PER 
tinflion a fubje£l could enjoy. He continued in the 
field ; and, purfuing Aftiraf, gave him a new defeat, fol¬ 
lowed by his death, and entirely cleared the country of 
the Afghans. Among the captives whom he refcued 
from this people were the aunt and lifter of the (hah, who 
gave the firft in marriage to Kouli. The general then 
proceeded againft the Turks, gained a complete vic¬ 
tory over them, and recovered Hamadan and Tauris. 
While he was abfent in another part, Thamas marched 
in perfon againft the Turks, and met with a defeat, 
which induced him to make peace with that power. 
Kouli ftrongly oppofed the peace; and being defired, 
after its ratification, to dilband his army, in dead of com¬ 
plying, he led 70,000 men, all devoted to his intereft, to 
Ifpahan, feized upon the (hah, confined and depofed him, 
and proclaimed his infant foil, Abbas III. in his (lead. 
Every thing in Perlia was now at his difpofal. He re¬ 
newed the war with the Turks, obtained two victories 
over them, and recovered all the provinces which they 
had wrefted from Perfia in the preceding war; thus jufti- 
fying the oppofitionlie had made to the inglorious treaty 
which had left them in their pofieffion. 
In the beginning of 1736 the young king died ; and, 
all the great men being afiembled to confider of a fuccef- 
for, Kouli propofed the reftoration of Thamas. His real 
wifties were, however, too well known for the adoption 
of this hypocritical propofal; and he was himfelf defired 
to accept the crown. He accepted it on the condition 
that it fiiould be hereditary in his family: and he an¬ 
nexed another condition which gives a favourable idea 
of his religious fentiments ; this was, that they (liould 
forbear the anniverfary curfes of the caliphs preceding 
Ali, and the fanatic commemoration of Hufieyn’s death, 
which keep up the animofity of the ftiiite Mahometans 
againft the funnites. The oppofition of the head of the 
clergy to this innovation was punilhed with the bow- 
ftring; and on the next day Kouli-Khan was proclaimed 
king of Perfia by the name of Shah Nadir. He then con¬ 
cluded an honourable peace with the Turks; and in De¬ 
cember 1737 fet out on an expedition to reduce Canda- 
har, leaving his fon Rizi Kouli to govern during his ab- 
fence. After a long fiege, the town of Candahar furren- 
dered to his arms; but he found it neceflary to confirm 
the former pofieffor in his government on terms of alle¬ 
giance. 
Whilft he was (till in this country he received an invi¬ 
tation from fome of the chief officers about the court of 
Mohammed-(hah, the Mogul emperor, to come and take 
pofieffion of that empire. Such an application he was not 
likely to rejeft; accordingly, in 1738, he began his march 
for the frontiers of India, at the head of 120,000 men. 
The details of this expedition, and of its wonderful 
fuccefs, have been given under the article Hindoostan, 
vol. x. p. 65-67. 
After the plunder of Delhi, and the maflacre of about 
y20,000 perfons, Nadir fet out, April 14., 1739, on his re¬ 
turn to Perfia, laded with the fpoils of the country. It 
is computed that he carried out of India to the value of 
87,500,0001. fterling in money, jewels, and eftetts, befides 
twelve millions fhared by his officers and foldiers; and 
the lofs to the Mogul empire by fire and devaftation made 
a vaft addition to thofe fums. 
