Rags to Riches
Wed, 03/17/2010 - 17:24 — grace.norman@gm...
description:
<p>Nadir Shah was a maniacal ruler of Persia who was perhaps best known for pulling off one of the greatest treasure heists in history.</p>
Era:
Age of Empire
Theme:
Identity & Perception
Year:
1736
BCE/CE:
CE
Date Period:
CE
Asset Type:
Historical
Caption:
The diamond is now in Queen Elizabeth's crown.
More Information:
<p>Ali, Haydar. <i>Horse and Groom</i>. 16th C. Freer Gallery of Art / Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Was'h. In <i>Wikipedia Commons</i>. Accessed August 22, 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Safavid_Dynasty,_Horse_and_Groom,_by_Haydar_Ali,_early_16th_century.jpg.</p>
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<div class="hang">Bihzad. <i>Fettered Camel and Keeper</i>. 15th C. Freer Gallery of Art / Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC.</div>
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<div class="hang">"Darya-e-Noor Diamond of Iran." Digital image. Wikipedia Commons. Accessed August 22, 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Darya-e_Noor_Diamond_of_Iran.png.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>Description Ambassade Perse Auprès De Louis XIV.jpg Ambassade Perse Auprès De Louis XIV, 19 Février 1715</i>. 1715. In <i>Wikipedia Commons</i>. Accessed August 22, 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ambassade_Perse_aupr%C3%A8s_de_Louis_XIV.jpg.</div>
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<div class="hang">Eden, Emily. <i>Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Treasure</i>. 1844. The British Library, London. In <i>Wikipedia Commons</i>. Accessed August 22, 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maharaja_Ranjit_singh%27s_treasure.jpg.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>Elephant (Fil), from Aja'ib Al-makhluqat (Wonders of Creation), by Al-Qazvini</i>. 15th C. Freer Gallery of Art / Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>Folio from a Divan (collected Poems) by Awhadi; Verso: An Encampment; Recto: Inscription</i>. 1615-16. Freer Gallery of Art / Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>Folio from a Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones) by Jami (d. 1492); Verso: Bandits Attack the Caravan of Aynie and Ria; Recto: Text</i>. 1556-1565. Freer Gallery of Art / Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC.</div>
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<div class="hang">Hindi, Muhammed Riza. <i>Portrait of Nadir Shah</i>. 1740. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.</div>
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<div class="hang">Homann, Johann Baptiste. <i>Jomann Imperium Periscum (Map of Persia)</i>. In <i>Wikipedia Commons</i>. Accessed August 22, 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jomann_Imperium_Periscum.jpg.</div>
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<div class="hang">Hussein, Zakir, performer. "Tabla Solo in the Rhythmic Cycle of Jhaptal (10-beat Cycle)." In <i>Ustad Mohammad Omar: Virtuoso from Afghanistan</i>. Smithsonian Folkways, 2002, CD.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>An Important and Rare Contemporary Portrait of Nadir Shah</i>. 1740s. Private Collection.</div>
<div class="hang"><i>Nader Shah Afshar</i>. In <i>Wikipedia Commons</i>.<br />
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%B1_%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%87.jpg.</div>
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<div class="hang">"Nader Shah's Shield." Digital image. Iran Chamber Society. Accessed January 15, 2010. http://www.iranchamber.com/museum/royal_jewels/national_iranian_.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>Nadir Shah (Nadir Qoli Beg, Tahmasp-Qoli Kha)</i>. Jonas Hanway: Zuverläßige Geschichte Der Englischen Handlung Durch Rußland, über Die Caspische See, Nach Persien, Der Tartarey Und Türkey, Armenien Und China. Samt Einer Beschreibung Der Landesbescha. In <i>Wikipedia Commons</i>. Accessed August 22, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nadir_Shah.jpg.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>Nadir Shah, of Persia with His Chief Minister C. 1675-1700</i>. National Gallery of Canada, Toronto.</div>
