Reza Qoli Mirza Afshar

Reza Qoli Mirza was born in 1719 in Abiward.[1] His mother was the daughter of Baba Ali Beg Kuse Ahmadlu, the governor of Abiward and an important tribal leader among the Afshars of Khorasan and his father was Nader Qoli Beg Afshar, the future Nader Shah.[2] The infant was named Reza Qoli, honouring the name tradition among the Afshar people, with Qoli meaning servant, and Reza referring to the eighth Shi'ia Imam, Ali al-Rida.[3] Reza's mother died five years after his birth, Nader remarried by wedding her younger sister, Gowhar Shad, with whom he had two sons.[4] In 1726, Reza, along with Nader's court, relocated to Mashhad, after Nader had conquered the city.[1]

A few years earlier, in 1722, Mahmud Hotak and his Afghan army had invaded Iran and conquered up to Isfahan, ending the Safavid dynasty.[5] Tahmasp II, the son of the last Safavid Shah, had stationed himself in Mazandaran province, building an army with the help of loyal tribes in the region.[6] Nader's victory in Mashhad caught Tahmasp's attention and he appointed Nader as his commander-in-chief. Nader became known as Tamasp Qoli (servant of Tahmasp) and led the Safavid armies through numerous victories, eventually defeating the Hotak army in Battle of Zarghan in 1730.[7] As a reward for his endeavours, Nader became the governor of Khorasan, Kerman and Mazandaran. Moreover, to cement their alliance, Nader and his son, Reza Qoli, both were to marry one of Tahmasp's sisters. Nader married Razia Begum, and the young Reza Qoli was betrothed to Fatemeh Begum.[8]

Wedding of Reza Qoli Mirza, folio from Jahangosha-ye Naderi by Mirza Mehdi Khan Astarabadi, 1757. In this painting, Nader is sitting on a carpet at the centre while two of his sons stand behind him, Reza Qoli Mirza on the right and Morteza Mirza on the left.[9]

When Reza Qoli was twelve years old, the Abdali Afghans revolted and besieged Mashhad while Nader was in Anatolia, campaigning against the Ottomans.[10] After his uncle, Ebrahim Khan, failed to subdue the rebels, Reza Qoli sent a letter to Nader, telling him of the situation. Nader replied that he was on his way to relieve them and told Reza Qoli to hold on within the city.[11] Immediately, the Abdalis withdrew from Mashhad and went back to Herat. Thus, the city was saved.[10] Nader was proud of Reza Qoli's intelligent response to the Abdali attack, recognising his son's talent.[12]

In January 1731, Reza Qoli married Fatemeh Begum in Mashhad. Nader made the effort to reach the city in time to attend the wedding.[7] The grand wedding celebrations, lasting for a week, were held in Chaharbagh gardens, outside of Mashhad. At the end of the celebrations, an auspicious planetary conjunction was observed in the sky. Then the attendance went to a hunting expedition around Abiward and welcomed Nowruz (Iranian new year) a few weeks later.[12] Nader set out to Herat on March 1731 to completely quell the Durranis and returned victorious on February 1732.[13] On Nowruz 1734, Fatemeh Begum gave birth to a son, whom Nader named Shahrokh, after Shah Rukh son of Timur, thus displaying his interest to emulate a conqueror on the scale of Timur.[7]

On the basis of his inadequacies, Tahmasp II was deposed in favour of his infant son, Abbas III.[14] However, Nader's prestige and renown allowed him to bid for the throne, so he summoned the great leaders across the realm to gather in Mughan Plain and give consent to his ascension.[15] On the day of his coronation, 8 March 1736, Nader Shah appointed Reza Qoli Mirza as the Governor of Khorasan and appointed Tahmasp Khan Jalayer as his son's mentor and regent.[16] Nader thus put an end to the Safavid tradition of imprisoning the crown princes in the harem by giving Reza Qoli an army to command and a region to rule over.[17] Furthermore, Nader bestowed upon Reza Qoli the duty of preservation and protection of the northeastern borders and the maintenance of Khorasan's security.[1]