On his journey back, Nadir was accompanied by Kha- 
jeh Abdulkurreem, a Cafhmerian of diftinftion, who 
publiflied a memoir on the conqueror’s return. This 
was tranflated from the original Perfian, and publilhed 
at Calcutta, by Francis Gladwyn, efq. From his fum- 
rnary hiftory of that predatory incurfion, we (hall extraft 
his defcription of Nadir Shah’s tent. “ Nadir Shah, when 
at Delhi, had fuch a profufion of jewels, that he ordered 
the Moabir Baffia to make up arms and harnefs of every 
kind, inlaid with precious (tones, and to ornament a 
large tent in the fame manner. For this purpofe, the 
beft workmen that could be procured were employed a 
year and two months, during the march 5 and, when Na- 
S I A. 685 
dir Shah arrived at Herat, the Moabir Bifha informed 
him that a great number of the following articles were 
prepared: horfe-harnefs, fword-(heaths, quivers, (hields, 
fpear-gafes, and maces, with chairs of different fizes; as 
alfo a large tent, lined with jewels. The tent was or¬ 
dered to be pitched in the Dewan Khaneh, or hall of au¬ 
dience, in which were placed th etalili thaous, or peacock- 
throqe, brought from Delhi, 'the tucht nadery, with the 
thrones of fome other monarcbs ; together with the in¬ 
laid fundelees. Publication was made, by beat of drum, 
throughout the city and camp, that all perfons had liberty 
to come to this magnificent exhibition, fuch as had ne¬ 
ver before been feen in any age or country. Nadir Shah 
was not pleafed with the form of the tent; and befides, 
from its being lined with green fatin, many of the jewels 
did not appear to advantage. He therefore ordered it to 
be taken to pieces, and a new one to be made; the top 
of which, for the convenience of tranfportation, (hould 
be feparate from the walls, fuch as in Hindooftan is called 
a rowty. This new tent, being finifiied, was difplayed 
in the fame manner as the former one ; but its beauty 
and magnificence are beyond defcription. The outfide 
was covered with fine fcarlet cloth, the lining was of vio¬ 
let-coloured fatin, upon which were reprefentations of 
all forts of birds and beads, with trees and flowers, the 
whole made of pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, arae- 
thyfts, and other precious ftones; and the tent-poles 
were decorated iri like manner. On both (Ides of the 
peacock-throne was a fcreen, upon which was reprefented 
the figures of two angels in precious ftones. The roof 
of the tent confided of (even pieces; and, when it was 
tranfported to any place, two of thefe pieces, packed in 
cotton, were put into a wooden cheft, two of which were 
a fufficient load for an elephant; and the fcreen filled ano¬ 
ther cheft. The walls of the tent, the tent-poles, and the 
tent-pins, (which latter were of maffy gold,) loaded five 
more elephants; fo that for the carriage of the whole 
were required feven elephants.” ( 
Having now arrived at Candahar, Nadir marched with 
an army againft the Ulbeks, who had made incurfions into 
Perfia during his abfence. He brought the khan of Bok¬ 
hara to fubmiffion, and took and put to death the prince 
of Khyeva, who had murdered his ambaffadors. Re¬ 
turning to Mefhed, he was (hot at and wounded in the 
hand by an Afghan whom his fon Rizi Kouli had em¬ 
ployed to aflaffinate him. That prince, oil a rumour of 
his father’s defeat in Hindooftan, revolted, and murdered 
the depofed (hah Thamas in the fortrefs in which he was 
confined. His father’s affedlion was not extinguiftied by 
this criminality, and he would have pardoned him ; bur, 
provoked by his taunting language, he caufed him to be 
deprived of fight. 
Quelling revolts in different parts of his dominions, and 
a war with the Turks, to whom, in 174-5, he gave a great 
defeat near Erivan, employed fome lucceeding years of 
his life. In the mean time Perfia wasfuffering underall 
the evils of tyranny; and the avarice and cruelty of Na¬ 
dir became infupportable to hisfubjefts. The hatred he 
infpired at length proved fatal to him. As he was en¬ 
camped on the plains of Sultan Meydan, a confpiracy 
was formed between the commander of his body-guard, 
another great officer, and his own nephew. The former, 
named Saleh-beg, with fourchofen men, rulhed one night 
into his tent after killing a woman and an eunuch, and 
roufed him by the alarm. Nadir drew his fabre, and 
a(ked what they wanted, when Saleh anfwered him by a 
cut on the neck. He refilled, however, with fo much 
vigour as to kill two of the foldiers; but, attempting to 
retire, he (fumbled over the cords of the tent, and fell. 
Saleh repeated his blow, and to Nadir’s cries for mercy, 
he replied, “You have (liown no mercy, and deferve 
none.” He was difpatched, and his head was (truck oft". 
This fuccefsful ufurper was of a tall ftature and a ro- 
buft form, with a comely afpeft, a high forehead, large 
expreffive eyes, and dark hair and complexion. He had 
a tenacious 
