Introduction
The invasion of Delhi by Nadir Shah in 1739 is remembered as one of the most traumatic events in India’s early modern history. Nadir Shah’s lightning campaign across North India exposed the deep fractures within the Mughal Empire and resulted in unprecedented destruction, mass slaughter, and a transfer of immense wealth, including the legendary Peacock Throne and Koh-i-Noor diamond. This episode did not merely devastate Delhi; it triggered the acceleration of the Mughal decline and forever shifted the balance of power on the Indian subcontinent.
Background and Lead-up to the Invasion
In the early 18th century, the once-mighty Mughal Empire was in a state of decay—beset by weak rulers, court intrigues, regional rebellions, and economic troubles. After Aurangzeb’s death in 1707, a series of ineffectual successors and factional rivalry left the empire vulnerable. At this time, in Persia, the Safavid dynasty had collapsed, and a military genius rose to power: Nadir Shah, founder of the Afsharid dynasty.
Nadir Shah sought wealth to sustain his vast army and stabilize his newly won throne. Reports of India’s riches and evidence of weakness along its northwestern frontier tempted him. When Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah bungled diplomatic overtures and failed to secure his borders, Nadir Shah launched an invasion justified in part by the Mughal court’s insult of his ambassadors and the failure to control Afghan rebels along the frontier.
The Campaign and Sack of Delhi
Nadir Shah led a formidable army, defeating local forces in Afghanistan, taking Kandahar and Kabul, and moving rapidly into the Punjab. The Mughal army, under Muhammad Shah, attempted to bar his path at Karnal in February 1739. The Mughals suffered a humiliating defeat—due to both poor leadership and the superior tactics of Nadir Shah, who used his mobile artillery and disciplined cavalry to devastating effect.
Following his victory, Nadir Shah entered Delhi, and initial negotiations with the Mughal court focused on extracting ransom and tribute rather than outright annexation. However, the situation in Delhi rapidly deteriorated. An altercation in the city’s Sunhari Masjid area—a stray shot that killed a Persian soldier—unleashed Nadir Shah’s fury.
On March 11, 1739, Nadir Shah ordered a systematic massacre and looting of Delhi. The violence was staggering: eyewitness accounts estimate that somewhere between 20,000 and 200,000 people were killed over several hours. The entire city was subject to plunder. Bazaars were set ablaze, indiscriminate slaughter swept the streets, countless residents fled or were cut down, and women committed suicide to escape atrocities. Wood salvaged from the ruined city fueled mass funeral pyres, while human remains were thrown into the Yamuna River.
Loot and Symbolic Losses
Nadir Shah’s main interest was the wealth of India’s Mughal heartland. In addition to the carnage, his forces stripped Delhi of its accumulated treasures. Some of the most infamous loot included the:
Peacock Throne, a symbol of Mughal imperial glory
Koh-i-Noor and Darya-i-Noor, among the world’s largest diamonds
Vast reserves of gold, jewels, coins, and precious objects
The estimated value of what Nadir Shah took ranged from 70 crore rupees at the time to more than Rs 10,50,000 crore in present-day currency. The Mughal treasury was emptied overnight, and the economic heart of the empire was devastated.
Political and Social Impact
The aftermath of the invasion was calamitous for Delhi and the Mughal power structure.
The Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah survived but was utterly discredited; the prestige of the dynasty, built over three centuries, was shattered.
The empire’s treasury was depleted, leaving it unable to pay armies or control provincial elites.
The massacre and plunder left psychological scars and traumatized the capital’s populace.
Politically, the invasion marked an irreversible turning point:
Central authority collapsed; provincial governors, like the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Nawab of Awadh, asserted their autonomy.
Regional powers such as the Marathas and Sikhs rose in prominence, filling the vacuum left by the weakened Mughals.
The safety of India’s northwest frontier was compromised when Nadir Shah annexed territories west of the Indus, setting the stage for further invasions (notably by Ahmad Shah Abdali, Nadir Shah’s former general).
International and Long-term Consequences
The scale of Nadir Shah’s looting and the brutality of his occupation reverberated far beyond India. The event demonstrated to European powers the vulnerability of the Mughals and emboldened the British and French to accelerate their involvement in Indian politics and trade, paving the way for colonial encroachment.
The episode was traumatic enough to feature in the memoirs and writings of both Indian and foreign witnesses. Sir Wolseley Haig, VA Smith, and colonial historians emphasized how swiftly and thoroughly the loot of Delhi and the loss of Mughal prestige changed the political landscape. The regionalization of power led directly to the ‘fragmentation’ of India and the rise of new hegemonies—one of the main catalysts for the British conquest a generation later.
Conclusion
Nadir Shah’s invasion of Delhi annihilated the city’s wealth, prestige, and security, inflicting trauma on its inhabitants and leaving the Mughal Empire a hollow shell. The events of March 1739 exposed the internal weaknesses and declining power of the Mughals, irreversibly altering the balance of the Indian subcontinent. The carnage, wealth extraction, and loss of prestige after Nadir Shah’s withdrawal marked the rapid unraveling of Mughal authority and shifted the course of Asian and global history for centuries to come.
