The Battle of Karnal (1739)

In 1738 Nader Shah took Kandahar and Kabul, crossed the Khyber Pass and entered India. The Mughal court long failed to act seriously, until at last the emperor Muhammad Shah came with a large army to Karnal, north of Delhi.

Battle was joined on 24 February 1739. Nader drew the enemy cavalry onto his positions with a feigned retreat, and the fire of his musketeers and of light guns mounted on camels (zamburaks) broke them. The fighting lasted about three hours; several Mughal commanders were killed and one captured.

Muhammad Shah surrendered and Nader entered Delhi. When a riot broke out against his soldiers, Nader ordered a massacre in which, according to the sources, tens of thousands died. He carried the famous Peacock Throne and the Koh-i-Noor diamond back to Iran but left Muhammad Shah on the throne. Karnal dealt the weakened Mughal state a heavy blow and hastened its decline.