Nader Mirza Afshar

Nader Mirza Afshar (Persian: نادرمیرزا افشار) was the great-grandson of Nader Shah, the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran. He was the fourth son of Shahrokh Shah of Khorasan.

Engraving of Nader Mirza

Biography

In 1785, Shahrokh Shah appointed Nader Mirza as crown prince of Khorasan. This appointment displeased Nasrollah Mirza who was the older brother of Nader Mirza. The two brothers had a few armed clashes and when Nader Mirza was defeated he fled to Tabas. In 1787 Nasrollah Mirza died in Mashhad and Nader Mirza was restored as crown prince of Khorasan. In 1796 Shahrokh Shah was defeated by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, the founder of the Qajar dynasty. Shahrokh Shah was tortured and killed and the Qajar Shah appointed a Qajar Governor for Khorasan.

When Agha Mohammad Khan died in 1797 and Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (his nephew) ascended the throne, Nader Mirza was appointed as Governor of Khorasan. However, Nader Mirza was an ambitious man and wanted to regain independence. Therefore in 1802 he rebelled against the Qajar Shah from his capital, Mashhad.

His rebellion was a disaster as he was taken prisoner to Tehran, blinded and had his tongue cut off. He was killed by the orders of Fath-Ali Shah in April 1803, along with his eldest sons Abbas Mirza and Ibrahim Mirza. His other three sons Tahmasp Mirza, Khaliq Vardi Mirza and Mahboub Ali Mirza were blinded by the orders of Fath-Ali Shah. Another son, Ismail Mirza, fled to Hyderabad, Deccan. He settled there with the assistance of Sir John Malcolm.

Notes

• Mohammad Qaneii, History of Torbat-e-Heydariyeh, pp. 103–104.