The Battle of Karnal (Persian: نبرد کرنال) (24 February 1739) was a decisive victory for Nader Shah, the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran, during his invasion of India. Nader's forces defeated the army of Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah within three hours, paving the way for the Iranian sack of Delhi. The engagement is considered the crowning jewel in Nader's military career as well as a tactical masterpiece. The battle took place near Karnal in Haryana, north of Delhi, India.
At the first sign of Nadir Shah’s advance, the court recognised its own shortcomings and called on the experienced Nizam for advice. A veteran of Aurangzeb’s era, the Nizam was known for his wisdom and diplomacy, yet he was not given full command or the confidence of the Emperor, whose trust lay with Khan Dauran and the local faction. Khan Dauran, who admired Rajput bravery, even sent messengers to call on his protégés among the Hindu Rajputs, especially Sawai Jai Singh, to aid the Emperor. However, longstanding alienation had left the Rajput chieftains reluctant to act, with many now seeking independence and even inviting the Marathas to help dismantle the Empire. The Emperor eventually appealed to Baji Rao for help, and the Peshwa promised to send the Malwa force under leaders such as Malhar Rao Holkar, Ranuji Sindhia, and Udaji Puar. Nevertheless, this expected assistance never arrived in time. Not only did no Dakhini force come to aid at Karnal, but the Maratha envoy even fled, and Baji Rao later considered defending the Narmada line to block further advances by Nadir. A coordinated Maratha defence of northern India simply did not happen. Despite the large numbers at the Mughal's disposal, they suffered from obsolescent war materiel and antiquated tactical systems. Almost all of the guns in the army were far too large in calibre to be considered field artillery, as they were practically impossible to manoeuvre during battle and took such a long time to reload that they would have minimal effect even in cases of correct utilisation. In contrast, most of Nader's artillery was lighter and much more manoeuvrable than that of their Mughal counterparts, as well as the zamburaks, which provided extra mobile fire power. In contrast to the Mughal army's infantry, all of the 20,000 Persian musketeers (jazayerchi) were uniformed, drilled, and homogeneously organised. Although the 50,000 cavalry contingent in the Mughal army was of excellent quality, there was nothing to suggest a common and cohesive underlying military structure set out for their deployment and use. The Persian cavalry was composed of two parts: the state troops, which were trained and drilled via a uniform system, and the auxiliary troops, which were recruited into the Imperial army after the conquest of their homeland.
The town is bordered on the east by a canal built by Ali Mardan Khan. Between this canal and the Jamuna lies a broad, flat plain suitable for large-scale cavalry maneuvers. Muhammad Shah had set up a fortified camp along the west bank of the canal, with Karnal lying immediately to its south. To the north, the land changes from a dense jungle to an open plain, offering natural protection: the jungle guarded the front while the canal defended the right side. The Mughal army was arranged with the Nizam in the lead, supported by artillery, the Wazir on the left, the Emperor in the center, and Khan Dauran on the right.]]
For three months, Saadat Khan suffered from a leg injury that made it impossible for him to walk or ride, so he was always conveyed in a chair or on an elephant. Even though he had already received two wounds in battle, he might have been able to withdraw safely if not for an unforeseen mishap. His situation worsened when the enraged elephant of his nephew, Nisar Muhammad Khan Sher Jang, charged his own elephant, forcing it into the Persian ranks despite his men’s desperate attempts to slow it down by stabbing it with swords and daggers. Surrounded by foes, Saadat Khan kept shooting arrows in a bid to avoid capture. At that moment, a courageous young Persian soldier from his native Naishabur rode up on an elephant, addressing him by the familiar name “Muhammad Amin” and shouting, “Are you mad? Whom are you fighting, and on whom do you continue to rely?” The soldier then fixed his spear into the ground, looped the reins of his horse around it, and climbed up to Saadat Khan’s howda using the rope hanging down from it. Consequently, the Khan surrendered and was taken to Nadir’s camp.
Losses and consequences
thumb|left|Illustration of [[Saadat Ali Khan I|Sa'adat Khan's surrender after the ambush at Kanjpura, as he is brought captive to Nader Shah upon his elephant.]]
The Mughals suffered far heavier casualties than the Persians. Exact figures are uncertain as accounts of that period were prone to bombast. Various contemporary commentators estimated Mughal casualties being up to 30,000 men slain with most agreeing on a figure of around 20,000 and with Axworthy giving an estimate of roughly 10,000 Mughal soldiers killed. Nader himself claimed that his army slew 20,000 and imprisoned "many more". The number of Mughal officers slain amounted to a staggering 400. Though as a proportion of the entire Mughal army the actual casualties suffered were not excessive, this masks the fact that the casualties constituted the very best of the Mughal army, including an overwhelming number of its leaders.
