Watch List notes:

Afsharid, Nadir Shah, as viceroy at Mashhad, AH 1142-1148 / AD 1729-1735, gold ashrafi. Mashhad-i Muqaddas AH 1148, A-2735. Very rare. Very Fine. 3.43gm, Nadir Shah, the son of a simple fur trader of the Afshar tribe, was a talented warrior who rose high in the military hierarchy of the last Safavid ruler, Tahmasp II. Although calling himself a "slave of Tahmasp," he eventually turned against the Shah and, in AD 1736, had himself declared king while on campaign in Azarbaijan. Contending with a number of other pretenders to the Safavid throne, Nadir fattened his coffers in 1738 by invading Mughal India and thoroughly plundering the rich kingdom. This enabled him to defeat all contenders to power and he established himself as undisputed Shah of Iran, ruling from Mashhad, near his birthplace. However, the growing tyranny of Nadir Shah's rule caused deep political problems in his court. In 1742, Nadir blinded his son Reza Qoli Mirza and thus removed him from succession to the throne. He then exiled or condemned his other sons, creating a succession crisis. In 1747, while he was on his way to crush a rebellion in the Caucasus, he was assassinated by his own attendants in Daghestan, thus putting an end to the life of a brilliant military commander, although a weak statesman.