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<div class="hang">"Noor-ol-Ain Tiara of Iran." Digital image. Wikipedia Commons. Accessed August 22, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Noor-ol-Ain_tiara.png.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>Plan Van Fort Kandahar</i>. 1738. Courtesy of Harvard Map Collection, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>Portrait of Nadir Shah</i>. 1743-44. State Hermitage of Russia, St. Petersburg.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>Portrait of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan</i>. 17th C. State Hermitage of Russia, St. Petersburg.</div>
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<div class="hang">Ram, Sita. <i>The Market-place at Karnal</i>. 1815. British Library, London.</div>
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<div class="hang"><i>Shah Mahmud Hotak</i>. In <i>Wikipedia Commons</i>. Accessed August 01, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SHAH-MAHMUD-HOTAK.jpg.</div>
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<div class="hang">Shams, A. <i>Ahmad Shah Durrani</i>. In <i>Wikipedia Commons</i>. Accessed August 22, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ahmad-Shah-Durani.jpeg.</div>
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<div class="hang">Simpson, Sir Benjamin. <i>Ruins of Old Kandahar Citadel</i>. 1881. Courtesy of the British Library Board, London.</div>
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<div class="hang">Unknown. <i>Shah Jahan on the Peacock Throne Which Was Carried off by Nadir Shah in 1738-9</i>. 1774. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.<br />
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Producer: Kate Harding</div>
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Video Transcript:
<p>In the 1690s, a boy was born into a poor herding family in the northeast of the Safavid Empire. When he was 13 years old, his father died, and he and his mother were sold into slavery. His mother would die in captivity, but the boy escaped and joined a gang of bandits. His name was Nadir Shah and he would rise to become one of the most important–and violent–rulers in history.</p>
<p>By the time Nadir Shah became an adult, the Safavids were struggling to keep their empire together. They had hoped to negotiate trade and military support from the French, but soon the Afghan leader Mahmud Hotaki seized their weak capital. Meanwhile the Russians and Ottomans were pushing against the northern and western borders. A few Safavids remained in power, but the region was descending into anarchy. The Great Persian Empire was dwindling.</p>
<p>Nadir Shah, the orphaned herder, dreamed of restoring the Safavid territories. He began building a small army with the stolen loot from his escapades, and this army attacked Afghan strongholds. In 1729, he pushed the Afghans back into what is now southern Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Soon thereafter, he attacked the Ottomans and the Russians, winning territory and consolidating a growing empire. By 1736, the poor orphaned boy declared himself shah.</p>
<p>Now, as Shah, he began to look East. In 1738 he destroyed Kandahar.</p>
<p>Next he took Kabul, Ghazni, Peshawar, marching steadily towards his ultimate goal: Delhi.</p>
<p>Fear spread throughout the region as he advanced deeper into India. Nadir’s army attacked the Mughals in Karnal, 70 miles outside of Delhi. They were too strong for the disordered Mughals.</p>
<p>His soldiers plundered Delhi and killed as many as 200,000 Indians while Nadir kept up residence in the Chandni Chowk fort.</p>
<p>Finally the Mughal leader, Mohammed Shah, begged for mercy. He gave Nadir the keys to his treasure trove and Nadir took possession of the imperial jewels.</p>
<p>Among the jewels in the treasure was the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond – the diamond that would eventually end up in Queen Elizabeth’s crown.</p>
<p>Nadir was finally satisfied with the bounty and agreed to withdraw from Delhi, returning to Persia with the jewels, and thousands of elephants, horses, and camels – all while riding atop the Mughals’ Peacock Throne – reputed to be the most ornate throne in the world.</p>
<p>But the Indian campaigns were the height of Nadir’s glory. He soon began sinking into maniacal cruelty. He blinded his own son in a fit of rage and then immediately executed all those who had witnessed the act.</p>
<p>He began taxing his people relentlessly to pay for his military campaigns, and soon revolts were breaking out throughout the empire.</p>
<p>In 1747, he was assassinated by one of his own guards. His nephew replaced him but the empire Nadir had built would soon disintegrate under its own weight. Ahmad Shah Durrani would proclaim independence from Nadir, leading the way to the formation of a modern Afghan state.</p>