The Mughals had been defeated in part due to their outdated cannons. In addition, Indian elephants were an easy target for Persian artillery and Persian troops were more skilled with a musket.
Recent scholarship gives an estimate of the total Persian casualties at a mere 1,100 including 400 killed and 700 wounded. After the conclusion of the negotiations the Mughal party returned to their encampment west of Alimardan river.
Mughal submission and sacking of Delhi
thumb|330px|[[Nader Shah sitting upon the Peacock Throne after his victory at the Battle of Karnal. The Peacock Throne was brought back to Iran and thereafter became a symbol of Persian might.]]
Mughal Uprising and sack of Delhi
300px|thumb|Nader shah, on route to [[Roshan-ud-Daulah|Rowshan O-Dowleh Mosque, comes across the corpses of dead Persian soldiers.]]
Rumours began spreading amongst the populace of Delhi that a gratuitous levy was imminent. There were also tales of Muhammad Shah seizing Nader and or having him killed one way or another. When a rumour broke out that Nader himself had been assassinated, a posse of Delhi citizens gathered around a granary as a group of Persian soldiers had been sent to negotiate prices, and the posse attacked and killed five Persian soldiers. The event sparked an uprising, and bands of civilians swept through the city and targeted isolated Persian soldiers in succession. When news was taken to Nader, he was dismissive, believing his soldiers were seeking out a pretext to ransack the city. But after successive reports of lynchings, Nader sent one of his retainers to verify these claims. He sent another of his inner circle also, but both were killed by the baying crowds. Nader sent out a fowj (a thousand-strong unit) but ordered them to engage only those involved in the violence.
300px|thumb|left|[[Roshan-ud-Daulah|Rowshan O-Dowleh Mosque, where Nader gave the signal for the initiation of the massacre by raising his sword.]]
Three thousand soldiers marched out of the mosque's courtyard and began a gruesome and blood-curdling mass killing. Nader Shah "sat with sword in hand, wearing a solemn face steeped in melancholy and lost in deep thought. No man dared break the silence." Smoke rose above the city with ceaseless sounds of suffering and pleading echoing throughout. There was sparse resistance and most people were killed with no fighting chance. Many men were arrested and taken to the river Yamuna where they were all beheaded in cold blood. The soldiers entered houses and killed all the inhabitants, plundered all the riches they found and then set fire to what remained. The murder and rapine was such that many men chose to kill both themselves and their families instead of being subjected and slaughtered by the Persian soldiery.
thumb|Tavernier's illustration of the [[Koh-i-Noor under different angles]]
left|200px|thumb|The [[Daria-i-Noor diamond.]]
Nader sent forth 1,000 cavalrymen to each district of the city to ensure the collection of taxes. But perhaps the greatest riches were plundered from the treasuries of the Mughal dynasty's capital. The Peacock Throne was also taken away by the Persian army, and thereafter served as a symbol of Persian imperial might. Among a trove of other fabulous jewels, Nader also gained the Koh-i-Noor ("Mountain of Light") and Darya-ye Noor ("Sea of Light") diamonds. It is estimated that the total worth of the treasures plundered came to perhaps 700 million rupees. This was roughly the equivalent to £90 million sterling at the time, or £8.2 billion sterling in the early 21st century.
Persian troops left Delhi at the beginning of May 1739, also taking with them thousands of elephants, horses, and camels, all loaded with the booty they had collected. The plunder seized from India was so rich that Nader stopped taxation in Persia for a period of three years following his return. On Nader's return to Iran, Sikhs fell upon Nader's army and seized a large amount of booty and freed the slaves in captivity.
The Maathir-ul-Umara states that Khudayar Khan answered:
<blockquote>
"We from the time of our forefathers were the servants of the King of India, if we had shown an inclination for you, you would not have believed us."
</blockquote>
Historic ramifications
Nader Shah's victory against the crumbling Mughal Empire in the East meant that he could afford to turn to the West and face Persia's archrivals, the Ottomans, once again. The Ottoman Sultan Mahmud I initiated the Ottoman–Persian War (1743–1746) in which Muhammad Shah closely co-operated with the Ottomans, as well as after, until his death in 1748. Nader's Indian campaign alerted the British East India Company to the extreme weakness of the Mughal Empire and the possibility of expanding British imperialism to fill the power vacuum.
As a result of the defeat of the Mughal Empire at Karnal, the already-declining Mughal dynasty was critically weakened to such an extent as to hasten its demise. According to Axworthy, it is also possible that without the ruinous effects of Nader's invasion of India, the European colonial takeover of the Indian subcontinent would have come in a different form or perhaps not at all, which would have fundamentally changed the history of the Indian Subcontinent.