Naderi garden

Nader Shah’s final resting place

by shahireh sharif
06-Nov-2007
 
Nader’s final resting place Nader’s tomb is located on one of Mashhad’s busiest roads. Yet, the surrounding garden with its axe shaped fence appears to separate the tombstone from the outside anarchy. The museum, although interesting, has a collection of somewhat inappropriately simplistic (درویشی) contents. I last visited the place on a hot day this summer (2007). On that day, the heat could even be felt in rooms with air conditionings on full blast. The temperature was probably an important reason for the low turn up of people. We, on the other hand, were on a tight schedule and had to use every minute of the day despite the atmospheric conditions. Putting the low turn up aside, the most thought provoking element of this visit was a displayed picture of Colonel Pesseyan (photo number 20). There is not that much readily available information on him; a recent relevant Google search only resulted in a couple of hits! So if you would like to write about a subject that is not explored much, this is your chance.
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To "Jeesh Daram"

by IraniHastam (not verified) on

Dear "Jeesh Daram",

Please learn a bit of history first. Nader was a Sunni, not a Shia, and he accepted the throne on condition that Shi'ism would be dropped as Iran's state religion. He also tried to reconcile Shi'ism with Sunnism, and banned the takfir (cursing) of the sahaba (Abu Bakr, Omar and Osman) as well as other Shia practices that as a Sunni he found offensive, and which were never a part of Shi'ism, but carried over as tradition from the Safavi's ultra-fanatic Qizilbash version of Shi'ism (which the latter Safavi monarchs abandoned in favor of mainstream Twelver Shi'ism). Please get your facts straight.


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And...

by Iranihastam (not verified) on

Nader Shah is one of our greatest national heroes, and we won't apologise for it either. He restored the Persian Empire, and brought back Persia's former glory. He was a military genius like Alexander the Great and Napolean (Irwin Rommel was also a military genius, too bad he fought for the wrong side).
As for Nader being cruel, yes, no doubt about it, but he grew up in a harsh environment where you either had to kill or be killed. His tribe, the Qereqlu Turkmens of Khorasan, had been constantly attacked, his fellow tribesmen taken as prisoners or killed. Neither the Ottoman Turks, nor the Afghan Pushtuns nor the Uzbeks whom he defended Persia from were particularly peaceful, and Persia had been invaded so many times in her history, by Arabs, Mongols, etc. who had sacked, pillaged, destroyed, vandalised and looted. Sometimes you answer fire by fire.
As for the Mughal Empire, Nader had pleaded with the Mughal Emperor Mohammad Shah (the Mughal Empire by the way, was founded by the Uzbek Babur, and he was not particularly gentle either) NOT to give refuge to marauding Afghans who were constantly attacking and threatening Persia, and his pleas went unheeded. Nader decided then to take care of the problem himself by invading India. Upon his arrival in Delhi, rumours circulated about him being dead, and the locals began killing Persian soldiers by the hundreds. Nader was quick-tempered, and this act of defiance naturally angered him. Hence the massacre that followed. Tamerlane (Teymour) did far worse when he would invade a country, and yet he is a national hero to Uzbeks (ironically the Uzbeks were the ones who ran Teymour out of Transoxania and ended the Timurid Dynasty, never mind that Teymour was actually a Turkicised Mongol of the Barlas clan, and not a Chagatay Turk like the Uzbeks).
Nader's insanity has been attributed to his personal physician, a Frenchman who had been putting him on questionable drugs that had made him delusional, paranoid and schizophrenic.
I am very proud of Nader Shah in spite of all of this, and he is our national hero.


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To "Indian"

by Iranihastam (not verified) on

Dear "Indian",

Please take your medication before posting articles on this website. For starters, why are you holding a grudge over something that happened 300 years ago?
This is 2008, and Iran and India are allies (Shia Iran hates Sunni Pakistan as much as predominantly Hindu India does and both supported the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan against the Pakistani-supported Taliban).
In fact, Ahmadinejad's trip to India was about India getting Iranian natural gas (for almost next to nothing), and billions of dollars worth in trade agreements were signed between the two countries, the primary beneficiary of which was India more than it was Iran (by the way I hate Ahmadinejad and the Islamic Republic).
Your so-called Mughal Empire emulated Persia's system of administration and bureaucracy, and was fashioned after Persia's previous monarchic establishments.
Finally, the British ruled you for 200 years because you allowed it. We Iranians were invaded by different races and ethnicities all the time, and never in our history were we a vassal-state or colony of any country. Our national consciousness has always been stronger than yours. Had your people one tenth of that in you, your country would not have been divided into India and Pakistan. You divided your country over religion!
You are still fighting with Pakistan over Kashmir (we will let you fight it out amongst yourselves), and as you know, most Pakistanis are "muhajirs", in other words, Indian Muslims who went to what is now Pakistan from what is now India (Musharraf is a good example...he is Pakistani, but was born in Delhi).
If you dislike the British so much, why was your country part of the Dominion even after independence? Why did you choose to be part of the British Commonwealth (thereby acknowledging the Queen as your highest authority)? Again proves my point about national consciousness (you also seem to have an affinity for anything British, including cricket).
And don't talk about Iran being bombed by the U.S., because right now you are risking being bombed by nuclear Pakistan the way things are going now between you two quarreling neighbours.


