When Sultan Husayn abdicated on October 23 to Mahmud Hotak, the Hotaks didn't control much of the country. They slowly consolidated their position around Isfahan by taking notable villages and towns in Iraq-e Ajam and then moved south. On July 7, 1723, A Hotaki force moved out of Isfahan to besiege Shiraz. They first subdued Hajji Baqer, the Arab warlord that controlled the district of Qomisheh and besieged Shiraz by July 28. On April 14, 1724, Shiraz fell, allowing Hotak forces to spread to take more major towns in the South. In late June 1724 Lar was occupied by the Afghans, and on November 3 Bandar Abbas was occupied by an Afghan force coming from Lar. The Afghans were only able to control the major cities during their occupation of Iran. As Willem Floor notes in his book "The Rise and Fall of Nader Shah: Dutch East India Company Reports, 1730-1747":
