their
attempts to seize the extraordinary fish, he stretched out his hand and
caught it with the greatest ease. The simple fact of his dreaming of a
bird and a fish, he was informed by flattering astrologers, was a
certain presage of his attaining imperial power; and his historian has
had a less difficult task in discovering, from subsequent events, that
the four horns of the fish were types of the kingdoms of Persia,
Khaurizm, India, and Tartary, which were all destined to be conquered by
this hero. Such trifles are not unworthy of notice; they show the art or
superstition of him who uses or believes in them, and portray better
than the most elaborate descriptions the character of those minds upon
which they make an impression.
The expulsion of the Afghans from Persia seemed the sole effort of the
genius of Nadir; and no reward, therefore, appeared too great for the
man who was liberating his country from its cruel oppressors. The grant
made by Tamasp to this chief, of the four finest provinces of the
empire, was considered only as a just recompense for the great services
that he had performed. We are told that in the same letter by which
Tamasp conveyed the grant of these countries, or, in other words,
alienated half his kingdom, his victorious general was requested to
assume the title of sultan, and a diadem, richly set with jewels, was
sent by one of the noblemen of the court. Nadir accepted all the honors
except the title of sultan; that high name he thought would excite envy
without conferring benefit; he, however, took advantage of this
proffered elevation to the rank of a prince, to exercise one of the most
important privileges which attach to monarchs. He directed that his army
should be paid in coin brought from the province of Khorasan, and that
it should be struck in his own name, which virtually amounted to an
assumption of the independent sovereignty of that country.
The armies of the Turks occupied some of the finest parts of the
province of Irak and all Azerbaijan. Nadir marched against them as soon
as his troops were refreshed from the fatigues they had endured in the
pursuit of the Afghans. He encountered the united force of two Turkish
pachas on the plains of Hamadan, overthrew them, and made himself
master, not only of the city, but of all the country in its vicinity. He
hastened to Azerbaijan, where the same success attended him. Tabriz,
Ardabil, and all the principal cities of that quarter had surrendered;
and the conqueror was preparing to besiege Erivan, the capital of
Armenia, when he received from his brother, whom he had left in the
government of Khorasan, an account of an alarming rebellion of the
Afghans of that province. He hastened to its relief; and his success
against the rebels was completed by the reduction of the fortresses of
Furrah and Herat. An event occurred, during the siege of the latter
city, which marked the barbarous character of this war. Nadir had
obtained a victory over a large division of the Afghan force, and
resolved to celebrate it with a splendid feast. Among other guests were
several prisoners of high rank. During the festivities the heads of
three hundred Afghans, who had been slain in the action, were held up on
the tops of spears. "At this sight," says the flattering historian of
Nadir, "the chiefs of our enemies fixed their eyes upon the ground, and
never dared to raise them again, notwithstanding the extraordinary
kindness with which they were treated by their great and generous
conqueror!"
While Nadir was employed at the siege of Herat the Persian nobles at
Ispahan persuaded the weak Tamasp to place himself at the head of an
army and march against the Turks, who were again assembling on the
frontier. The reverses which the arms of that nation had sustained in
Persia had caused a revolution at Constantinople, where the janizaries
had first murdered the vizier, and afterward dethroned Achmet, and
placed his nephew, Mahmud, upon the throne. To this Prince Nadir had
sent an envoy, demanding that the Turks should evacuate the province of
Azerbaijan; and Shah Tamasp had sent another with what a Persian
historian indignantly terms "a sweet-scented letter of congratulation"
upon his elevation to the throne. Before the result of the mission sent
by Nadir could be known, Tamasp had marched to besiege Erivan, had
retreated from before that fortress, been defeated by a Turkish army,
and had lost in one month all that the genius and valor of his general
had gained during the preceding season. To render the effects of his
weakness complete, the alarmed monarch had agreed to a peace, by which
he abandoned the whole of the country beyond the Araxes to the Turks,
and ceded five districts of the province of Kirmanshahan to Achmet, the
reigning pacha of Bagdad, by whom this treaty was negotiated. The
disgrace of this engagement was aggravated by its containing no
stipulation for the release of the Persians who had been made prisoners
during the war.
