Iran’s Commercial-Military Navy in the Persian Gulf in Nader Shah Afshar’s Time

As the main trade route of Iran, the Persian Gulf has always played a key role in the burgeoning of the market-based livelihood of Iran and the countries on the coasts of this waterway. Any changes due to internal and external factors can naturally affect the economic status of this region. The history of Iranian’s seafaring in the Persian Gulf dates back to ancient times, i.e. 500 BC. However, after two periods of prosperity, during the Akaemenid and Sassanid eras and after the arrival of Islam in the country, seafaring lost its previous status. At the same time, with Nader Shah Afshar’s coming to the throne in Iran (18th century AD), the Persian Gulf developed particular importance. During this time, European (British, Dutch, and French) East India companies and Iran’s neighbors (Ottoman Turkey and Oman) were actively in pursuit of their political and commercial purposes in the Persian Gulf. Upon the decrease of Ottomans’and Oman’s political and military influence in the Persian Gulf and its adjacent lands as well as the increase of trade in the region, which was mainly controlled by European East India companies, Nader Shah, who was well-aware of this situation, concentrated Iran’s foreign relationships, more than any other field, in the Persian Gulf. Following a descriptive-analytic method and through providing an overview of the fluctuations in political and commercial relationships, this paper discusses the significance of the Persian Gulf in Iran’s foreign affairs, the background of shipbuilding in the country, and the importance of Iran’s navy during the Afsharid period in this region