Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan Siddiqi also known as Chin Qilich Qamaruddin Khan, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah and Nizam I, was the first Nizam of Hyderabad. He was married to the daughter of a Syed nobleman of Gulbarga. He began his career as a favourite of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who made him a general. Following the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, Asaf Jah refused to favour any one of Aurangzeb's warring sons and as such remained neutral. When Aurangzeb's third son Bahadur Shah ultimately emerged victorious, Asaf Jah was rotated as governor of multiple Mughal provinces until 1714, when he was created Viceroy of the Deccan with authority over six Mughal provinces in southern India from 1714 to 1719. From 1719 onwards he was involved in combating the intrigues of the Sayyid Brothers. From 1720 to 1722 he helped the new Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah eliminate the Sayyed brothers and was rewarded by being elevated to the grand viziership from 1722 to 1724. He also engaged in military conflict against Bajirao I in Battle of Palkhed and Battle of Bhopal.
Mirza Mu'izz-ud-Din Beg Muhammad Khan, better known by his title Jahandar Shah, was briefly the ninth Mughal emperor from 1712 to 1713. He was the son of emperor Bahadur Shah I, and the grandson of emperor Aurangzeb.
Mirza Muhammad Mu'azzam, commonly known as Bahadur Shah I and Shah Alam I, was the eighth Mughal Emperor from 1707 to 1712. He was the second son of the sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, who he conspired to overthrow in his youth. He was also governor of the imperial provinces of Agra, Kabul and Lahore and had to face revolts of Rajputs and Sikhs.
Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad Shah was the thirteenth Mughal emperor from 1719 to 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. After being chosen by the Sayyid Brothers of Barha, he ascended the throne at the young age of 16, under their strict supervision.
Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State. Nizam is a shortened form of Niẓām ul-Mulk, which means Administrator of the Realm, and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I when he was appointed Viceroy of the Deccan by the Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar. In addition to being the Mughal Viceroy (Naib) of the Deccan, Asaf Jah I was also the premier courtier of the Mughal Empire until 1724, when he established the independent monarchy of Hyderabad and adopted the title "Nizam of Hyderabad".
Farrukhsiyar, also spelled as Farrukh Siyar, was the tenth Mughal Emperor from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after deposing his uncle Jahandar Shah. He was an emperor only in name, with all effective power in the hands of the courtier Sayyid brothers.
The Sayyid brothers refers to Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha and Syed Hussain Ali Khan, who were two powerful nobles during the decline of the Mughal Empire.
Muhammad Ismail, known by his title Zulfiqar Khan, was a leading noble and military general of the Mughal Empire. His father was Asad Khan, wazir to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. During Aurangzeb's reign, Zulfiqar Khan led several military campaigns in pursuit of the emperor's ambitions in the Deccan and South India, notable of which is the Siege of Jinji. He held the post of mir bakhshi, appointed towards the later part of Aurangzeb's reign, and was made governor of the Deccan by emperor Bahadur Shah I. These positions helped make Zulfiqar Khan the most powerful noble in the empire by the early 1700s.
Khawaja Abid Khan Siddiqi, or Nawab Khawaja Abid Siddiqi, better known as Kilich Khan, was a Nawab and military general under Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. He was a loyal general of the Mughal Empire. He was the father of the Mughal general Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung I and the grandfather of Mir Qamar-ud-din Siddiqi, Asaf Jah I. Kilich Khan were claimed to be descendant of Abu Bakr, first Rashidun caliph.
Mir Shihab-ud-Din Siddiqi, known by his title Ghaziuddin Khan, was a leading military general and noble of Central Asian origin in the Mughal Empire. He was a favoured member of emperor Aurangzeb's court, and the father of Chin Qilich Khan, founder of Hyderabad State. Under Aurangzeb, he distinguished himself in key battles over the Deccan, and held the governorship of Berar Subah. He briefly served as the governor of Mughal Gujarat during the reign of Aurangzeb's successor Bahadur Shah, and died in office. He is buried in a madrasa complex he founded during his lifetime, known as Madrasa Ghaziuddin Khan, which is located in Old Delhi.
Persian people were one of the major ethnic groups, who accompanied the ethnic Turco-Mongol ruling elite of the Mughal Empire after its invasion of the Indian subcontinent. Throughout the Mughal Empire, a number of ethnic Persian technocrats, bureaucrats, traders, scientists, architects, teachers, poets, artists, theologians and Sufis migrated and settled in different parts of the Indian Subcontinent.
Nur-un-Nissa Begum was the first wife and chief consort of Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah I.
Mubariz Khan was the Mughal governor of Gujarat and Hyderabad Subah. He was the governor of Golconda from 1713 to 1724 until he was killed during the Battle of Shakar Kheda where he fought against Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I. His is known to have ruled Golconda with a free hand and brought it under stable rule from constant Maratha Raids to extract Chauth. He is generally described as a proto-dynastic figure by John F. Richards.
Muhammad Hashim, better known by his title Khafi Khan, was an Indo-Persian historian of Mughal India. His career began about 1693–1694 as a clerk in Bombay. He served predominantly in Gujarat and the Deccan regions, including the final decade of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. He authored the controversial and in part "patently fictitious" Muntakhab-al Lubab – a Persian language book about the history of India during the Mughal period, completed in 1731. It has been a much studied, contested source of information about the Mughal history, particularly Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.
Sa'adullah Khan also spelled Sadullah Khan was a noble of the Mughal Empire who served as the last grand vizier of Emperor Shah Jahan and Vakil-I-Mutlaq in the period 1645–1656. He was considered among the four most powerful nobles of the empire during Shah Jahan's time.
Roshan-ud-Daulah's original name was Khwaja Muzaffar Panipati, who was given the title Turra-i-Baz Roshan-ud-Daulah Zafar Khan. He was the Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire during the reign of Muhammad Shah. He was known by the nickname Turra-i-Baz(falcon's crest) as Roshan-ud-Daula and all his men wore their turbans in the same way, with an end sticking out.
Asad Khan, born Muhammad Ibrahim, was a high-ranking noble of the Mughal Empire during the reigns of Aurangzeb and Bahadur Shah. He is known for his tenure as the wazir of emperor Aurangzeb in the period 1676–1707, and was an important player in Mughal court politics.
Hyderabad Subah, also known as Golconda Subah, was a province of the Mughal Empire encompassing the eastern Deccan region of the Indian subcontinent. It was created in 1687, during the reign of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, by the annexation of the Golconda Sultanate. It later began to secede in the 18th century as the Mughal Empire declined and became fully independent as part of the Nizam-administered Deccan.
Shams ul-Umara, Shams ul-Mulk, Shams ud-Daula, Nawab Muhammad' Abu’l Fath Khan Bahadur, Taigh Jang Bahadur ['Abu’l Khair Khan II] [Imam JungIII] was an Indian nobleman and founder of the House of Paigah.
The Maratha-Nizam War (1720–1819) was a series of military conflicts between the Maratha Empire and the Nizam of Hyderabad, spanning nearly a century. These conflicts arose primarily from the Marathas' imposition of Chauth, a form of tribute, on the Nizam's dominions, leading to tensions and subsequent hostilities between the two powers. The Nizam's response to the Maratha demands sparked a series of clashes and wars aimed at resisting Maratha encroachment and asserting territorial sovereignty.
