Early Modern States of Persia and Afghanistan: Map & History

After the fall of the Sasanian Empire in the 7th century, the idea of Iran as a political state ceased to exist, but it continued to shape Iranian national sentiment. Under the Mongol Ilkhanate (1256–1335), this notion was revived. After settling firmly in Iran, the Mongols actively supported its cultural heritage, centering their patronage on the Shahnameh. This development was aided by the emergence of the New Persian language as the predominant cultural language in this large region. During the Safavid period, these factors came together, and the Safavids collected and directed centuries of cultural achievements. This preserved heritage proved resilient, enduring both the turmoil after the Safavid government collapsed and the aggressive rise of Russian culture following the early 19th century Russo-Iranian Wars.

From Wikipedia: Safavid dynasty · Culture (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Iran's modern period is often linked to the Safavid dynasty, which also laid the groundwork for the Iranian nation-state. Under them, Iran became a unified political entity, while its largely tribal and nomadic population became settled, relying on agriculture and trade for revenue. Patrimonial kingship, which combined territorial authority with religious legitimacy, was introduced by the Safavids and, with some modifications, endured until the 20th century.

From Wikipedia: Safavid dynasty · Legacy and assessment (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Ashraf Hotak took over the monarchy following Shah Mahmud's death in 1725. He had to deal with a Safavid loyalist movement in the south led by Sayyed Ahmad, who had taken over much of Fars, Hormozgan, and Kerman. Ashraf's army was defeated in the October 1729 at the Battle of Damghan by Nader Shah Afshar, an Iranian soldier of fortune from the Afshar tribe, and the founder of the Afsharid dynasty that replaced the Safavids in Persia. Nader Shah had driven out and banished the remaining Ghilji forces from Persia and began enlisting some of the Abdali Afghans of Farah and Kandahar in his military. Nader Shah's forces, among them Ahmad Shah Abdali and his 4,000 Abdali troops, went on to conquer Kandahar in 1738. They besieged and destroyed the last Hotak seat of power, which was held by Hussain Hotak (or Shah Hussain).

From Wikipedia: Hotak dynasty · History of the Hotak Empire: Decline and fall (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Nader Shah was born (as Nadr Qoli) into a humble semi-nomadic family from the Afshar tribe of Khorasan, where he became a local warlord. His path to power began when the Ghilzai Mahmud Hotak overthrew the weakened and disintegrated Safavid shah Soltan Hoseyn in 1722. At the same time, Ottoman and Russian forces seized Iranian land. Russia took swaths of Iran's Caucasian territories in the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia, as well as mainland northern Iran, by the Russo-Persian War, while the neighbouring Ottomans invaded from the west. By the 1724 Treaty of Constantinople, they agreed to divide the conquered areas between themselves.

From Wikipedia: Afsharid Iran · History: Foundation of the dynasty (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Safavids had introduced Shi'a Islam as the state religion of Iran. Nader was brought up as a Shi'a but later sympathised and desired unity with the Sunni faith as he gained power and began to push into the Ottoman Empire. He believed that Safavid Shi'ism had intensified the conflict with the Sunni Ottoman Empire. His army was a mix of Shi'a and Sunni (with a notable minority of Christians) and included his own Qizilbash as well as Uzbeks, Afghans, Christian Georgians and Armenians, and others.

From Wikipedia: Afsharid Iran · Religious policy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Indian campaign was the zenith of Nader's career. After his return from India, Nader fell out with his eldest son Reza Qoli Mirza, who had ruled Iran during his father's absence. Reza had behaved highhandedly and somewhat cruelly but he had kept the peace. Having heard a rumour that Nader was dead, he had prepared to seize the throne by having the Safavid royal captives, Tahmasp and his nine-year-old son Abbas III, executed. On hearing the news, Reza's wife, who was Tahmasp's sister, committed suicide. Nader was not pleased with the young man's behaviour and humiliated him by removing him from the post of viceroy, but he took him on his expedition to conquer territory in Transoxiana. Nader became increasingly despotic as his health declined markedly. In 1740 he conquered Khanate of Khiva.

From Wikipedia: Afsharid Iran · History: North Caucasus, Central Asia, Arabia, and the second Ottoman war (CC BY-SA 4.0)

After Nader Shah's death in 1747, his nephew Ali Qoli (who may have been involved in the assassination plot) seized the throne and proclaimed himself Adel Shah ("The Just King"). He ordered the execution of all of Nader's sons and grandsons, with the exception of the 13-year-old Shahrokh, the son of Reza Qoli. Meanwhile, Nader's former treasurer, Ahmad Shah Abdali, had declared his independence by founding the Durrani Empire. In the process, the eastern territories were lost and in the following decades became part of Afghanistan, the successor-state to the Durrani Empire.

From Wikipedia: Afsharid Iran · History: Civil war and downfall of the Afsharids (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Mohammad Mosaddegh, prime minister of Iran and nephew of Prince Abdol Hossein Mirza Farmanfarma.

From Wikipedia: Qajar dynasty · Notable members: Politics (CC BY-SA 4.0)