In 1725 Ashraf, a Ghilzāy Afghan warrior, deposed and probably assassinated his cousin, Shah Maḥmūd, after the latter’s madness led to increased unrest in partially conquered Iran. Maḥmūd had invaded Iran in 1722. During his seven-month siege of Isfahan, the capital, approximately eighty thousand people perished from disease and famine. After eliminating his Afghan enemies, Ashraf endeavored to consolidate his hold on the Afghan-controlled parts of Iran, which at the time was also beset, almost simultaneously, by the Ottomans in the…