PERSIA

The Afshar Dynasty

GENEALOGY

continued from the previous page.

1736 – 1747 H.M. Zillu’llah Hast Sultan bar Salatin-i-Jahan Shah-i-Shahhan Nadir Shah, Sahib-i-Qiran, Shahanshah of Persia. b. at the Dastgird Fortress, Darragaz, Khorasan, 6^th August 1698, as Nadr Quli Beg-e Afshar Qiriqlu, son of Imam Quli Beg-e Afshar Qiriqlu, by his wife, a daughter of Baba ‘Ali Beg-e Kusa Afshar Ahmadlu. He entered the service of Baba ‘Ali Beg-e Kusa as a musketeer (tufangchi) before 1703, prom to Master of Arms (Ishiqbashi) ca 1715, Divanbegi to the Governor of Abivard 1723-1726. Captured Mashhad for Tahmasp Shah II 11^th December 1726 and was appointed by him as Deputy Governor of Abivard 1726-1730, Master-General of the Ordnance (Amir-i-Topkhana) 1726, and Cdr of the Imperial Bodyguard (Qurchibashi) 1728. Granted the personal title of Tahmasp Quli Khan 1726, Governor-General of Khorasan, Kerman and Mazandaran 1730. On hearing of the conclusion of the treaty with the Ottomans on 23^rd March 1732, he immediately issued a manifesto denouncing the accord and assumed the title of Lieutenant of the realm (Wala Ni’amat). Deposed his master and placed his infant son on the throne as Abbas III 2^nd September 1732. Assumed the Regency of Persia and invested with the titles of Vakil ud-Daula and Nai’b us-Sultana, 7^th September 1732. Deposed his charge 8^th March 1736. Crowned as Zillu’llah Hast Sultan bar Salatin-i-Jahan Shah-i-Shahhan Nadir Shah, Sahib-i-Qiran on the Mughan plain, on the same day. Changed the state religion to the Shi’a branch of Islam. Invaded and subjugated Bokhara, Khiva, Kandahar, Kashmir, Baluchistan and large parts of Northern India. Defeated the armies of the Mughal emperor at Karnal, 24^th February 1739. He sacked Delhi and took away treasure worth 700,000,000 rupees in money, precious objects and jewels, including the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond and the peacock throne. m. (first) 1712, Gul Afshan Khatun [Sitara] (d. from a serious illness, before 6^th March 1723), elder daughter of his step-father, Baba ‘Ali Beg-e Kusa Afshar Ahmadlu, sometime Governor of Abivard. m. (second) 1724, Gauhar Shad Khatun, another daughter of his step-father, Baba ‘Ali Beg-e Kusa Afshar Ahmadlu, sometime Governor of Abivard. m. (third) a daughter of Shekerab Shahkulu, a Kurdish chief. m*. (fourth) before 17^th July 1730 (div.) Khadija Sultan Begum (b. before 28^th January 1713; m. third, before 24^th June 1732, Najaf Quli Beg, ruler of Yazd. m. fourth, 1747, Saleh Khan, ruler of Yazd. m. fifth, after the death of her fourth husband, Mirza Ahmad, sometime Minister (Wazir) of Isfahan, and d. at Kermanshah, 1754, bur. near the Shrine of Imam Husain, Karbala, Iraq), educ. privately, a celebrated poet, widow of H.M. Sultan Mahmud Shah, Shahanshah of Persia, paternal first cousin, former fiancée and lifelong innamorata of Khan-i-Zaman, Nawab ‘Ali Quli Khan Bahadur, Zafar Jang [Valiha Sultan ‘Ali Quli Khan Daghistani] [Shash Angushi], sometime Governor (Vali) of Daghistan and Deputy Marshal of the Court (Naib Mir-i-Tuzuk) of Delhi, and daughter of Hasan ‘Ali Khan Daghistani. m. (fifth) after 1730, Shams un-nisa Begum (m. third, at Mashhad, Khorasan, 1748, her cousin, Mirza Muhammad Reza Bani al-Husaini al-Marashi; and d. at Kashan, before 14^th March 1774), widow of Aghasi Khan-e Baluch, and third daughter of H.E. Mirza Muhammad ‘Ali al-Husaini al-Marashi, sometime Governor of Qazvin. m. (sixth) before 1732, Qamar Tala’at Begum, daughter of Field Marshal H.E. Sam Beg-e Kord Za’faranlu, sometime C-in-C (Sepahsalar) of the Persian Army. m. (seventh) at Isfahan, Fars, 6^th September 1732, H.R.H. Shahzadi Razia Begum (d. at Karbala, Iraq, 1776), widow of General Prince Davidam [Daud Mirza], a Georgian, and daughter of H.M. Al-Sultan al-‘Adil al-Kamil al-Hadi al-Wathiq al-Sultan bar al-Sultan al-Khaqan bar al-Khaqan Abu’l Muzaffar Abu’l Mansur Shah Sultan Husain Padshah Khan bin Shah Sulaiman al-Musavi al-Husaini al-Safawi Bahadur Khan, Sahib-i-Qiran, Shahanshah of Persia. m. (eighth) ca 24^th March 1738, H.H. Shahzadi Zainab Khatun, elder daughter of H.M. Shah Husain Sultan-e Hotaki, Shah of Kandahar. m. (ninth) before 1740, the wife of H.H. The Most Brilliant Prince Taimurazi of Kartli (later Patriarch-Katholicos Antoni I), daughter of General His Splendour The Pious Prince of High Rank Giv Zedginidze [Shah Quli Khan], Prince of Samilakhoro, Amir-Akhori and sometime Cdr of the Imperial Corps of Pages (Qollaragasi) to the Shah of Persia. m. (tenth) Shuqi Khanum [Juqia], a daughter of H.E. Amir (Muhammad) Hasan Khan-e Qajar Devehlu, sometime Governor-General of Astarabad. m. (eleventh) at Charjui, Bokhara, 6^th October 1740 (div. there, a few weeks later), Manizheh Khanum, daughter of H.H. Sultan Sayyid Subhan Quli Muhammad Khan Bahadur, Khan of Balkh and Bokhara. m. (twelfth) ca 1745, Fatima Khanum, daughter of Shamkhal Lazgi ruler of Daghistan.m. (thirteenth) ca 1745, a daughter of H.E. Husain Pasha, sometime Ottoman Governor (Vali) of Mosul. He was k. by Muhammad Quli Khan-e Qajar, of Erivan, at the Imperial camp, near Fathabad, Azerbaijan, 19^th June 1747 (bur. Mashad al-Muqaddas, Tus, Khorasan), having had issue five sons and one daughter:

