A riot in Delhi during Eid al-Adha turns into a mass killing after Nadir Shah draws his sword in Chandni Chowk.
1. Islamic History Podcast episode 10-2, “The Persian,” follows Nadir Shah’s 1739 campaign against the Mughal Empire and the sack of Delhi.
2. Muttaki Ismail hosts the episode, and he uses the Mughal court’s response to Nadir Shah to explain why the invasion mattered.
3. The episode asks how Muhammad Shah Rangila’s court mishandled Nadir Shah’s demands and how that fed the crisis in Delhi.
4. The first section sketches Delhi’s history from Indra Prasta and archaeological settlement back to the second millennium BCE.
5. The narrative moves through Lal Koth, the Chauhans, and Prithviraj Chauhan’s defeat by Muhammad Ghori in 1192.
6. The show then connects Delhi’s growth to the Delhi Sultanate and its monuments, including the Khutub Minar, the Alai Darwaza, Hauz Ka'z, and Tughlaqabad Fort.
7. Babur’s 1526 victory over Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat begins Mughal rule in Delhi.
8. Shah Jahan’s Shah Jahanabad, the Red Fort, and Jama Masjid mark the Mughal capital at its height.
9. The episode then shifts to the Safavids, with Shah Ismail I supporting Babur and Humayun later seeking refuge in Iran with Shah Ismail’s son Tamasp.
10. Nadir Kulibag rises as a Safavid commander, deposes Shah Tamasp in 1732, installs Abbas as an infant shah, and declares himself Shahenshah in 1736.
11. The episode notes Nadir Shah’s 1737–1738 campaigns in Bahrain, Oman, Herat, and against the Gilzai Afghans.
12. Nadir Shah sends envoys to Kabul and Delhi asking the Mughals to seal the borders and turn back Afghan rebels.
13. Muhammad Shah Rangila’s court answers with promises to send instructions, house arrest for a Persian envoy, and no serious military support.
14. Kabul and Peshawar fall quickly after Nadir Shah attacks on November 14, 1738, then moves toward Lahore.
15. Zakaria Khan in Punjab prepares defenses, but Lahore falls on January 10, 1739, and Nadir Shah demands 2 million rupees.
16. The Mughal army gathers late at Ganjpura on February 14, 1739, and the episode says it lacked artillery and was overwhelmed by Nadir Shah’s disciplined troops.
17. Sa’adat Khan is captured, used as a negotiator, and Nadir Shah’s demand jumps from 20 million rupees to 200 million rupees after Sa’adat Khan’s intervention.
18. The episode’s most arresting scene is the Delhi massacre after the Eid al-Adha riot, with Chandni Chowk, the Masjid of Roshan-ud-Daulah, and estimates ranging from 20,000 to about 80,000 dead.
19. The pacing is chronological and lecture-like, with named rulers, dates, and places carrying most of the energy.
20. Listeners who want Mughal-era political history and military collapse will get the most from it; listeners wanting a short, light overview may skip it.
