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Emperor Nader Shah, the Shah of Persia (1736–47) and the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Persia, invaded the Mughal Empire, eventually attacking Delhi in March 1739. His army had easily defeated the Mughals at the battle at Karnal and would eventually capture the Mughal capital in the aftermath of the battle.〔 Nadir Shah's victory against the weak and crumbling Mughal Empire in the far East meant that he could afford to turn back and resume war against Persia's arch rival, the neighbouring Ottoman Empire, but also the further campaigns in the North Caucasus and Central Asia. == Invasion == Nadir Shah became the Persian ruler in 1736, his troops captured Esfahan from the Safavid dynasty and founded the Afsharid dynasty in that year. In 1738, Nadir Shah conquered Kandahar, the last outpost of the Hotaki dynasty in Afghanistan, he, then, began to launch raids across the Hindu Kush mountains into Northern India, which, at that time, was under the rule of the Mughal Empire. As he moved into the Mughal territories, he was loyally accompanied by his Georgian subject and future king of Georgia, Erekle II, who led a Georgian contingent as a military commander as part of Nader's force.〔David Marshall Lang. (''Russia and the Armenians of Transcaucasia, 1797-1889: a documentary record'' ) Columbia University Press, 1957 (digitalised March 2009, originally from the University of Michigan) p 142〕 The Mughal empire had been weakened by ruinous wars of succession in the three decades following the death of Aurangzeb, the Hindu Marathas of the Maratha Empire had captured vast swathes of territory in Central and Northern India, whilst many of the Mughal nobles had asserted their independence and founded small states. Its ruler, Muhammad Shah, proved unable to stop the disintegration of the empire. The imperial court administration was corrupt and weak whereas the country was extremely rich whilst Delhi’s prosperity and prestige was still at a high. Nadir Shah, attracted by the country's wealth, sought plunder like so many other foreign invaders before him.〔 Nadir had asked Muhammad Shah to close the Mughal frontiers around Kabul so that the Afghan rebels he was fighting against, may not seek refuge in Kabul. Even though the Emperor agreed, he practically took no action. Nadir seized upon this as a pretext for war.〔http://warfare.atspace.eu/Persia/Nadir%20Shah%20Invades%20India.htm〕 Together with his Georgian subject Erekle II (Heraclius II), who took part in the expedition as a commander leading a contingent of Georgian troops,〔David Marshall Lang. (''Russia and the Armenians of Transcaucasia, 1797-1889: a documentary record'' ) Columbia University Press, 1957 (digitalised March 2009, originally from the University of Michigan) p 142〕 the long march had begun. He defeated his Afghan enemies fleeing into the Hindu Kush and also seized major cities such as Ghazni, Kabul and Peshawar before advancing onto the Punjab and capturing Lahore. Nadir advanced to the river Indus before the end of year as the Mughals mustered their army against him. At the Battle of Karnal on 13 February 1739, Nadir led his army to victory over the Mughals, Muhammad Shah surrendered and both entered Delhi together. The keys to the capital of Delhi were surrendered to Nadir. He entered the city on 20 March 1739 and occupied Shah Jehan’s imperial suite in the Red Fort. Coins were struck, and prayers said, in his name in the Jama Masjid and other Delhi mosques. The next day, the Shah held a great durbar in the capital. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nader Shah's invasion of the Mughal Empire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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