The massacre of the Mughal capital

Nadir Shah's Persian forces initiate a bloodbath onto the city of Delhi never seen before, today in 1739. His forces would be responsible for ransacking the city and the killing of thousands.

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Delhi had been in tumult ever since the Mughal army had been defeated by Nadir Shah at Karnal. In these situations, rumours flew rife. The Shah had entered the city on the 20th of March, 1739, but he had confined himself to the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid - the imperial avenue of the city of Shahjahanabad.

Tensions were brewing up between the locals and the occupying troops, however - and especially in Paharganj, where Nadir’s troops sought to impose lower prices. As the merchants and locals refused, some Persian troops were killed in the ensuing clashes.

Rumours flew that Nadir Shah himself had been killed at the fort - and riots broke out through the city in order to reclaim it from foreign occupation. Thousands of troops would die, but not nearly enough to weaken the hold on the capital, on the night of the 21st.

The Shah was very much alive and seeing the resistance of the city, very much angry. Nadir would order his soldiers to initiate plunder and bloodletting at his call. The call was to come on the next day, the 22nd of March, 1739. Shah rode out to Sunehri Masjid and signalled for drums and trumpets to be sounded. Unsheathing his sword, he waved it about as the troops cheered.

This was the signal to start what would become bloodshed remembered by poets for a century - Chandni Chowk, Fatehpuri, Dariba Kalan, all the gates of the city - all were converted into looting spots and large-scale slaughter of civilians began. Hindus, Muslims, Jains, - the invaders did not discriminate.

Around 20-30,000 citizens of Delhi would be massacred (by modern estimates) into what became a hellish day, full of violence and plunder. The city and the fort were ransacked for precious metals and whatever could be found, while the weakness of the Mughal Empire became evident for anyone who cared to see.