Tomb of Nader Shah

Tomb of Nader Shah
Tomb of Nader Shah
آرامگاه نادرشاه
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Mausoleum
Status	Active
Location
Location	Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan province
Country	Iran
	Location of the tomb in Iran
	Interactive map of Tomb of Nader Shah
Coordinates	36°17′42″N 59°36′38″E / 36.29500°N 59.61056°E
Architecture
Architect	Hooshang Seyhoun
Type	Islamic architecture
Style	Mughal; Pahlavi;
Completed	1963
Specifications
Dome	One
Shrine	One: Nader Shah
Materials	Granite
Iran National Heritage List
Official name	Tomb of Nader Shah
Type	Built
Designated	9 December 1975
Reference no.	1174
Conservation organization	Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran

The Tomb of Nader Shah (Persian: آرامگاه نادرشاه), also known as the Mausoleum of Nader Shah, is a mausoleum located in Mashhad, in the northeastern province of Razavi Khorasan, Iran. Designed by Hooshang Seyhoun and completed in 1963, the structure contains the grave of Nader Shah.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

The structure was added to the Iran National Heritage List on 9 December 1975, administered by the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran.

About Nader Shah

Nader Shah was born into an ordinary family from the Qirqlu branch of the Afshars, a Turkic tribe living in Khorasan. When Safavid Iran was invaded by the Afghans, he entered the service of Safavid shah Tahmasp II and was named Tahmasp Qoli Khan. Subsequently, he defeated the Afghans, the Ottomans, and the Russians in a short period of time. During this process, he strengthened his position, dethroned Tahmasp II in 1732, and proclaimed himself the regent to the new shah, Tahmasp II's infant son, Abbas III. In 1736, calling a congress in Mughan, he dethroned Abbas III and declared himself shah, ending 235 years of Safavid rule.

Tomb history

After Nader Shah's successful campaign against the Mughal Empire, he returned with immense wealth: the Peacock Throne, the Koh-i-Noor and Daria-i-Noor diamonds, and "700 elephants, 4,000 camels and 12,000 horses carrying wagons all laden with gold, silver and precious stones". After the precious jewels brought from India were hidden near Kalat, Nader ordered the Mughal architects he had brought with himself to build the Sun Palace to store the jewels and possibly act as a mausoleum for him.^[6]

Nader Shah was assassinated in 1747 and the incomplete Sun Palace was turned into a residence for local rulers of the Qajar era. Nader Shah's body remained un-commemorated until the 1960s when a concrete monument was constructed for him in the vicinity of a heavily polluted traffic intersection in Mashhad.^[7]