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nader shah

by indian (not verified) on

Nader Shah destroyed the mughal empire as a financially viable state and set the foundation for 200 years of British rule on the subcontinent.He then blew up all the money after he reached back to Iran in record time and went about killing maiming and blinding his inner circle of friends and relatives.If this is your national hero then it speaks volumes about what kind of people you are.

I have begun to admire the arab invaders who similarly destroyed your once great sassanid empire as well as the mongols which similarly sacked persia again.
If the US/Israel decides to bomb you now I won't be cheering them on but I will have little sympathy for Iranians that is for sure as they are a violent and arrogant people much like their former arab masters across the persian/arabian(go on fight it out) gulf.

You deserve the mullahs!


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12349 is a Khianatkar

by Sarder Kolleh Ghoochan (not verified) on

12349 you are a traitor. I wouldn't be surprised if you're one of those Zaafaranloo pigs.

By the way, where do you live?

SKG


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Just one word

by 12349 (not verified) on

Afshaar Jaan;

First of all, during the Safavee era and before all those areas were part of Iran. Second, if military enterprises are not laid based upon people's support and interests and for the sake of people, they will be Dowlat'e Mosta'ajal as it, sadly, happened to the Afshaaree family. No Empire can last just by relying on military force. We, as ordinary citizens of world and Iran, need more peace than war; and unfortunately as Naader continued his war policies his liberator role turned to a suppessor, of not only neighboring peoples but also Iranians, and mudurer. It is sad that rulers of the world do not learn this lesson that military solutions are not good solutions.


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A point for the Sardaar Koll'e Ghoochaan

by 12349 (not verified) on

Also, of the honors of the great people of Ghoochaan is exporting clubweilders (Chomaagh Daar) in the early days of 1979 Revolution in Iran to suppress those who were trying to bring down the traitor Shah! People of Khoraassaan are fully aware of this. In Ghoochaan no one dared to demonstrate against the last Shah. Come down Brother! Gormaanj stand above these kind of honors! Don't debase their fight for the sake of Iran's sovereignty and strnegth by claiming honor for these two actions.


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Nader Shah the Great

by Afshar (not verified) on

Nader Shah, ruler of Persia from 1736 to 1747, took eighteenth-century Iran from political collapse to become the dominant power in the region, recovering Herat and Kandahar, conquering Moghul Delhi, plundering the enormous treasures of India, repeatedly defeating Ottoman Turkey, and overrunning most of what is now Iraq..God bless his soul and may shine on his grave.


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ای بد قوچانی نادر کش

farrad02


ای بد قوچانی نادر کش! من تو دهن قوچانی ها میزنم. من برای ولایت قوچان دولت تایین میکنم! من بابا در میارم. همه با هم. با وحدت کلمه. تا دسته به آنجای ملت کردم. ولی خوب وقتی ملت فهمید چه شده دیگر تابیخه رفته بود.و 29 سال است که هنوز نمیتوانید بیرون بکشید.  با وحدت کلمه. همه با هم. بگو مرگ بر نادرکش! 

پس نوشت:  از بس کس شعر و بی ربط نویسی تو این سایت ایرانیان مد شده گفتم من هم یه چند خط کس شعر بنویسم!


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The truth about Nader and Pessian

by Sardar Kolleh Ghoochan (not verified) on

Both Nader and Pessian were killed by Ghoochani people. We cut there heads off when they came to Ghoochan to mess with us. Listen to me you internet whores, Don't mess with Ghoochanian.

T.B. Khan, Sardar Kolleh Ghoochan.


