An aspect of Nader Shah’s rise to power that is usually neglected is the creation of a naval force. Unlike their immediate rivals like the Ottomans and the Peninsular Arabs, the Safavids could never boast of a naval presence. 1/
The Safavids relied heavily on the Dutch, English and the Portuguese to help them navigate the Persian Gulf. Some Safavid kings even went as far as to request the Dutch and English to fight naval wars on their behalf and preferred to fight the land battles. 2/
Incessant rebellions by the Arabs especially from Muscat, force the Safavids to rely heavily on the Europeans. Even with the numerous Arab revolts the Safavids, unlike the Marathas under Shivaji, didn't develop any naval capabilities. The Europeans benefitted from these naval 3/
campaigns, in return getting tax exemptions and access to new trade routes and resources. It is only with the arrival of Nadir Shah that one sees the beginnings of naval power projection. Nadir Shah, a few years b4 his usurpation of the throne, used the help of the Europeans 4/
to defeat the Omanis and establish strong garrisons on the Arabian coast. By the time of he took the throne, some Safavid military men like Latif Khan were conducting campaigns on their own without European help. But still the ships being used were all either British or Dutch 5/
For a few years the British and Nadir Shah had many disagreements about the timing and number of ships to be sent to fight his wars. The Brits were especially afraid to get embroiled in these conflicts since they were apparently in the Gulf only 2 "do business". At the end of 6/
it they Nadir Shah decided to buy the ships instead of borrowing them and giving away resources to the Europeans. The Brits on their part agreed and allowed him to purchase ships from their factory in Surat. By the time of his expeditions into what is present day Afghanistan 7/
in 1738 he seems to have had a strong enough navy to send and quell Arab rebellions without the help of Europeans. With his conquest of Delhi, Nadir Shah decided to try his naval power and see how far he could extend it by ordering his captains to meet him in Sind. 8/
The Brits and the Dutch, as per their sources, seem to have known about his designs to attack the Mughals and the Ottomans using his navy. There is no indication of what his next step was after landing his navy in Sind but one can only speculate. Maybe he was planning to open 9/
new supply lines. Instead of relying on the dangerous land passes through the NW of India, he may have wanted to bring in supplies and resources through the use of his navy and launch amphibious assaults. What is interesting is that the situation of the Maratha Navy at 10/
this point in time. With the death of Kanhoji Angre in 1729 and the feud between his successors, one wonders if Nader Shah did attack the Marathas, would they have joined together putting aside their differences? 11/
Whatever it is, Nadir Shah's naval experiment to the Sind failed due to many skirmishes with the tribes along the Sind coast and the shortage of supplies. But this didnt stop him from expanding his navy. 12/
By 1741 he had 15 Surat built ships and by 1742 had 30 ships in his navy. But between 1741 and 1742 he made another momentous decision. Instead of relying on the British to supply him ships, he set up a shipbuilding operation in the southern coast of Iran. 13/
By the end of 1742 his demands for European ships had reduced and he even opened a gun foundry to stock his ships. But as per Dutch and English sources his ships were worn out and not comparable to their own ships. The demand for European ships didnt cease but seems like Nadir 14
was confident enough to cast his own cannons and build his own ships with which he could intervene in any conflict in the Perisan Gulf. But in 1743 with a disease plauging him and internal troubles and family feuds his attention was removed from his navy. 15/
Many players in the Persian Gulf began to openly fight the Persians and their garrisons in the Arabia were back in the hands of the rebellious Arab tribes. Had he succeeded in his plans to use his navy like he wanted then certainly the Ottomans would have been in trouble 16/
And the Marathas would have had a serious contender to deal with in the Arabian Sea. End/