The moment that Nadir received accounts of the peace it seems to have
occurred to his mind that it afforded an excellent pretext for the
consummation of those projects he had so long cherished: but, although
bold and impatient, he was compelled to proceed with caution to the
extinction of a race of kings to whom obedience had become a habit, and
who were at that moment represented by a prince who, though weak and
despicable, was endeared to many of his subjects by his misfortunes. His
first step was to issue a proclamation, in which he inveighed with
bitterness against a treaty which bounded the great empire of Persia by
the river Araxes, and left many of the inhabitants of that kingdom
prisoners in the hands of cruel enemies. "Such a treaty," he said, "is
contrary to the will of Heaven: and the angels who guard the tomb of the
holy Ali call aloud for the deliverance of his followers from the
bondage in which they are now held by vile heretics."
There is no country, however abject its inhabitants may appear, where
the most daring and ambitious can venture to usurp the supreme power
without first obtaining a hold on public opinion; we cannot have a
stronger proof of this fact, as applicable to Persia, than what we find
in the conduct of Nadir upon this memorable occasion. Though that chief
had revived the military spirit of his country, and roused a nation sunk
in sloth and luxury to great and successful exertion, yet neither this
success, the imbecility of Shah Tamasp, nor a reliance upon his own fame
and strength could induce him to take the last step of usurpation, until
he had, by his arts, excited in the minds of his countrymen that
complete contempt for the reigning sovereign, and that pride in his
glory, which were likely to make his elevation appear more the
accomplishment of their wishes than of his ambition.
At the same time that Nadir published the proclamation which has been
mentioned, he addressed letters to all the military chiefs of the
country. In that to the Governor of Fars, which has been preserved, he
informs him of the great success he has had against the Afghans and of
the conquest of Herat. He then proceeds to state the astonishment and
indignation with which he has learnt the particulars of the treaty
concluded with Turkey. "You will no doubt," he observes, "be rejoiced to
hear that, as it was to be hoped from the goodness of God, this peace
with the Turks is not likely to endure; and you may rest in expectation
of my approach; for, by the blessing of the Most High, I will advance
immediately, with an army elated with success, skilled in sieges,
numerous as emmets, valiant as lions, and combining with the vigor of
youth the prudence of age. Let the cup-bearer," he exclaims, quoting
from a popular poet, "tell our enemy, the worshipper of fire, to cover
his head with dust, for the water that had departed is returned into its
channel." He concludes this letter by threatening, with excommunication
and destruction, all Shiahs, or, in other words, all Persians who are
adverse to the renewal of hostilities. "Those Shiahs," he observes, "who
are backward on this great occasion, and are reconciled to this shameful
peace, shall be expelled from the faithful sect and forever counted
among its enemies. To slaughter them will be meritorious; to permit
their existence impious."
The actions of Nadir corresponded with these declarations. He sent an
officer to Constantinople, the duties of whose mission to the Emperor
Mahmud were limited to this short message: "Restore the provinces of
Persia or prepare for war." A messenger was deputed to Achmet, the
Pacha of Bagdad, to apprise him that "the deliverer of Persia" was
approaching. A peace had been concluded with the Russians, by which it
was stipulated that they should abandon all the conquests they had made
on the shores of the Caspian; and Nadir despatched two officers to that
quarter to see that there was no delay in the execution of this treaty.
After adopting these measures Nadir marched to Ispahan. He first
upbraided Shah Tamasp, and then pretended to be reconciled to him; but
the scene of his mock submission to this Prince drew to a close. Tamasp
was invited to the tents of his general to share in the joys of a feast,
which terminated in his being seized and dethroned. He was sent to
Khorasan. The Mahometan author who records these events is careful in
informing us that the generosity of Nadir desired that Tamasp, though a
prisoner, should be accompanied by all his ladies, and enjoy every other
comfort that could be deemed necessary to pleasurable existence.
The time did not yet appear to Nadir to be ripe for his seizing the
crown of Persia. The officers of his army and some venal nobles of the
court earnestly requested that he, who was alone worthy to wear the
diadem, would place it upon his head; but he rejected their entreaties,
from pretended respect for the blood of the Suffavean kings. The son of
Tamasp, an infant only eight months old, was seated upon the throne, and
Nadir accepted the name and power of regent of the empire.