1) General (Sardar) H.R.H. Shahzada Reza Quli Mirza, Nai’b us-Sultana. b. at Abivard, Khorasan, 15^th April 1719 (s/o Gul Afshan), educ. privately. Governor-General (Beglarbegi) of Khorasan 1736-1738, Viceroy of Persia (Nai’b) 7^th November 1738 - 26^th June 1740, implicated in a rebellion against his father, blinded and exiled to Mashhad 1742. m. at Mashhad, Khorasan, 19^th January 1731, H.R.H. Shahzadi Fatima Sultan Begum (d. by suicide at Mashhad, 5^th February 1740; bur. Shrine of Imam Rida, Mashhad), daughter H.M. Al-Sultan al-‘Adil al-Kamil al-Hadi al-Wathiq al-Sultan bar al-Sultan al-Khaqan bar al-Khaqan Abu’l Muzaffar Abu’l Mansur Shah Sultan Husain Padshah Khan bin Shah Sulaiman al-Musavi al-Husaini al-Safawi Bahadur Khan, Sahib-i-Qiran, Shahanshah of Persia. He was k. on the orders of Adil Shah, at Kalat, Khorasan, 20^th June 1747 (bur. Mashhad, Khorasan), having had issue, six sons:
- a) H.H. Shahzada Shahrukh Mirza, who succeeded as H.M. Zill-u’llah Hast Sultan bar Salatin-i-Jahan Shah-i-Shahhan Shah-i-Jahan Shahrukh Shah, Sahib-i-Qiran, Shahanshah of Persia(s/o Fatima Begum Sahiba) – see below.
- b) H.H. Shahzada Fath ‘Ali Mirza. b. 1735. He was k. with his brothers on the orders of Adil Shah, at Mashhad, Khorasan, 21^st September 1748. Copyright©Christopher Buyers
- c) H.H. Shahzada Ahmad Quli Mirza. b. 1736. He was k. with his brothers on the orders of Adil Shah, at Mashhad, Khorasan, 21^st September 1748.
- d) H.H. Shahzada Humayun Mirza. b. 1741. He was k. with his brothers on the orders of Adil Shah, at Mashhad, Khorasan, 21^st September 1748.
- e) H.H. Shahzada Bisitun Mirza. b. 1744. He was k. with his brothers on the orders of Adil Shah, at Mashhad, Khorasan, 21^st September 1748.
- f) H.H. Shahzada Mahmud Mirza. b. 1744. He was k. with his brothers on the orders of Adil Shah, at Mashhad, Khorasan, 21^st September 1748.

