Afshar Nader Shah: Military Leadership, Strategy and the Armed Forces During his Reign

Authors : Kubilayhan ERMAN

Pages : 87-104

Doi:10.17518/canakkalearastirmalari.475826

View : 39 | Download : 9

Publication Date : 2018-10-29

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :In the first half of the 18th century, Afshar Nader Shah had played an essential role  in the history of Iran and the countries around. It was an area extending from the  northeastern boundries of the Ottoman Empire to India and from Oman to Transoxiana  wherein more than ten independent states exist in the present day. Nader Shah has  been renowned most widely for having recovered the usurped Iranian throne from  the Ghilzai Afghans and for uniting the country. However a considerable amount  of literature has touched upon his military career, striking achievements and the  armed forces during his reign. There has been a unanimity among the majority of  the researchers that he was one of the unusual military leaders of the history who  had grown up facing hardships and precious lessons of the battlegrounds. He had felt  certain admiration for Timur who had once reigned over almost the same area. The  army of Nader Shah had borne traces of previous Turkish and Safavid armies. On the  other hand he had blended the prominent features, namely, mobility and firepower of  either armies and developed an idiosyncratic military organization which was suitable  for fighting over a vast area with diverse geographical features.
Keywords : Afshar Nader Shah, army, military leadership, principles of war, military organization

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