Mir Jafar[a] (c. 1691 – 5 February 1765), was a commander-in-chief or military general who reigned as the first dependent Nawab of Bengal of the British East India Company.

Mir Jafar served as the commander of the Bengali army under Siraj ud-Daulah, but betrayed him during the Battle of Plassey and ascended to the masnad after the British victory in 1757.

In 1758, Robert Clive discovered that Jafar had made a treaty with the Dutch East India Company at Chinsurah through his agent Khoja Wajid.

His grandfather was Syed Husayn Tabatabaei, who migrated from Najaf in Iraq (then part of the Safavid Empire) and settled in Delhi on 24 April 1675 after being invited by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

[5] In 1747 the Maratha Empire led by Raghoji I Bhonsle, began to raid, pillage and annex the territories of Alivardi Khan, the Nawab of Bengal.

[6] Mir Jafar was the principal general of Alivardi Khan's successor, Siraj ud-Daulah, who led the Nawab's army to victory against the British on 19 June 1756.

[8] In spite of having led a successful attack against the Company, Jafar found himself sidelined by Siraj in favour of his rival, Raja Manikchand.

A discontent Mir Jafar found support in others who opposed Siraj's tyrannical rule, from his brothers-in-arms from the Maratha Wars, to the powerful Jagat Seths.

[8] With nowhere else to turn, the plotters reached out to the Company, who had regained and strengthened their position in the region under Clive and Watson, hoping to use their military forces to their own ends.

The answer came back that Mir Jafar, in his position as the paymaster of the Bengal army, was prepared to siphon off significant amounts of money (2.5 crore rupees then, £325 million today) for help in the removal of the Nawab.

"[10] The military under Mir Jafar, Jagat Seths as the financiers, and Clive with the mercenary army (ignoring strict instructions from London) were ready to stage a coup against the Nawab.

[12] After Siraj Ud Daulah's defeat and subsequent execution, Jafar achieved his long-pursued dream of gaining the throne, and was propped up by the East India company as a puppet Nawab.