Redefining the Concept of Turkman in Nāder Shāh’s Political Thought: Royal Identity and the Continuity of the Tradition of Kingship in Post-Safavid Iran

This study examines the redefinition of the concept of “Turkman” in the political thought of Nāder Shāh Afshār. The central question of the research is how Nāder Shāh, in the context of the crisis of legitimacy following the collapse of the Safavid dynasty and the weakening of some conventional sources of political legitimacy, sought to employ the concept of Turkman to redefine his royal status and connect it to earlier traditions of rulership. Drawing upon a descriptive-analytical method and relying on contemporary Naderid sources, the study argues that, in addition to religious policies, military achievements, and other conventional sources of political legitimacy, Nāder Shāh utilized the concept of “Turkman” as a means of constructing his royal identity.

Within this framework, the concept of Turkman in Nāder Shāh’s political thought was not merely an ethnic or tribal designation; rather, it functioned as a multilayered and inclusive concept encompassing a range of Turkic dynasties and rulers. Nāder employed this concept as an instrument for linking the Afsharid monarchy to earlier traditions of Turkic rulership. By emphasizing his Turkman lineage, referring to Turkman groups, the Timurids, and Chinggisid dynasties, identifying himself with Amir Timur, convening the Quriltai of Mughan, employing the title “Turkman” in official correspondence, and invoking the notion of the “hereditary sovereignty of the noble Turkman tribe,” Nāder sought to situate himself within the broader tradition of Turkic rulership.

This approach not only served important domestic functions but was also reflected in Nāder’s political and diplomatic relations with neighboring Turkic states,