The
Afsharids were members of a native
Iranian dynasty of
Turkic origin, specifically the
Afshar tribe, from
Khorasan, who ruled Persia in the 18th century. The dynasty was founded in 1736 by the brilliant military commander
Nader Shah, who deposed the last member of the
Safavid dynasty and proclaimed himself
Shah of Iran. During Nader's reign, Iran reached its greatest extent since the
Sassanid Empire, and at its height it controlled modern day
Iran,
Armenia,
Georgia,
Azerbaijan, most of the North Caucasus (
Dagestan,
Kabardino-Balkaria, and parts of modern-day
Chechnya),
Afghanistan,
Bahrain,
Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan, and
Pakistan, and parts of
Iraq,
Turkey,
North India, and
Oman. After his death, most of his empire was divided between the
Zands,
Durranis,
Georgians, and the
Caucasian khanates, while Afsharid rule was confined to a small local state in Khorasan. Finally, the Afsharid dynasty was overthrown by
Mohammad Khan Qajar in 1796, who would establish a new native Iranian empire and restore Iranian suzerainty over several of the aforementioned regions.