When the ceremonies necessary at this coronation were over, Nadir
marched with a large army to the attack of Bagdad. The Governor of that
city, Achmet Pacha, was not more distinguished for his talents as a
soldier than a statesman; and the Persian leader had made his
preparations in the expectation of an obstinate defence; but neither the
valor nor skill of Achmet would have saved his city had not the Turkish
general Topal Osman advanced, at the head of an immense army, to his
relief. Nadir instantly resolved to hazard a battle. He left a small
part of his army in his lines, and led the remainder to attack Topal
Osman, who was encamped on the banks of the Tigris, near the village of
Samarra, which is situated about sixty miles from Bagdad. The action
that ensued was one of the most bloody ever fought between the Turks
and Persians. It was at first favorable to the latter, whose cavalry put
the enemy to flight; but the Turkish infantry advanced and restored the
battle. A corps of Arabs, from whom Nadir expected support, fell upon
one of his flanks. His men, who had been exposed all day to the intense
rays of a summer sun, fainted with heat and thirst. He himself twice
fell to the ground, in the midst of his enemies, from his horses being
shot; and his standard-bearer, conceiving him slain, fled from the
field. All these causes combined to give the victory to Topal Osman;
and, after a contest of more than eight hours, the army of Nadir was
completely defeated. The moment the news of this event reached Bagdad,
the inhabitants of that city fell on the troops left to guard the
trenches, who were also routed. The loss of the Persians in this battle
was estimated by their enemies at sixty thousand men; and it probably
amounted to more than one-third of that number. The Turks suffered
almost as severely; but their triumph was very complete; for Nadir did
not reassemble the whole of his broken and dispersed army till he
reached the plains of Hamadan, a distance of more than two hundred miles
from the field of action.
There is no period in the life of Nadir at which he appears to more
advantage than after this great misfortune. Instead of reproaching his
soldiers with their defeat, he loaded them with praises and with favors.
Their losses in money and horses were more than repaid, and they were
encouraged by the exhortations as well as the actions of their politic
commander to desire nothing so much as an opportunity of revenging
themselves upon their enemies. This conduct increased his reputation and
popularity to so great a degree that recruits from every part of Persia
hastened to join his standard; and in less than three months after this
action Nadir descended again into the plains of Bagdad with an army more
numerous than before.
His brave antagonist, Topal Osman, had jealous rivals at the court of
Constantinople; and these, alarmed at the great fame he had acquired,
not only prevented, by their intrigues, his being reënforced with men,
but, by withholding the supplies of money that were necessary to pay his
troops, compelled him to separate his force. He, nevertheless, made the
greatest efforts to oppose this second invasion of Nadir. He sent a
corps of cavalry to arrest the progress of the Persians; but the latter,
eager for revenge, made such a sudden and furious attack on this body
that they completely routed it. On hearing this intelligence, the
Turkish general advanced with all the troops he had been able to draw
together to his support; but his own army partook of the panic of their
flying comrades. Topal Osman endeavored in vain to rally them. He was
himself so infirm that he always rode in a litter. His attendants, in
the hope that he might escape, lifted him, when the flight became
general, upon a horse; but his rich dress attracted the eye of a Persian
soldier, who pierced him with his lance, and then, separating his head
from his body, carried it to his commander. We are pleased to find that
Nadir respected the remains of his former conqueror. His head and corpse
were sent by an officer of rank to the Turkish army, that they might
receive those honorable rites of sepulture which in all nations are
considered due to a great and valiant soldier.
After the death of Topal Osman and the defeat of his army Nadir
proceeded to invest Bagdad; but being alarmed at the account of a
serious revolt in the province of Fars, he readily listened to the terms
which the ruler of the city proposed, which were that the governments of
Turkey and Persia should repossess the countries that belonged to them
in the reign of Sultan Hasan before the Afghan invasion. The rebellion
which had compelled him to retire from the Turkish territories had
hardly been suppressed before he learned that the Emperor of
Constantinople had refused to ratify the engagements made by the Pacha
of Bagdad, and had sent a general, named Abdallah, at the head of a
large force, with orders either to conclude peace or to continue the
war, as circumstances should render it expedient. Nadir hastened to
occupy Armenia and Georgia, which were the principal of the disputed
provinces. He threw a bridge over the rapid Araxes; and at once invested
the cities of Tiflis, Gunjah, and Erivan, in the hope that the danger
with which they were threatened would lead the Turkish general to hazard
an action. Nor was he deceived.
