Afsharid Iran

State · 1734–1756 CE · at its largest around 1744 CE

Nader Shah, a soldier from a Turkmen tribe, made himself shah and led brilliant campaigns, returning from Delhi with the Peacock Throne and the Koh-i-Noor diamond. His ruinous taxes and brutality exhausted Iran, and his empire fell apart after his assassination.

On its lands while it lasted

Ecbatana (c. 550 BCE – c. 1800 CE): Capital of Achaemenid Empire (550 BCE–330 BCE).
Khanate of Bukhara (1500–1785 CE): Uzbek state established by the Shaybanids after they took Bukhara and Samarkand from the Timurids.
Khanate of Khiva (1511–1920 CE): Uzbek state in Khwarazm with its capital at Khiva, which became a Russian protectorate in 1873.
Mughal Empire founded (1526–1857 CE): Empire founded by Babur that at its height ruled most of the Indian subcontinent, famed for its wealth, administration and architecture.
Nader Shah (1688 CE – 1747 CE): A Turkoman commander who founded Iran's Afsharid dynasty, reunited the country and sacked Delhi in 1739.
Ahmad Shah Durrani (c. 1722 CE – 1772 CE): Founder of the Durrani Empire, the basis of modern Afghanistan, who repeatedly invaded northern India.
Jantar Mantar, Jaipur (1734 CE): Collection of monumental astronomical instruments completed in 1734 by Sawai Jai Singh II.
Battle of Karnal (1739 CE): Nader Shah of Persia routed the Mughal army and went on to sack Delhi, carrying off the Peacock Throne and the Koh-i-Noor.
Diriyah (c. 1744 CE): Capital of Emirate of Diriyah (1744–1818).
Pact of Diriyah (1744 CE): The preacher Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab allied with the local ruler Muhammad bin Saud in Diriyah, founding the first Saudi state and spreading his reform doctrine.
Riyadh (1746 CE): Capital of Emirate of Nejd (1824–1891), Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd (1926–1932), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (1936–today).
Kuwait City (1752 CE): Capital of State of Kuwait (1961–1989), Kuwait (1991–today).