rge army to the attack of Bagdad. The Governor of that
city, Achmet Pacha, was not more distinguished for his talents as a
soldier than a statesman; and the Persian leader had made his
preparations in the expectation of an obstinate defence; but neither the
valor nor skill of Achmet would have saved his city had not the Turkish
general Topal Osman advanced, at the head of an immense army, to his
relief. Nadir instantly resolved to hazard a battle. He left a small
part of his army in his lines, and led the remainder to attack Topal
Osman, who was encamped on the banks of the Tigris, near the village of
Samarra, which is situated about sixty miles from Bagdad. The action
that ensued was one of the most bloody ever fought between the Turks
and Persians. It was at first favorable to the latter, whose cavalry put
the enemy to flight; but the Turkish infantry advanced and restored the
battle. A corps of Arabs, from whom Nadir expected support, fell upon
one of his flanks. His men, who had been exposed all day to the intense
rays of a summer sun, fainted with heat and thirst. He himself twice
fell to the ground, in the midst of his enemies, from his horses being
shot; and his standard-bearer, conceiving him slain, fled from the
field. All these causes combined to give the victory to Topal Osman;
and, after a contest of more than eight hours, the army of Nadir was
completely defeated. The moment the news of this event reached Bagdad,
the inhabitants of that city fell on the troops left to guard the
trenches, who were also routed. The loss of the Persians in this battle
was estimated by their enemies at sixty thousand men; and it probably
amounted to more than one-third of that number. The Turks suffered
almost as severely; but their triumph was very complete; for Nadir did
not reassemble the whole of his broken and dispersed army till he
reached the plains of Hamadan, a distance of more than two hundred miles
from the field of action.

There is no period in the life of Nadir at which he appears to more
advantage than after this great misfortune. Instead of reproaching his
soldiers with their defeat, he loaded them with praises and with favors.
Their losses in money and horses were more than repaid, and they were
encouraged by the exhortations as well as the actions of their politic
commander to desire nothing so much as an opportunity of revenging
themselves upon their enemies. This conduct increased his reputation and
populari