The Nizam Of Hyderabad

It is important to understand the power equations of the time when Dost Mohammad Khan established the Mirazi Khel dynasty in Bhopal. There were four major focal points of power in India during this period, the first of which, Mughal Empire has been examined in the previous post (this and this).

The second focal point of power was Chin-Qilich Khan, Asaf Jah, Nizam-ul_Mulk, whose family originated from Samarkand. Asaf Jah, was a loyal, upright and highly accomplished aide of Aurangzeb. Through dedicated service, he had been elevated to the highest rank in the administration as Nizam-ul-Mulk and had a significant force under him. In fact, Asaf Jah had combined closely with the Sayyed brothers to support Bahadur Shah's campaign for succession. As the Sayyed brother's influence grew, difference and suspicion developed between them and the Nizam. 

When Farukhsiyar ascended the throne, the Sayyeds managed to persuade the Emperor to post the Nizam to distant governates and conspired to have his force defeated in battle by opponents who were surreptitiously given support. The Nizam survived these treacherous stratagems and eventually decided, in disgust, to detach himself from the Mughal court. He removed himself to the south with the Emperor's firman of governorships of Malwa and the Deccan. It was an open secret, however, that the Nizam intended to set up his own independent state in the region. Thus by 1720, the two Muslim power blocks -the Moghul Court and the Nizam - were ranged against each other with only a veneer of cordiality between sovereign and governor.