Battle of Karnal
Part of the Afsharid invasion of India (1739)
Summary
The Battle of Karnal was a decisive victory for Nader Shah, the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran, during his invasion of India. Nader's forces defeated the army of Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah within three hours, paving the way for the Iranian sack of Delhi. The engagement is considered the crowning jewel in Nader's military career as well as a tactical masterpiece. The battle took place near Karnal in Haryana, 110 kilometres (68 mi) north of Delhi, India. As a result of the overwhelming defeat of the Mughal Empire at Karnal, the already-declining Mughal dynasty was critically weakened to such an extent as to hasten its demise. According to Axworthy, it is also possible that without the ruinous effects of Nader's invasion of India, European colonial takeover of the Indian subcontinent would have come in a different form or perhaps not at all.
Originally created by 213.208.45.5
11/19/2004, 12:25:33 PM
Modified
5/9/2026, 5:36:52 PM
Recent revisions
Sources and adjustments for army sizes and casualties added
/* top */
removed [[Category:History of Haryana]]; added [[Category:History of Punjab]] using [[WP:HC|HotCat]]
Added {{[[Template:Expand language|Expand language]]}} tag
rv, restored sourced info
Undid revision [[Special:Diff/1327036796|1327036796]] by [[Special:Contributions/~2025-40190-53|~2025-40190-53]] ([[User talk:~2025-40190-53|talk]])
Separated belligerents
Fixed the commanders and leaders, as the entries for Mughal entries were non existent
/* Muhammad Shah gathers a large force */ use correct word
/* Muhammad Shah gathers a large force */ avoid repeated linking of the same thing
/* Muhammad Shah gathers a large force */ properly capitalize
rv, vandalism
