Nader Shah - Early Life

Early Life

Nader Shah was born in the fortress of Dastgerd into the Qereqlu (in Persian قرقلو) clan of the Afshars, a semi-nomadic Qizilbash tribe settled in the northern valleys of Khorasan, a province in the north-east of the Persian Empire. His father, Emam Qoli, was a herdsman who may also have been a camel driver and coatmaker. He died while Nader was still young. According to legends, Nader and his mother were carried off as slaves by marauding Uzbek or Turkmen tribesmen, but Nader managed to escape. He joined a band of brigands while still a boy and eventually became their leader. Under the patronage of Afshar chieftains, he rose through the ranks to become a powerful military figure. Nader married the two daughters of Baba Ali Beg, a local chief.