Nadir’s Religious Policy Towards Armenians

TL;DRAbstract

This paper aims at shedding light on one of the most sensitive aspects of Nadir Shah’s policy towards Armenians. Nadir’s religious policy towards Armenians derives from his overall religious worldview and political expediency of taking control over Armenia and the Caucasus as a whole. Before the rise of Nadir Shah, eastern Armenia and most of the Caucasus was under the yoke of the Ottomans and the Caspian western littoral was controlled by Russians. Both the Ottomans and the Russians introduced themselves as the protectors of their coreligionists in the region: the Ottomans of the Sunnis and the Russians of Armenians and Georgians. Thus Nadir realized the importance of religion in politics and trying to legitimize his invasion of the region, the Iranian Shah adopted tolerance towards all religions and ethnicities, especially Armenians by honoring the Armenian Archbishop Abraham Kretatsi and favoring special status to the church of Ejmiatsin and Armenian Meliks. Nadir realized their sig

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