Battle of Karnal
| Battle of Karnal (1739) | |||||||||
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| Part of Nader Shah's invasion of India | |||||||||
Painting of the Battle of Karnal from the palace of Chehel Sotoun | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Afsharid Empire Kingdom of Kakheti |
Mughal Empire Hyderabad State Oudh | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Afsharid officers
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Muhammad Shah Mughal officers
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| Strength | |||||||||
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55,000 with a war-camp of 160,000 (mounted and armed)
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75,000 to 300,000 (including non-combatants)
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 1,100 to 2,500 with 5,000 wounded | 8,000–10,000 to 20,000–30,000 | ||||||||
The Battle of Karnal (Persian: نبرد کرنال) (24 February 1739) was a decisive victory for Nader Shah, the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran, during his invasion of India. Nader's forces defeated the army of Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah within three hours, paving the way for the Iranian sack of Delhi. The engagement is considered the crowning jewel in Nader's military career as well as a tactical masterpiece. The battle took place near Karnal in Haryana, 110 kilometres (68 mi) north of Delhi, India. As a result of the overwhelming defeat of the Mughal Empire at Karnal, the already-declining Mughal dynasty was critically weakened to such an extent as to hasten its demise. According to Axworthy, it is also possible that without the ruinous effects of Nader's invasion of India, European colonial takeover of the Indian subcontinent would have come in a different form or perhaps not at all.