In 1722, Afghan Hotaki forces besieged and captured Isfahan, the Safavid capital. The fall of the city marked the collapse of effective Safavid authority over Iran. What had been a centralized Shia monarchy shifted into a fragmented landscape of regional power centres, foreign interventions, and competing claimants to legitimacy.

Background

By the early eighteenth century, the Safavid state was weakened by court factionalism, declining military effectiveness, fiscal strain, and challenges along its eastern frontier. Local grievances in Kandahar against Safavid governance created space for the rise of the Hotaki leadership under Mirwais and later Mahmud. As Safavid capacity eroded, tribal and provincial actors gained leverage while the central administration in Isfahan struggled to maintain supply, pay troops, and respond coherently to multiple threats. The Afghan advance exploited these systemic weaknesses rather than a single decisive military imbalance.

Legacy

The collapse of the Safavid order initiated a period of fragmentation in Iran. Regional powers, including Afghan rulers, Ottoman forces, and local dynasts in different provinces, competed for territory and authority. The episode exposed vulnerabilities in an overextended imperial structure and highlighted the importance of military reform, fiscal resilience, and regional integration. This period of disruption set the stage for later consolidation efforts under Nader Shah and eventually the Qajar dynasty, and it remains a reference point in Iranian memory for state breakdown and external intervention.

Key Moment

Perspective & Relations