2) General (Sardar) H.R.H. Shahzada Nasru’llah Mirza. b. at Abivard, Khorasan, before 9^th September 1725 , as Murtaza Quli Khan (s/o Jahan Gauhar Shad), educ. privately. Cdr of the centre at the Battle of Karnal, and Cdr of the Persian forces during the Ottoman War 1743-1746, when he captured and held Mosul. Renamed Nasru’llah (Victory of God) in celebration of the victory at the Battle of Karnal, Punjab, India, 24^th February 1739. Governor (Hakim) of Mashhad and Deputy Governor-General of Khorasan 1741, Viceroy of Persia (Nai’b) 26^th June 1740. m. at Delhi, India, 5^th April 1739, Shahzadi Iffat un-nisa Begum Sahiba [Jahan Naz Begum] (m. ca. 1748, H.M. Sultan Ahmad Shah Bahadur, Padshah-i-Ghazi, Dur-i-Durran, Padshah of Afghanistan – see Afghanistan (Durrani)), daughter of Shahzada Sultan Muhammad Yazdan Bakhsh Bahadur, of Delhi, by his wife, Aziz un-nisa Begum Sahiba, daughter of Shahzada Sultan Dawar Bakhsh Bahadur, of Delhi. He was k. on the orders of Adil Shah by ‘Ali Quli Khan of Kalat, at Mashhad, Khorasan, July 1747 (bur. there), having had issue, nine sons:

a) H.H. Shahzada Yuldiz Khan. b. 1739. He was k. with his brothers on the orders of Adil Shah, at Mashhad, Khorasan, 21^st September 1748.
b) H.H. Shahzada Mustafa Sultan Khan. b. 1742. He was k. with his brothers on the orders of Adil Shah, at Mashhad, Khorasan, 21^st September 1748.
c) H.H. Shahzada Timur Khan. b. 1743 (s/o Jahan Naz Begum). He was k. with his brothers on the orders of Adil Shah, at Mashhad, Khorasan, 21^st September 1748.
d) H.H. Shahzada Suhrab Sultan Khan. b. 1743. He was k. with his brothers on the orders of Adil Shah, at Mashhad, Khorasan, 21^st September 1748.
e) H.H. Shahzada Murtaza Quli Khan. b. 1745. He was k. with his brothers on the orders of Adil Shah, at Mashhad, Khorasan, 21^st September 1748.
f) H.H. Shahzada Oghuzlu Khan. b. 1745. He was k. with his brothers on the orders of Adil Shah, at Mashhad, Khorasan, 21^st September 1748.
g) H.H. Shahzada Ogatai Khan. He was k. with his brothers on the orders of Adil Shah, at Mashhad, Khorasan, 21^st September 1748.
h) H.H. Shahzada Asadu’llah Khan. b. 1747. He was k. with his brothers on the orders of Adil Shah, at Mashhad, Khorasan, 21^st September 1748.
i) H.H. Shahzada Nas’llah Khan. b. posthumously after the murder of his father and named after him, but k. while still a babe in arms, on the orders of Adil Shah, k. with his brothers on the orders of Adil Shah, at Mashhad, Khorasan, 21^st September 1748.

