Nader Shah has begun to launch raids…
1738 CE
Nader Shah has begun to launch raids across the Hindu Kush mountains into India, which, at this time, is under the rule of the Mughal Empire, which has been weakened by ruinous wars of succession in the three decades following the death of Aurangzeb.
The Muslim nobles have asserted their independence, while the Hindu Marathas have captured vast swathes of territory in Central and Northern India.
Its ruler, Muhammad Shah, has proved unable to stop the disintegration of the empire.
The imperial court administration is corrupt and weak whereas the country is extremely rich and Delhi’s prosperity and prestige is still at a high.
Nader Shah, attracted by the country's wealth, seeks plunder like so many other foreign invaders before him.
Nader asks that the Afghans who had rebelled against him and taken refuge in India should be handed over to him, but the Mughal emperor refuses to do so.
Nadir seizes upon this refusal as a pretext for war.
He defeats his Afghan enemies fleeing into the Hindu Kush and also seizes such major cities as Ghazni, ...