Afsharid Dynasty

Afsharid Dynasty

The Afsharids (Persian: افشاریان‎) were members of an Iranian dynasty of Turkic origin, from Khorasan, who ruled Persia in the 18th century. The dynasty was founded in 1736 by the military commander Nader Shah, who deposed the last member of the Safavid dynasty and proclaimed himself King of Iran. During Nader's reign, Iran reached its greatest extent since the Sassanid Empire. After his death, most of his empire was divided between the Zands and the Durranis, and Afsharid rule was confined to a small local state in Khorasan. Finally, the Afsharid dynasty was overthrown by Mohammad Khan Qajar in 1796.

The dynasty was named after the Turkic Afshar tribe to which Nader belonged. The Afshars had migrated from Turkestan to Azerbaijan in the 13th century. In the early 17th century, the Persian Shah Abbas the Great moved many Afshars from Azerbaijan to Khorasan to defend the north-eastern borders of his state against the Uzbeks. Nader belonged to the Qereqlu branch of the Afshars.