Nadir Mirza of Khorasan

Who was Nadir Mirza of Khorasan?

Nadir Mirza Afshar was great-grandson of Nader Shah the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Persia. He was the fourth son of Shah Rukh emperor of Khorasan.

In 1785 Shahrokh appointed Nadir Mirza as crown prince of Khorasan. This appointment displeased Nasrollah Mirza who was the older brother of Nadir Mirza. The two brothers had few armed clashes and when Nadir Mirza was defeated he fled to Tabas. Nasrollah Mirza died in Mashhad in 1875 and Nadir Mirza was restored as crown prince of Khorasan. In 1796 Shahrokh's Afsharid dynasty was conquered by Agha Muhammad Khan, the founder of the Qajar Dynasty. Shahrokh was tortured and killed and the Qajar Shah appointed a Qajar Governor for Khorasan.

When Agha Muhammad Khan died in 1797 and Fath Ali Shah sat on the throne of Persia, Nadir Mirza Afshar was appointed as Governor of Khorasan. However Nadir Mirza was an ambitious man and wanted to regain independence so 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 on the orders of Fath Ali Shah on April 1803, along with his eldest sons Abbas Mirza, Ibrahim Mirza. His other three sons Tahmasp Mirza, Khaliq Vardi Mirza and Mahboub Ali Mirza were blinded by the orders of Fath Ali Shah.