In early 1737, Reza Qoli and Jalayer amassed an army to suppress the rebellion of Ali Mardan Khan Afshar, one of the fellow tribesman of Nader, who ruled the cities of Andkhoy and Balkh.[18] Reza Qoli quickly subjugated Chichaktu (today in Qaysar District), marched through Maymana and camped outside of Andkhoy. With Ali Mardan Khan unwilling to yield, Reza Qoli besieged the city, and bribed the Qarai and Salur tribes to stage a mutiny against Ali Mardan.[19] After six weeks of resistance, Ali Mardan surrendered, and personally went to Reza Qoli, offering him a substantial amount of jewelries. Ali Mardan Khan was sent as a prisoner to Herat, but died suspiciously en route.[20] Continuing his campaign, Reza Qoli victoriously went through Sheberghan and Aqcha and in July 1737, besieged Balkh. The Ming ataliq of Balkh, Sayid Khan, carved deep trenches and stationed the Balkh army behind them. However, Reza Qoli's artillery overcame the resistance and the Afshar army crushed the defenders.[19] Reza Qoli thus brought an end to long rule of the descendants of Gengiz Khan in Balkh.[21] Pleased with the news of Reza Qoli's success, Nader Shah offered many valuable gifts to his son, among them were high-bred horses, three hundred robes of honour and gold.[19]

Afterwards, Reza Qoli, supported wholeheartedly by Jalayer, decided to cross the Amu Darya and advance into the lands of the Khanate of Bukhara, ignoring Nader's direct orders barring them from it.[22] With 8500 of his men, Reza Qoli laid siege on Qarshi, an important town. The Khan of Bukhara, Abu al-Fayz Khan, called for the help of Ilbars Khan, ruler of Khiva. Ilbars Khan marched into the Transoxiana but then, in fear of a confrontation with the Afshar army, fled away.[23] Abu al-Fayz then set out with a large army to relieve Qarshi. Initially, Abu al-Fayz pushed Reza Qoli back, but through the use of their artillery, the Afshar army obliterated his cavalry. Abu al-Fayz and the remaining of his men retreated into the castle. Reza Qoli, overjoyed with his victory, conquered a nearby fort and killed many of its inhabitants.[24] But then Nader ordered Reza Qoli to refrain from continuing his campaign. He sent a letter to Abu al-Fayz Khan, recognising him as the sovereign of Bukhara. Reza Qoli and Jalayer returned southwards but did not end their campaign, instead they marched into Kunduz and the mountainous Badakhshan in the east. Nader then summoned them to join him in Jalalabad and they went there quickly, via Kabul.[25]

Nadir Shah appoints his son Riza Quli Mirza as Prince Regent before leaving for India, folio from Jahangosh-ye Naderi, made in North India, dated 1757-1758

Upon their arrival at Jalalabad, Nader snubbed Jalayer, but seeing his apparent remorse, he decided to forgive him.[25] With Reza Qoli, he was gentler. Nader reviewed his son's troops, provided them with new armours and Arab horses and then appointed Reza Qoli as the Regent of Iran while he was absent, campaigning in India.[26] Nader gave Reza Qoli strict orders. Reza Qoli was to consult the advisors his father had chosen for him, and was not allowed to dismiss or change them.[27] Moreover, Reza Qoli was responsible for Tahmasp II and Abbas III, both of whom were imprisoned in Sabzevar.[1] Reza Qoli left Jalalabad on 17 November and returned to Balkh, while Nader marched eastwards towards India.[27]

In 1738, the news of a Turkmen horde led by Ilbars Khan of Khiva reached Reza Qoli, who along with his cousin, Ali Qoli Khan, stationed their army in Abiward. Whilst Reza Qoli and his men were vigilant, Ilbars Khan's men were divided by envy and rivalry, and the disagreements among his army forced the Khan of Khiva to withdrew from his invasion after raiding some areas south of Abiward.[28] With the threat quelled, Reza Qoli and Ali Qoli Khan returned to Mashhad.[27]

Reza Qoli dedicated the first three months of his rule in Mashhad to forming a special corps of 12000 jazayerchi (musketeer) soldiers. He arranged these soldiers to be equipped with armours made out of gold and weapons inlaid with gold and silver.[29] Then, against Nader's initial orders, he began interfering in the politics of various states within the realm and dismissing his advisors to replace them with those of his own choosing.[1]

