The powerhouse armies of Europe during the 1700s are well known. In Europe the era involved competition between Austria-Hungary, Russia, France, Britain and a growing state in Prussia. The Ottoman Turks held lands in Europe and frequently fought with Russian expansion in Asia as well. The competition between the French and British extended across the Americas and India. The conflicts between these powers are well studied by Western historians but are by no means the only significant wars involving dominant regional powers of the 1700s.

One such ignored power is Persia that dominated Central Asia during the 1600s and 1700s. The Persian armies fought Ottoman forces, contested Russian eastward expansion and weakened the Moghul rulers in India. The Persian Saffanid (Aka Safavid, Safawid) dynasty continued the traditional rivalry with the rulers of Asia Minor. Initially, it had been the Sassanids Persians vying for control of the Mesopotamian region with the Byzantines. Now it was the Ottoman Turks who fought with the Persians for control of the fertile area around Baghdad.

It would require a united Persian people in order to conduct expeditions against the massive forces of the Ottoman sultans and Indian Moghul rulers. Rarely were conditions right as many distractions often occurred on the other fronts. Many of these problems required numerous troops to defend against raids by the various Afgan and Turcoman tribes that dominated the northern and eastern borders of Persia.

For a brief period the forces of Persia would be united under the iron will of Nadir Shah, a Turcoman of the Afshar tribe. He fought as a mercenary for anyone who was at war with the Ozbeg tribe. He was employed by the Afgans and then by the weak Saffanids. He rose to high command under the Persians by his skill as a commander. He defeated the Afgans and his overlord, Tamasp, was crowned Emperor of the Persians. Tamasp proved to be a weak field commander and lost a series of battles against the Turks while Nadir was fighting dissidents in Khurasan (Khorasan). Nadir backed by the Army deposed of Tamasp in 1732 and Nadir then acted as regent for an infant prince. Upon the prince’s death in 1740, Nadir was appointed ruler. Nadir never fully trusted the Persian nobility and maintained a 4,000 man Afgan bodyguard. He was merciless with conquered tribes and almost as harsh with his own army. He ruled until 1747 when officers of the army murdered him.

While Persia was then briefly devolved into a civil war, the eastern provinces were united to form the empire of Afganistan. The founders of Afganistan had been members of Nadir’s elite Afgan guard. The western provinces were also united under members of the Durrani tribe. Though focused on internal affairs, the forces of Persia continued to be formidable throughout the later 1700s.

Selected Bibliography

Peter Abbott, Unknown Armies: Persia/Iran, Raider Books, Leeds, UK, 1988. The focus is on the 1800s but the first chapter covers pre-1800 uniforms and organization.
L.C. Brown, editor, Imperial Legacy: The Ottoman Impact on the Balkans and the Middle East. Citation of Interest.
Michael Calvert and Peter Young. Dictionary of Battles (1715-1815), Mayflower Books, New York, 1979.
James Fraser, The History of Nadir Shah, London, 1742. (1973 Reprint) A citation of note. I did not find this book but it was a contemporary work of Nadir’s era.
Ian Heath. Armies of the Nineteenth Century : Central Asia, Foundry Books, 1998. Very good data is provided on the Turcomans and other tribes that were the allies and enemies of the Persians. Their tribal dress did not vary much in appearance during the 1800s than it did in the 1700s.
John Le Donne, Russian Empire and World History, 1700-1917, Oxford University press, 1997.
L. Lockhart, Nadir Shah: A Critical Study, Luzac, London, 1938, 1973 reprint
David Morgan, Medieval Persia, 1040-1797, Longman Publications, UK, 1988.
T. Naff & R. Owen, Studies in Eighteenth Century Islamic History, Southern Illinois University Press, 1977.
Donald Quataert, The Ottoman Empire, 1700-1922
Percival Spear, Twilight of the Mughuls, Cambridge University Press, 1951.

Magazine Articles

William Johnson, “Know Your Enemy: Nadir Shah, King of Persia, 1736-47”, Dragoman Magazine, issue v2#1. The Dragoman is devoted to the study of Ottoman Turk history during the 1700s and 1800s.
William Johnson, “A Persian Primer” Dragoman magazine, issue v2#1.
Brian Visek, “Ottoman Empire in the 18th Century, Part I: The Great Persian War”, Dragoman Magazine, issue v2#1. He published a similar article in the Seven Years War Association Journal, VII-2, 1994.

Websites
www.timelines.ws/countries/PERSIA
www.haryana-online.com/battle_of_karnal.htm
www.xs4all~kvenjb/madmonarchs/nadir

Dragoman magazine and that particular issue of the SYWAJ is available in the archive of www.magweb.com --RL

Persia: Central Asia's Powerhouse During the 1700s

Introduction and Bibliography
The Persian Army of the 1700s
Campaigns and Battles 1705-1747