3 Review(s)

Nader Shah, ruler of Persia from 1736 to 1747, embodied ruthless ambition, energy, military brilliance, cynicism and cruelty. His reign was filled with bloodshed, betrayal and horror. Yet Nader Shah is central to Iran’s early modern history. From a shepherd boy he rose to liberate his country from foreign occupation, and make himself Shah. He took eighteenth-century Iran in a trajectory from political collapse and partition to become the dominant power in the region. He recovered all the territory lost by his predecessors, including Herat and Kandahar, and went on to conquer Moghul Delhi, plundering the enormous treasures of India. Nader commanded the most powerful military force in Asia, if not the world. He repeatedly defeated the armies of Ottoman Turkey, overran most of what is now Iraq and threatened to take Baghadad on several occasions. But from the zenith of his success he declined into mental illness, which produced in him insane avarice and horrific savagery, committing terrible atrocities against the Persian people, his friends, and even his family, until finally he died as violently as he had lived. The Sword of Persia recreates the story of a remarkable, ruthless man, capable of both charm and brutality. It is a rich narrative, full of dramatic incident, including much new research into original Iranian and other material, which will prove indispensable to historians and students alike. About the Author Michael Axworthy is a Lecturer at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. Previously he was head of the Iran Section in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and has frequently travelled to Iran, both as a diplomat and an historian. He is also the authoer of Iran: Empire of the Mind. Table of Contents Zenith The Fall of the Safavid Dynasty Tahmasp Qoli Khan War with the Afghans War with the Ottomans Coup d Etat Nader Shah To the Gates of Delhi The Ruin of Persia Towers of Skulls Full Circle Index