The Succession Struggle Following the Death of Nādir Shāh (1747–1750)
The Succession Struggle Following the Death of Nādir Shāh (1747–1750)

Summary/Abstract: Over the course of the turbulent history of eighteenth-century Iran, Nādir Shāh Afshār’s reign (r. 1736–1747) is to be regarded as an exceedingly significant turning point. Following the death of Nādir Shāh, succession struggles broke out, which lasted for several years and ledto the disintegration of the vast empire and to the diminution of sovereignty of the Nādiriddescendants. After the reign of ʽAlī Qulī Mīrzā and Ibrāhīm Mīrzā (1747–1749), the territory of the successor state decreased significantly and its internal functioning was based on a delicateequilibrium between the ruler Shāh Rukh (r. 1748–1750; 1750–1796) and the different tribalfactions of Western Khurāsān. This article engages the events of the contest for power after theassassination of Nādir Shāh to explore the origin of this tribal resurgence and the precursors of the Nādirid successors’ loss of political weight in Iran.

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