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144 head of 20,000 men he made straight for Isfahan, the Persian capital. The degenerate Safavide government could offer no effective resistance. After a siege of six months, Shah Hussain, the last of the Safavids, came out of the city and surrendered himself to Mahmoud. Mahmoud, in spite of his tender age, was a man of talent and energy and set himself to reorganize Persia. But he was not destined to see the fruits of his labours. He died shortly after (1725) and was succeeded by his cousin, Ashraf. Like Mahmoud, Ashraf, too, was young and energetic, but he came to power at a very critical time. The Afghans in Persia were now threatened on all sides. The Russians were advancing from the north, while the Turks had made themselves masters of the western part of the country. Shah Ashraf was able to stop the Russian advance at Darband and inflicted a crushing defeat on the Turks who were marching on the capital. While he was thus engaged, news was brought to him that a brigand chief, Nadir Kuli Khan (who later came to be known as Nadir Shah of Persia) had attacked Tus and was on his way to take Herat. Ashraf, busy on other fronts, was greatly alarmed to learn this disquieting news. Losing no time, he collected all the troops available and hastened to the north to meet the Persians. At Damaghan, he found the Persians strongly entrenched. The Afghans, although tired and worn out by their long and tedious journey through one of the most inhospitable parts of the country, could not desist from at once attacking the enemy in their strong position. The Persians received the shock, reeled and staggered but kept their ground. The Afghans made a second assault. This, too, failed to achieve its object. Exhausted already from their long journey, they fell back in the direction of Isfahan,