The Shite Faith under Nāder Shāh

Under Nāder Shāh, the Shiite faith faced a serious challenge. Before his coronation as a king, he showed some indications of a belief in the faith, but afterwards he renounce it, and issued a decree, proclaiming the Jafari faith as the fifth Sunni school. Throughout his reign, he tried unabatedly, with no success, to convince the Ottoman Empire of his change of religion. He intended to pave the way for his conquest of all Muslim territories; and to this aim, religion was no more than an instrument, for him.