At the time, Nader's army required high wages of money to be kept stable. High taxation was rampant and Nader's agents were to use any method to get money from citizens.[30] Reza Qoli's personal army thus contributed to this problem; in a letter written by his cousin, Ali Qoli Khan, he was forewarned that the presence of his standing army would bring Mashhad to a state of bankruptcy.[31] To remedy this problem, in 1739, Reza Qoli granted a trading charter to the representatives of the Muscovy Company, Captain John Elton and Mungo Graeme.[32] Furthermore, Reza Qoli dispatched agents of his own into various states of the realm to collect more taxes. Not even the highest authorities in these states could refuse Reza Qoli's agents, because they were renowned for their cruelty. According to the Dutch report, Reza Qoli too was quite cruel, and would execute people for meager crimes.[33] Although he was also described as a just ruler, for example, he had prevented Mohammad Taqi Khan, governor of Shiraz, from continuing his oppression upon the people of the city.[34]

Reza Qoli held monopoly over the Silk trade; he distributed silk into the market and barred any trader from buying silk through a source other than him.[35][lower-alpha 1] Accordingly, Reza Qoli became quite rich among his peers; in a letter to his father, he claimed to possess 150 million tomans. When Nader asked him how he was able to gather so much money, he answered that he "has turned into a merchant and now deals in the trades".[36]

By early 1739, no word of Nader had reached Reza Qoli's court in ten months and there was a rumour spreading about Nader's death in India.[1] While Reza Qoli must have been more well-informed than the general populace about the whereabouts of his father, a breakdown in communication in spring 1739 may have left Nader's position in ambiguity.[37] Nonetheless, Reza Qoli readied himself to be crowned king, ordering a new seal, new coinage and a new coat of arms. The great men of the realm were to be gathered again in the Mughan Plain for Reza Qoli's coronation.[34]

Around these times, Reza Qoli was visited by Mohammad Hossein Khan Qajar, the custodian of Tahmasp II and Abbas III, who reported of a probable pro-Safavid rebellion fueled by the rumours of Nader's death. He proposed to kill Tahmasp and Abbas; he had the support of many of the courtiers who claimed Nader wouldn't mind if Tahmasp and Abbas were dead.[37] Reza Qoli eventually gave in to the persuasion and ordered the death of Tahmasp and Abbas.[38] Mohammad Hossein took it upon himself to carry the orders; he first strangled Tahmasp and then killed the nine-year old Abbas with a blow of his sword.[37] When the people of Sabzavar heard the news, they began an uprising against Mohammad Hossein and Reza Qoli, likening the death of Tahmasp and his son to the Battle of Karbala and the culprits to Shimr and Yazid I.[39] Meanwhile, Nader had decisively defeated the Mughal army in the Battle of Karnal. The news of his victory reached Reza Qoli's court in June 1739, who reportedly, had become crestfallen for the deaths of Tahmasp and Abbas.[40]

Reza Qoli held a banquet in honour of his father's victory, during which, his wife, Fatemeh Begum, who was a sister of Tahmasp, learnt of his family's death from her old wet nurse.[37] Overwhelmed by the news, she fainted and, once recovered, started to cry aloud. She refused Reza Qoli's presence and angrily demanded him to begone.[41] She committed suicide that night by hanging herself with a silken string. The news of her death greatly affected Reza Qoli, who deeply loved his wife.[41]

The Investiture of the Crown Prince Reza Qoli Mirza, by his Father, Nader Shah Afshar, by Abu'l-Hasan Mostawfi Ghaffari, 1774, now kept at Sa'dabad Complex at Tehran. Two other of Nader's sons, and a mullah (religious authority who used to crown previous kings), are also present in the painting.[42]

Once Reza Qoli heard that Nader and his army were returning to Iran, he set out with his special army to greet them midway. On 25 June 1740, he reached Nader's camp at north of Herat.[43] Nader, while mounting an Indian elephant, greeted Reza Qoli and welcomed him into his camp, then he, still on his elephant, reviewed his son's army and ostensibly praised them, though in truth, he felt apprehensive about the glamour of these soldiers, because he himself disliked magnificence.[44] Therefore, he disbanded his army and handed the soldiers to his own commanders.[45]