ere made, and even a distinct style of architecture developed in his new capital at Isfahan. The Safavid era was an era of intense rivalry with the Sunni Ottoman Empire, leading to the Ottoman–Persian Wars. However, following a slow decline the Safavid dynasty was instead ended by Pashtun rebels who besieged Isfahan and defeated Soltan Hosein in 1722.
In 1729 Nader Shah successfully drove out the Pashtuns from Isfahan. By 1735 Nader Shah had regained territory lost to the Ottomon and Russian Empires, and in 1738 staged a very profitable incursion into the Mughal Empire. His military successes on all fronts earned him the nickname "Napoleon of Persia" or "the second Alexander". Following a brief civil war sparked by Nader Shah's assassination Karim Khan came to power, giving himself the title Vakil e-Ra'aayaa (Representative of the People), bringing a period of relative peace and prosperity.
Another civil war ensued Karim Khan's death in 1779, out of which Aga Muhammad Khan emerged victorious, founding the Qajar Dynasty in 1794 and establishing Tehran as his capital. Qajar rulership was marked by its inadequate response to change and its failure to maintain Iranian territorial integrity and sovereignty, and is consequently characterised by over a century of misrule. The Great Persian Famine of 1870–1871 is believed to have caused the death of 1.5 million persons, or 20–25% of Persia's population. Whilst resisting efforts to be colonised, Iran suffered as a result of The Great Game, losing much of its territory in the Russo-Persian and the Anglo-Persian Wars. A series of protests took place in response to the sale of concessions to foreigners by Nasser al-Din Shah and Mozaffar ad-Din Shah between 1872 and 1905, the last of which resulted in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution and establishment of Iran's first national parliament (majles) in 1906. However, Mozaffar ad-Din Shah's son Mohammad Ali Shah wished to recover the power lost by his