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Thank you Jeesh Daaram

by 12349 (not verified) on

Dear Jeesh Daaram;

Thank you for the long response. First of all, except for the first few years of Naader's rule that he was a liberator of Iran, the rest of his rule is a disaster for Iranians. Anywhere his troops went people used to escape to mountains from him. His treatment of his own son and the people around him are quite clear that I am not talking about India. His invasion of Daaghestaan who are of Iranian origin was disastrous; suppressing the Bakhtiyarees and many other Iranian people are recorded in history. Heavey burden of his military enterprises were all taken by ordinary peasants and shepherd of that land. He exempted people from paying taxes for three years after her returned from India, but then he forced them to pay everything at once. As a person familiar with history I have no intention to distort facts or give credit to those who do not deserve it.
Second, Ameer Kabeer's title at the time of his own life is "Ameer'e Nezaam" as he was commander of the army, mostly in Azabaijan. So, he was a soldier to begin with. Third, as an ex-soldier I say that soldiers' life is as simple as a Daveesh's; even sometimes they refer to it as "riazat". Do not foget Hafez who is a Darveesh has conquered the world better than any soldier. Fourth, Colonel Mohammad Taghee Khaan Pessyan was a German-educated man from Tabriz who as a matter of fact lived in the Iraj Mirza's neighborhood. As a patroit officer, he was appointed to head of Gendaemery in Khorassan when Iraj was an employee of taxation system in that province. After he arrested Ahmad Ghavaam who was the governor of the province and sent him to Tehran: the person became minister, prime minister and ..., many tribal unrests were stirred in Khorassan in which many of Pessyan's personnel lost their lives. Eventually, the man was killed near Ghoochaan in battle with tribal people who had been supported by Ghavaam and central government; and he was buried in the same Naaderee garden beside Naader. Iraj has a long Ghasseedeh about this man's murder. This what came from my memory which is getting dull. I hope you do not regard it a response. There are plenty more to be written about these people. Unfortunately, in Ghorbat Gharb, I am deprived of time for referring to sources and recalling books.

All the best to you.


Jeesh Daram

شعری برای نادر

Jeesh Daram


اینهم شعری در بارهٍ نادر و آخرین شب حیات او. اسم شاعر در خاطرم نیست
سر شب بسر قصد تاراج داشت
سحرگه نه تن سر، نه سر تاج داشت


Jeesh Daram

ِِ"Dear Friend" A soldier is far different than a dervish

Jeesh Daram


I respect your opinion, but I tend to disagree with your sentiment that a soldier's life is the same as that of a dervish! What a travesty and insult to a soldier.
A soldier is the one who has committed his life to defend his land against domestic and foreign enemies. A soldier is there to defend the country to protect senior men and women and children, sick and disabled citizens. A soldier will shed his blood for his land, his country, his people....A soldier lives on the edge of awareness with practice to keep his mind sharp.

 

 

A dervish on the other hand, (which I despise everything about this word!) is a pacifist, a celestial careless fatalist in search of truth. Along the way in his search he does not hesitate to submit to any humiliation and degrading treatment from others.

 

A dervish will indulge in instruments and substances that will give him the high and temporary ecstasy that would enable him to reach his dream land in a stage of hallucination.
To compare a soldier and a dervish as "one and the same" is an insult to a soldier, while the dervish wouldn't even care for any credit.
If a dervish carries a "tabarzin" it doesn't mean that Nader was somehow a proponent of Sufism! Nader wanted to defend his country with tabarzin, so be it. A dervish wants to carry a tabarzin is like a Englishman carries an umbrella on a sunny day.....

 

 

Nader was not a dervish for sure and we are in agreement, but I also have to mention that why the Islamic Republic allowed Nader to have a museum:
Nader in his famous Dashte-Moghan speech set certain conditions that if all agreed by his subjects he would agree to represent them as their king. Nader declared that the common religion for Iran is the Shia Esna Ashar, and an agreement was reached on everything that he demanded.
Did he intend to reinforce the Iranian diversion from the Arab path of the religion, like Shah Abbas? That is a question to be addressed to the historians.

 

But as for the Islamic Republic, they do recognize Nader only because of his commitment to Shiaism and not the fact that he was a nationalist leader and an expansionist.
Our focus should always be on what creates positive force for Iran and avoid any lingering on pacifism and acts that have brought our country to where it stands today....

 

Indians joined the British and fought Iranians shoulder to shoulder during WWII, inside our country. Let's not shed any tears for their losses due to Nader's invasion of India. They were forewarned.

 

Also, two individual praised Colonel Pessian in their commentaries but hesitated to respond to Ms. Sharif's request to give a little background about him. Why was he a hero and how did he die? That is what she needs to know. To most Iranians, at least the ones who lived in Tehran the name Pessian was a mere bus stop before Zafaranieh bus stop on their way to Sareh-poleh-tajreesh. It's essential that someone shed some light on his life here or somewhere else. (of course photo No. 20 has some background information).

 

Given our post-Islam history, Nader should be regarded as a hero. I praise men like Amir Kabir who were not soldiers but defended their country well. But here we are just evaluating a solider named Nader and a clear distinction between him and a Dervish.

 

Despite of what some Iranians think, the word Dervish is more of an insult than a praise. I am willing to discuss this if anyone is interested, as long as they do not invite me over an opium session, with strong tea and khorma, which normally go hand in hand and to me that is our biggest failure as a nation to rely on Dervish life, opium and reading Rumi and keep saying yahoo yahoo, while our national wealth is being plundered in exchange for eggs, rice and wheat....!