Abdallah, encouraged by his superior numbers, left the intrenchments
with which he had covered his army, and attacked the Persians on the
plains of Baghavund, near Erivan. The Persian leader, when he saw him
advancing, addressed his troops in the most animated language. "Their
enemies," he said, "outnumbered them eight to one; but that was only an
incitement to glorious exertion. He had dreamt on the past night," he
told them, "that a furious animal had rushed into his tent, which, after
a long struggle, he had slain. With such an omen," he exclaimed,
"success is certain to those who fight under the protection of his great
arm, who raiseth the weak to glory, and casteth down the proudest
oppressors." If his troops were encouraged by this speech, they were
still more so by his example. After his skill had made the most able
disposition of his army, he rushed upon the enemy at the head of his
bravest men; and wherever he led, the Persians were irresistible. In one
of these charges Abdallah Pacha was slain by a soldier, who brought his
head to Nadir; and as the battle still raged, he directed it to be fixed
upon a spear and to be displayed where it would be best seen by the
enemy. The effect was as he anticipated. The Turks, perceiving their
general was slain, fled in every direction and left the plain covered
with their dead. This victory was followed by the submission of the
cities of Gunjah and Tiflis; and those of Kars and Erivan, with all the
former possessions of the Persians in that quarter, were soon afterward
ceded to him by the policy of the Ottoman court, who, taught by
misfortune, were glad to conclude a peace on the basis which had been
before settled by the Pacha of Bagdad.
The period was now arrived when Nadir thought he might lay aside the
veil which he had hitherto used. An account was brought that the infant
sovereign of Persia had died at Ispahan, and consequently that the
throne was vacant. It has always been the usage of the kings of Persia
to observe the Nuroze, or vernal equinox, as a great festival; and on it
all the chief officers, civil and military, of the government appear at
court. Nadir issued an order that not only these, but every person of
rank and consideration in the kingdom, should meet him on the day of
that festival, on the plains of Chowal Mogam, where he ordered a number
of temporary buildings to be erected and made every preparation to
receive them with splendor and magnificence. We are informed that upward
of one hundred thousand persons attended this celebrated meeting; and if
this includes the troops, the amount is probably not exaggerated.
Nadir, his historian informs us, assembled the principal nobles and
officers on the morning of the festival, and addressed them in the
following terms: "Shah Tamasp and Shah Abbas were your kings, and the
princes of their blood are the heirs to the throne. Choose one of them
for your sovereign, or some other person whom you know to be great and
virtuous. It is enough for me that I have restored the throne to its
glory and delivered my country from the Afghans, the Turks, and the
Russians." He retired, that their deliberations might seem more free,
but was soon recalled to hear their unanimous request that he who had
saved his country and was alone able to protect it, would accept the
crown. He refused this offer, protesting solemnly that the idea of
ascending the throne of Persia had never once entered his imagination!
The same scene was enacted every day for a month, till Nadir, appearing
to be subdued by their earnest solicitations, agreed to comply with
their wishes, but said, when he made this apparent concession: "I must
insist that, as I sacrifice so much for Persia, the inhabitants of that
nation shall, in consideration for one who has no object but their
tranquillity, abandon that belief which was introduced by Shah Ismail,
the founder of the Suffavean dynasty, and once more acknowledge the
legitimate authority of the four first caliphs. Since the schism of
Shiah has prevailed," he added, "this country has been in continued
distraction; let us all become Sunnis, and that will cease. But as every
national religion should have a head, let the holy imam Jaffer, who is
of the family of the Prophet, and whom we all venerate, be the head of
ours." After the assembly had consented to this change, and a royal
mandate had been issued to proclaim it, Nadir informed them that he
would communicate what had been done to the Emperor of Constantinople,
and require that monarch to give full effect to this advance to general
concord among Mahometans; and he would also insist that, as there were
now four orthodox sects among Sunnis, the Persians, under the name of
the sect of Jaffer, should be admitted as the fifth, and that another
column should be added to the four which already decorated the temple at
Mecca, in honor of this new branch of the true religion.
The historian of Nadir is careful in informing us that the crown of
Persia was placed upon the head of the conqueror exactly at twenty
minutes past eight on the morning of February 26, 1736. The moment, no
doubt, had been fixed by the most skilful astrologers. The ceremony was
performed in a splendid hall erected for the occasion, and Nadir was
seated on a throne covered with precious jewels. Various coins were
immediately struck in his name, on which was the following inscription:
"The impression stamped on this gold proclaims to the world the
sovereignty of Nadir, native of the land of Persia, and the monarch who
subdues the earth." On the reverse was a short Arabic sentence, which
signified "That which has happened is the best." But even the flatterer
who records these particulars confesses that there were malicious wits
who made free with the latter sentence, and, by the alteration of the
position of one letter, made it signify "That which has happened is not
the best."