3) H.R.H. Shahzada Imam Quli Mirza. b. at Abivard, Khorasan, before 17^th July 1730 (s/o Gauhar Shad), educ. privately. Governor (Hakim) of Abivard 1743-1745, Governor-General (Beglarbegi) of Khorasan 1745-1747. Author of “Imam Qoli Mirza Bayaz”. m. at Yerevan, before 7^th August 1745, ... Khanum, a daughter of the Shah of Dagestan. He was k.s.p. on the orders of Adil Shah by ‘Ali Quli Khan of Kalat, at Mashhad, Khorasan, July 1747 (bur. there at the Shrine of Imam Reza).

4) H.R.H. Shahzada Chingiz Khan. b. 1744 (s/o Shams un-nisa Begum), educ. privately. He was k. (poisoned) at Kalat or Mashhad, July 1747.

1) H.R.H. Shahzadi ... Khanum. b. at Mashhad, Khorasan (d/o Razia). She may have d. young.

Nadir Shah is also said to have left a reputed son:

6) Major Johann Joseph, Baron von Semlin. b. at Isfahan, Fars, 1736, as Musfata ‘Ali Mirza Khan, educ. Military Acad, Vienna, Austria. Said to have escaped to Turkey as a 10 year old boy, following the assignation. After a period in Istanbul, he was sent for his education to to Semlin (Belgrade), Serbia. While living there, he came to the attention of the Empress Maria Teresa. His bona fides were examined, together with various presentations of evidence, by the Imperial Chancery, after which she took him under her personal protection, saw to his education and conversion. Placed under the guardianship of Count Chotek and taken to Graz, 10^th March 1755. Baptised as a Roman Catholic under the name of Johann Joseph von Semlin in honour of the Imperial consort and the Crown Prince, at Graz, Styria, 25^th January 1756 (the Empress Maria Teresa standing sponsor), aged 19-years. Cmsnd as an Ensign 42^nd Regt of Infantry “Gaisruckischen” 18/6/1757, served with the Austrian Army during the Seven Years War at the Battles of Breslau and Hochkirchen (wounded twice), captured by the Prussians and released to his godmother, following an interview with Frederik the Great in 1759, prom Capt 1759 “Crown Prince Archduke Johann” Regt of Dragoons, Court Capt at Graz 1763-1768, Capt at Kufstein Fortress, Tyrol 1774, Capt 1st Garrison Regt 1785, prom Maj 28/6/1791, retd on an invalid pension 1792. Granted a patent of nobility as Johann Joseph von Semlin 1755, and prom to a barony as Baron von Semlin, 24^th March 1759. Apparently approached in his old age by Napoleon and offered the Peacock throne, which he declined on behalf of himself and his sons. m. 1792, Rosa, Baroness von Semlin (d. at Leopoldstadt, Vienna, Austria, 6^th October 1837, aged 61-years), a RC convert of Turkish origin. He d. at Leopoldstadt, Vienna, Austria, 13^th February 1824 (bur. Mödling near Vienna), having had issue, two sons:
- a) Jahaya, Baron von Semlin. Officer of the Austrian service. He d.v.p. before 1821.
- b) Joseph, Baron von Semlin. Reported living as retired Ensign of the Austrian service in 1821, at the Militär-Invalidenhaus Tyrnau, Moravia. He d.v.p. before 1821.