 


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A short response

by 12349 (not verified) on

Zebra Jaan;

According to history, believe or not, if you lived in the last periods of Naader's rule, you would have wished him dead as the largest number of Iranians did in those days. Also, do not forget that one of the adjacent streets of his grave is called "Khiyaabaan's Naaderee" which I have walked along many many times.


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A short response

by 12349 (not verified) on

Zebra Jaan;

According to history, believe or not, if you lived in the last periods of Naader's rule, you would have wished him dead as the largest number of Iranians did in those days. Also, do not forget that one of the adjacent streets of his grave is called "Khiyaabaan's Naaderee" which I have walked along many many times.


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A couple of points

by Manoucher (not verified) on

Doost'e Azeez;

Ms Sharif did not claim Naader's Moselume has become a Darveesh's center. Naader never was a Darveesh; and no Darveesh wants to put on Naader's bloody boots. "Darveeshee" means simple and not highly decorated; and Naader's musume is indeed a very simple place. And, having the ax-sahpe fence around Baagh'e Naaderee has nothing to do with Darveeshes. To make things more clear, I should mention that Naader who has no place in my heart, was primarily a soldier and soldiers' life is as simple as a Darveeh's. Second, Naader's favorite weapon for close combat was his ax "Tabarzeen" that was very handy for the man who had grown up with that weapon. It is written that during his last night of his life at his military camp when plotter: who as a matter of fact were his close relatives and associates, went to his tent to assissinate him, it was Naader who felt the danger and ran after the plotters with his Tabarzeen. Unfortunately for him, he hit the rope of his tent and fell and so plotters turned aback and killed him. The ax-like fence around the Baagh is related to this historic fact and nothing else. For me the real hero of Maam'e Meehan is Pesseeyan who lost his life for the love of Iran; not for gaining more power and wealth; and as a matter of fact fell a victim to the English plots and their domestic agents.


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Beautiful Writing

by Manoucher (not verified) on

It was a good story to share; Sepaass.


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Need another man like that!

by Bahman (not verified) on

Need somebody like Nader to Rise and clean the Islamic mess in our homeland. Hopefully the day is comming soon!


Siamack

I envy you...

by Siamack on

I spent many childhood summers at 'poshte bagh e Naderi'. The street alongside used to be called 'Salari Avenue'. My grandparents, all Doctors, had homes and surgeries/clinics along Salari Avenue. I have been told that Mammad Agha, a convenience shop owner on the corner is still alive and runs his shop!
Here is an article I wrote for this magazine nearly 8 years ago... //iranian.com/Features/1999/October/True/...


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thanks ....

by Afshar (not verified) on

... for sharing .. Nader Shah is my true national hero ... May God bless his soul.


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Colonel Pessian

by Farhad Diba (not verified) on

Colonel Mohammad Taghi Khan Pessian is not such an obscure figure. There are a few biographies in Persian and one (that I know) in German. In English, he appears prominently in many books of the period. A biography of him in English would be a useful venture. Encyclopaedia Iranica will be publishing an entry on him.


Jeesh Daram

نادر یک ایران پرست بود

Jeesh Daram


دید و بینش خانم شهریه شریف بسیار دقیق است که متوجه شدند در آرامگاه مردی چون نادر نیز بساط درویش پروری را علم کرده اند که بریش او ببندند که درویش بوده است. یعنی دقیقاً همان روش معمول نوکران و سرگماشتگان انگلیس که سی سال است به ایرانیان میگویند ناسیونالیزم مال غربی هاست، شما ایرانیان بروید به دنبال تصوف و آخرت اندوزی.
فقط چیزی که برای مزدوران انگلیس درد آور است آنستکه که هنوز راهی پیدا نکرده اند که به فردوسی نیز ببندند که آن ریش بلند او بخاطر روحیه درویشی و گداصفتی اثنی عشری او بوده است و نه آنکه او یک ایران پرست بوده است.
تفو بر تو ای بخت گردون تفو....


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Agree Zebra

by MRX (not verified) on

there is an ave in Tehran called Nader Shah which crosses Takhteh Tavoos ave. But you gussed it right zebra, they rename the street from Nader shah to mirza reza shirazy (although every one still calls it Nader Shah) as for takht tavoos, I don't even remember. safe to say sheikh pashmedin names are every wehere............


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The museum is not as grand

by zebra (not verified) on

The museum is not as grand as nader shah was in life and what he did for Iran.

.

Derailing a little bit from the topic, what pisses me off, is that no major street is named after him, yet plenty are named after pashmaki akhonds, who did nothing for Iran, like Sadr (who is not even Iranian).....piece of shit