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This is an argument made in The Arabian Seas, 1700-1763 by R. J. Barendse. It goes:
  • Nader Shah's failed attempt at centralization ironically resulted in Iran's collapse into political fragmentation after his death.
  • The two-decade war between Nader and the Ottomans weakened the latter empire and contributed to its late 18th-century defeats at the hands of European powers and weakening of central control over the Arab world.
  • Nader Shah's invasion of Oman in 1743 demolished the Omani fleet, which had been the only Asian blue water navy in the Indian Ocean.
  • Although the Mughal empire was already in steep decline, Nader Shah's victory at Karnal and the sack of Delhi reduced it to an empty shell. The collapse of the Safavids and then Nader's empire itself further exacerbated chaos in India by encouraging military adventurers from Central Asia to seek their fortunes in the subcontinent.
Thoughts? (Of course, Barendse offers other explanations - this is one of his theories out of many).
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