1747 - 1748 H.M. Zill-u’llah Hast Sultan bar Salatin-i-Jahan Shah-i-Shahhan Adil Shah, Shahanshah of Persia. b. before 9^th September 1714, as ‘Ali Quli Khan-e Afshar Qiriqlu, eldest son of General H.H. Muhammad Ibrahim Quli Khan-e Afshar Qiriqlu, Zahir ud-Daula, sometime Governor-General and C-in-C of Azerbaijan, by his first wife, a daughter of Tauhid Khan Sultan Afshar, educ. privately. Governor (Hakim) of Mashhad 1737-1747. Seized the throne on the death of Nadir Shah and proclaimed himself as ruler with the reign name of Adil Shah, June 1747. Crowned at Mashhad, Khorasan, 5^th July 1747. Deposed, blinded and imprisoned by his brother Ibrahim Shah, ca. 23^rd September 1748. Subsequently imprisoned at a castle near Hamadan. m. (first) at Mashhad, Khorasan, March/December 1736, Zainab un-nisa Begum (m. second, at Mashhad, Khorasan, before 11^th December 1749, her cousin, Mirza Muhammad Sadiq al-Husaini al-Marashi; and d. at Mashhad, Khorasan, before 18^th October 1754, bur. there at the Shrine of Imam Reza), daughter of H.E. Mirza Sayyid Muhammad ‘Ali al-Husaini al-Marashi, sometime Naib Mutawali of the Shrine of the Imam Reza at Mashhad and Governor of Qazvin. m. (second) at Mashhad, Khorasan, December 1736/January 1737 (Winter 1736/7), H.H. The Most Brilliant Princess Kethevan, daughter of H.M. The Most High King Taimurazi II, King of Kartli and Kakheti, Master and Possesser of the states of Chamchadilo and Qazakh, King of Kings and Sovereign Master, etc, by his second wife, H.M. The Most High Queen Thamar II, Queen of Queens of Kartli and Kakheti, daughter of H.M. The Most High King Vakhtang Vl [Husain Quli Khan], by the will of our Lord, King of Kings, Master, Possessor and Sovereign of the Abkhazis, Kartvelians, Ranians, Kakhetians and the Armenians, Shirvanshah and Shahanshah, and the limits and regions of all the East and North, King of Kartli. m. (third) at Charjui, Bokhara, 6^th October 1740, the daughter of H.H. Sultan Sayyid Abu’l Faiz Muhammad Shah Khan Bahadur, Khan at Bokhara. m. (fourth) before 20^th April 1749, a daughter (m. second, as a widow, at Tabriz, Azerbaijan, after 20^th May 1749, H.M. Hast Sultan bar Salatin-i-Jahan Shah-i-Shahhan Sultan Ibrahim Shah, Sahib-i-Qiran, Shahanshah of Persia - see below) of H.M. The Most High King Davit II [Imam Quli Khan], by the will and assistance of God, exalted by God above, crowned by God above, Sovereign of Kartli, Absolute Possessor of Kakheti, King of Kings and Sovereign Master, etc, by his wife, H.M. The Most High Queen Fakhri Jan Begum, Queen of Queens, sister of H.E. Fath ‘Ali Khan Daghistani, I’timad ud-Daula, sometime Chief Minister of Persia, and daughter of The Grand and Most Hon Zukurizada [Tchoukhouri-zade], sometime Governor-General (Beglarbegi) of Erivan. He was k. by the adherents of Shahrukh Shah, 20^th May 1749, having had issue, seven children (of whom two sons were buried alive by Nadir Shah and three others killed by Shahrukh):

1) A son, buried alive by his great-uncle, Nadir Shah, at Mashhad, February/June 1747 (the mother and wife of Adil Shah being blinded at the same time**).
2) Another son, buried alive by his great-uncle, Nadir Shah, at Mashhad, February/June 1747.
3) H.R.H. Shahzada Nadir Mirza. b. before 3^rd June 1734. Aged 14-years in June 1747.
4) H.R.H. Shahzada Nazr ‘Ali Quli Khan. He had issue:
- a) H.H. Shahzada Husain Quli Khan. He had issue:
  - i) H.H. Shahzada Khan Baba Khan. He had issue:
    
    (1) H.H. Shahzada Abu’l Qasim Khan. m. a daughter of H.H. Shahzada Muhammad Baqir Mirza Afshar. He had issue:
    
    (a) H.H. Shahzada Muhammad Husain Mirza Naderi, Khan Baba Khan, Amir us-Shu’ara. b. at Mashhad, Khorasan, before 12^th November 1882, educ. at Najaf, Iraq. Proposed as candidate for the position of Nai’b Mutawali of the Nadir Shah Endowment in 1929. Poet and man of letters. Author of “Zafarnamah-i Shahzadah Muhammad Husayn Mirza Amir al-Shu’ara Naderi“ (1967). He d. at Mashhad, Khorasan, before 20^th April 1901.

