Morteza Mirza Afshar

Nassrollah Mirza
Prince of Persia
Nassrollah Mirza (detail) as depicted in the painting in the Chehel Sotoun commemorating the Battle of Karnal
Born	Morteza Mirza 1724 Persia
Died	July 1747 Kalat, Khorasan, Afsharid Iran
Dynasty	House of Afshar
Father	Nader Shah
Religion	Shia

Morteza Mirza Afshar (Persian: مرتضی‌میرزا افشار) was an Afsharid prince and the son of Nader Shah of Persia, who was renamed Nassrollah Mirza (نصرالله‌میرزا افشار) in honour of his role in the victory at Karnal. He proved to be a talented military leader and demonstrated his worth during the battle of Karnal by commanding the centre of the Persian army which defeated Sa'adat Khan's forces and captured his person.^[1]

He also held independent command during the Perso-Ottoman war of 1743-46 where he was tasked by Nader Shah of penetrating into Ottoman held Mosul province and engaging one of the two Ottoman armies whilst his father, Nader, marched against the other army at Kars in the north. He dealt a decisive blow to the Turkish and Kurdish forces around Mosul in the Battle of Mosul (1745).^[2]

In July 1747, Ali-Qoli Mirza (who later named himself "Adel Shah"), the nephew of Nader Shah Afshar, ascended to the Afsharid throne following a successful revolt against his uncle. In order to consolidate his power, he sent a force to the Kalat fortress with orders to kill all of Nader's issue, including Nasrollah Mirza.^[3] Adel Shah's men slaughtered sixteen descendants of Nader, which included three sons of Nader, five sons of Reza Qoli Mirza and eight sons of Nasrollah Mirza. However, the other two sons of Nader, Nasrollah Mirza and Imam Qoli Mirza successfully escaped along with Nader's grandson Shahrokh, but they were soon captured near the city of Marv. Nasrollah Mirza and his brother were executed in Mashhad shortly after their capture in July 1747, while Shahrokh was spared. Shahrokh later reclaimed the Afsharid throne and ordered the execution of Adel Shah in 1748.^[4]

• Joseph von Semlin