Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I

From 1720 to 1722, he helped the new Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah in eliminating the Sayyid brothers and was elevated, as a reward, to the grand viziership from 1722 to 1724.

Sa'dullah Khan was the Grand Vizier (1645–1656) of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and during his tenure construction of Taj Mahal was completed.

[8] In 1654, Kilich Khan came to India for the first time while on his way to the Hajj (Islamic pilgrimage) during the reign of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.

[17] In 1688 aged 17 he joined his father in the successful assault on the fort of Adoni and was promoted to the rank of 2000 zaat and 500 Sowar and presented with the finest Arab steed with gold trappings and a pastille perfumed with ambergris from the Mughal court.

Muhammad Shah with the help of Asaf Jah, got Syed Hussain Ali Khan murdered in 1720 and Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha poisoned in 1722, Muhammad Shah assumed an independent Mughal Emperor and as a reward in 1722, Asaf Jah was appointed as Grand Vazir (Prime Minister) of the Mughal Empire.

Nizam rebelled against the order, resigned as the Grand vizier left all imperial responsibilities and marched towards the Deccan by the end of the year 1723.

[29][page needed][27] In 1724, Asaf Jah I defeated Mubariz Khan and in response the Mughal emperor recognized him as the viceroy of the Deccan.

[21] In 1705 Mir Qamar-ud-din survived the attacks during the Siege of Wagingera Fort, and led an assault in the hillock of Lal Tikri.

[39][40]^ The Sayyid brothers, known as the badshahgar(king-makers),[41] became the sole authority of Mughal court reducing the status of the Turkic and the Irani noblemen.

in 1716 AD Nizam unwillingly accepted the new post so that he could reinforce his forces against the Sayyid brothers and check and halt the increasing influence of Marathas in the central India region.

Sayyed brothers hopeless with the battle result issued an imperial order appointing Nizam as Viceroy of Deccan.

[43][44][35][37] Nizam choose to continued his stay in Deccan and when Muhammad Amin Khan Turani died in 1721, he was offered to be Grand vizier of Mughal Empire.

In 1721 AD, Nizam ul-Mulk was rewarded for eliminating the Sayyid Brothers with the post of Wakil E Mutlaq Grand vizier in the court of Muhammad Shah, the 18-year-old successor.

Muhammad Shah was young and foolish and allowed his confidants to make remarks about him when he had made his obeisance in the Deccan fashion, which created a grudge between them.

[50] Nizam rebelled against the imperial order, abdicated as the Grand Vizier and marched towards the Deccan against the will of Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah.

[58][60] 1733 AD the Nizam and Baji Rao had made a compact to support each other in times of external attacks, in 1734 The Marathas attacked and captured Bundelkhand and Malwa from the Mughal control, and in exchange for these territories the Mughal emperor gave them the right to collect levies from Deccan, to which the nizam refused and the secret compact among both was broken.

[61] in 1737 AD when Maratha forces gathered in Delhi, Nizam marched against Maraths from Deccan to stop the invasion thus Marathas withdraw from Delhi and with the help of Nawab of Bhopal, they make a counterattack on Nizam's armies which resulted in the Battle of Bhopal, later in January 1738, a peace treaty was signed between both the parties and withdraw to their regions.

[71] Nizam ul-Mulk sent his troops to Karnal, where Mughal Emperor Muhammed Shah's forces had gathered to turn back the Persian army.

Influenced by suspicions of the Hindustani party, Muhammad Shah refused to give command of the army to the Nizam,[72] which was given instead to the commander-in-chief, Khan-i Dauran.

[74] He watched the battle passively without participation, as he believed it was futile to wage war against such a formidable foe rather than save himself and his men.

He told the messenger sent by Muhammad Shah:[75] "Whatever the king likes, he is free to speak and make orders, but he does not understand the art of warfare.

The stupid fellows went to launch a campaign without order and discipline, and by their folly destroyed a force of 40,000...The king is angry with me for not carrying out his commands.

After nine hundred of his soldiers were killed in a bazaar brawl, Nader Shah flew into a rage, drew out his sword from the scabbard and ordered a massacre.

In March 1742, the British who were based in Fort St George in Madras sent a modest hamper to Nizam ul-mulk in recognition of his leadership of the most important of the Mughal successor states.

The 17-clause document was a blueprint for governance and personal conduct that ranged from advice on how to keep the troops happy and well-fed to an apology for neglecting his wife.

He warned against declaring war unnecessarily, but if forced to do so to seek the help of elders and saints and follow the sayings and practices of the Prophet.

Finally, he insisted to his sons that "you must not lend your ears to tittle-tattle of the backbiters and slanderers, nor suffer the riffraff to approach your presence.

"[4] Nizam-ul-Mulk is remembered as laying the foundation for what would become one of the most important Muslim states outside the Middle East by the first half of the twentieth century.

Realizing death upon him, the Nizam dictated his last testament (wasiyyatnama), spanning 17 clauses in the presence of his available family members and close confidants.

In 1768 he signed the Treaty of Masulipatam, surrendering the coastal region to the East India Company in return for a fixed annual rent.

By the Reign of the seventh Nizam, his dominion was similar in size to Belgium, but it was a far cry from when the first Nizam had ruled over a territory the size of France.
Coat of arms
Coat of arms