1748 - 1749 H.M. Zill-u’llah Hast Sultan bar Salatin-i-Jahan Shah-i-Shahhan Ibrahim Shah, Sahib-i-Qiran, Shahanshah of Persia. b. at Abivard, Khorasan, 1717, as Muhammad ‘Ali Beg-e Afshar Qiriqlu, third son of General H.H. Muhammad Ibrahim Quli Khan-e Afshar Qiriqlu, Zahir ud-Daula, sometime Governor-General and C-in-C of Azerbaijan, educ. privately. Renamed Ibrahim Khan and granted the title of Zahir ud-Daula by his uncle, Nadir Shah, to honour the name of his father following his murder, January 1739. Governor (Hakim) of Hamadan 1745-1747. Appointed as Viceroy of Persia by his elder brother and invested with the title of Nai’b us-Sultana, at Mashhad, Khorasan, 5^th July 1747. Governor-General (Beglarbegi) of Isfahan 1747-1748. Seized the throne from his brother Adil Shah, whom he deposed, blinded and imprisoned, 23^rd September 1748. Crowned at Tabriz, Azerbaijan, 8^th December 1748. Deposed by his cousin, Shahrukh Shah, May 1749. m. (first) at Yerevan, Armenia, before 7^th August 1745 in a double wedding with his cousin, Prince Imam Quli Mirza), a daughter of Muhammad Husain Khan, Shah of Daghistan. m. (second) after 20^th May 1749, the Georgian widow of his late brother, H.M. Zill-u’llah Hast Sultan bar Salatin-i-Jahan Shah-i-Shahhan Adil Shah, Shahanshah of Persia, and daughter of H.M. The Most High King Davit II [Imam Quli Khan], by the will and assistance of God, exalted by God above, crowned by God above, Sovereign of Kartli, Absolute Possessor of Kakheti, King of Kings and Sovereign Master, etc, by his wife, H.M. The Most High Queen Fakhri Jan Begum, Queen of Queens, sister of H.E. Fath ‘Ali Khan Daghistani, I’timad ud-Daula, sometime Chief Minister of Persia, and daughter of The Grand and Most Hon Zukurizada [Tchoukhouri-zade], sometime Governor-General (Beglarbegi) of Erivan. He was k. by the adherents of Shahrukh Shah, while being sent to Mashhad as a prisoner, before 10^th December 1749 (bur. at the Shrine of Imam Reza, Mashhad), having had issue, five sons by his first wife:

1) H.R.H. Shahzada Hasan Mirza.
2) H.R.H. Shahzada Rahim Mirza.
3) H.R.H. Shahzada Husain Mirza.
4) H.R.H. Shahzada Qasim Mirza.
5) H.R.H. Shahzada Alqas Mirza.

Notes:

* According to Peyssonnel, Nadir Shah took a daughter of the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah with him when he returned from India. She was with him at his murder in 1747, and was then married off by his nephew Adil Shah to his favourite, Amir ‘Ali Khan (k. by Ibrahim Shah, at Isfahan, Fars, 1748, when his head was severed and sent to Adil Shah as a sign of Ibrahim’s rebellion), Lord Treasurer to Adil Shah 1748. Ibrahim believed that she had been promised to himself, and killed Amir ‘Ali Khan in an act of revenge. The same issue being a seed of enmity between Ibrahim and Adil.

** Either one of the wives or the mother/step-mother of Adil Shah was Nawab Zinat Sultan Begum alias Gauhar Taj Begum. Her name is carved upon a remnant of the tomb constructed for Adil Shah in Mashhad with the date Ramadan 1161 AH (September 1748), but now in ruins.

continued on the next page.

AFSHAR 1

AFSHAR 2

AFSHAR 4

PERSIA

I would be grateful to hear from anyone who may have changes, corrections or additions to contribute. Please contact me at:

CONTACT