Dargaz

Dargaz is a fertile valley enclosed by the Kopet Dag mountains of northern Khorasan. Its streams and cultivated lands lie behind the mountain barrier, close to the old frontier between Iran and the Central Asian plains. The district was home to Persian, Turkic and Kurdish communities and formed part of the country from which the Afshar leader Nader rose to power.

Nader, born near Dastgerd in the Dargaz country around 1688, came from the Qereqlu branch of the Afshar. He built his following in Khorasan, restored Safavid authority against its enemies and eventually took the throne himself in 1736. His campaigns carried his armies far beyond his birthplace. Dargaz remained associated with the tribal forces and mountain borderlands that shaped the beginning of his career.