What is Nadir Shah's Invasion?

Nadir Shah's Invasion (1738–1739) was a devastating military campaign by Nadir Shah, the ruler of Persia (Iran) and founder of the Afsharid dynasty, against the declining Mughal Empire under Emperor Muhammad Shah (r. 1719–1748). After defeating the Mughal army at the Battle of Karnal (24 February 1739), Nadir Shah entered Delhi on 20 March 1739 and ordered a massacre that killed an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 civilians.

He looted the imperial treasury, carrying away treasures including the legendary Peacock Throne and the Kohinoor diamond, along with an estimated value of 70 crore rupees in gold, jewellery, and cash. The invasion dealt the final blow to effective Mughal power and exposed the empire's military weakness to regional powers and European trading companies alike.

Key Features at a Glance

# Feature Details
1 Invader Nadir Shah — ruler of Persia, Afsharid dynasty
2 Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah "Rangila" (r. 1719–1748)
3 Battle of Karnal 24 February 1739 — Nadir Shah decisively defeated the Mughal army
4 Entry into Delhi 20 March 1739
5 Delhi massacre Estimated 20,000–30,000 civilians killed in a single day
6 Loot Peacock Throne, Kohinoor diamond, Darya-i-Noor diamond, ~70 crore rupees in treasure
7 Territorial cession All Mughal territories west of the Indus River ceded to Persia
8 Impact on treasury Mughal treasury emptied — Nadir Shah exempted Persians from taxes for three years using the plunder
9 Duration in Delhi ~57 days (March–May 1739)
10 Long-term impact Exposed Mughal weakness; accelerated rise of regional powers and eventually British expansion

UPSC Exam Corner

Prelims: Key Facts to Remember

  • 1739: Year of invasion — NOT 1738 (that was the initial campaign in Punjab/Sindh)
  • Battle of Karnal: Decisive battle — Karnal is in present-day Haryana
  • Peacock Throne: Built by Shah Jahan; carried away by Nadir Shah — became symbol of Persian royalty
  • Kohinoor diamond: Taken by Nadir Shah; later passed to Ahmad Shah Abdali, then Sikh Empire, then British Crown
  • Territories west of Indus: Ceded to Persia — Kabul, Sindh, and parts of Punjab
  • Muhammad Shah "Rangila": "Pleasure-loving" — epitomised the weak Later Mughal emperors
  • Nadir Shah was assassinated in 1747 — his general Ahmad Shah Abdali later founded the Durrani Empire and fought the Third Battle of Panipat (1761)

Mains: Probable Answer Themes

  1. "Nadir Shah's invasion marked the point of no return for Mughal imperial authority." — Military defeat, treasury loss, territorial cession
  2. "Trace the decline of the Mughal Empire from Aurangzeb's death to the mid-18th century." — Nadir Shah's invasion as a critical milestone
  3. "Foreign invasions in the 18th century exposed the Mughal Empire's structural weaknesses." — Nadir Shah (1739) and Ahmad Shah Abdali's repeated invasions
  4. "The power vacuum created by Mughal decline enabled British colonial expansion." — Sequence from Nadir Shah to Plassey (1757)

Sources: Wikipedia — Nader Shah's Invasion of India | Britannica — Nadir Shah | Vajiram & Ravi — Nadir Shah