Nader Shah of Persia Sacks Delhi and Seizes the Peacock Throne

In March 1739, Persian ruler Nader Shah invaded the weakened Mughal Empire, defeated Emperor Muhammad Shah at the Battle of Karnal, and occupied Delhi. After a riot killed some of his soldiers, Nader Shah ordered a massacre that killed an estimated 20,000-30,000 residents in a single day. He seized the Peacock Throne, the Koh-i-Noor diamond, and treasury wealth estimated at 700 million rupees — funding that sustained Persian military campaigns for a generation. The invasion exposed the Mughal Empire's terminal decline and accelerated the fragmentation of South Asian political authority that European powers would later exploit.