The Idea of Iranshahr in the Historiography and Governance of Nadir-shah Afshar’s Era

Perhaps the most important feature of the Iranian culture is its continuation throughout different historical periods. There have existed numerous different civilizations from the past to the present but a few of them have been able to continue their existence from thousands of years ago to today. With all its importance and grandeur, the Greek civilization was limited to a very short period in the ancient world and became part of other empires. The Iranian civilization has somehow been able to continue its existence, however. While the civilization has been changed in different times, it has maintained its core principles. One of the reasons for the historical continuation was the bureaucratic and statehood tradition which was transferred from one generation to another. This tradition is an important part of the idea of Iranshahr. This study investigates the how of the continuation of the idea of Iranshahr during the Nadir Afshar’s government by focusing on the court historiography. The assumption of the study is that those works were the reflection of the king’s and the mainstream elites’ will. Also, this study premises on the continuation of the idea of Iranshahr. The research method is descriptive-analytical, and the required data are collected from primary sources. This study seeks to answer this question that how the idea of Iranshahr was presented in the Naderi era. The analysis suggests that while the idea was pronounced in theory, it did not have a strong presence in the arena of statehood and bureaucracy.