The Fall of Isfahan 1722: Safavid Persia's Last Stand

The Safavid Empire: Persia's Return to Greatness — Fexingo History · May 17, 2026 · 8m

In 1722, the Safavid Empire, once the great Shiite power of the early modern world, collapsed almost overnight. This episode tells the story of the siege of Isfahan by the Ghilzai Afghan rebels under Mahmud Hotaki, and the final, humiliating end of the Safavid dynasty. We follow the catastrophic reign of Shah Sultan Husayn, whose piety and indecision proved fatal. We examine the role of the Gholam slave-soldiers, the Qizilbash tribal levies, and the shah's fatal decision to surrender. The episode also explores the brutal aftermath: the massacre of the city's defenders, the sack of Isfahan's…