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 in which he was severely defeated and had to sue for peace.
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.
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.
Rajaram Bhonsle I was the third Chhatrapati of Maratha Empire, who ruled from 1689 to his death in 1700. He was the second son of the Shivaji, the founder of the empire and younger half-brother of Sambhaji, who he succeeded. His eleven-year reign was marked with a constant struggle against the Mughals. He was succeeded by his infant son Shivaji II under the regentship of his dowager Maharani Tarabai.
The Deccan wars were a series of military conflicts between the Mughal Empire and the descendants of the Maratha ruler Shivaji from the time of Shivaji's death in 1680 until the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707. Shivaji was a central figure in what has been called "the Maratha insurgency" against the Mughal state. Both he and his son, Sambhaji, or Shambuji, typically, alternated between rebellion against the Mughal state and service to the Mughal sovereign in an official capacity. It was common practice in late 17th-century India for members of a ruling family of a small principality to both collaborate with the Mughals and rebel.
The Maratha Conquests were a series of conquests in the Indian subcontinent which led to the building of the Maratha Empire. These conquests were started by Shivaji in 1659, from the victory at the Battle of Pratapgad against Bijapur. The expansion of the empire was limited and interrupted by the Mughal conquests of south India by Mughal ruler Aurangzeb until he eventually died in 1707 in Deccan itself. Marathas were forced to defend their territories against the overwhelmingly strong Mughal army in the 27 years long Deccan wars. They were able to defend their territories and gain an upper hand over Mughals in the sustained conflict.
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.
Daud Khan Panni or simply Daud Khan, was an Pashtun nobleman and military commander of the Mughal Empire. Historians Muzaffar Alam and Sanjay Subrahmanyam characterise him as an important figure of Mughal history spanning the later years of emperor Aurangzeb, to the early rule of Farrukhsiyar.
The Asaf Jahi was a Muslim dynasty that ruled the Hyderabad State. The family came to India in the late 17th century and became employees of the Mughal Empire. They were great patrons of Persian culture, language, and literature, and the family found ready patronage.
The siege of Bijapur began in March 1685 and ended in September 1686 with a Mughal victory. The siege began when Aurangzeb dispatched his son, Muhammad Azam Shah, with a force of nearly 50,000 men to capture Bijapur Fort and defeat Sikandar Adil Shah, the then ruler of Bijapur, who refused to be a vassal of the Mughal Empire. The siege of Bijapur was among the longest military engagements of the Mughals, lasting more than 15 months until Aurangzeb personally arrived to organize a victory.
The siege of Jinji,, began when the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb appointed Zulfiqar Ali Khan as the Nawab of the Carnatic and dispatched him to besiege and capture Jinji Fort, which had been sacked and captured by Maratha Empire troops led by Rajaram, they had also ambushed and killed about 300 Mughal Sowars in the Carnatic. The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb then ordered Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung I to protect the supply routes leading to Jinji Fort and to support and provide reinforcements to Zulfiqar Ali Khan when needed.
The Battle of Jajau was fought between the two Mughal princes and brothers Bahadur Shah I and Muhammad Azam Shah on 20 June 1707. In 1707, their father Aurangzeb died without having declared a successor; instead leaving a will in which he instructed his sons to divide the empire between themselves. Their failure to reach a satisfactory agreement led to a military conflict. After Azam Shah and his three sons were killed in the Battle of Jajau, Bahadur Shah I was crowned as the Mughal emperor on 19 June 1707 at the age of 63.
The Decline of the Mughal Empire was a period in Indian History roughly between the early 18th century and mid 19th Century where the Mughal Empire, which once dominated the subcontinent, experienced a large scale decline. There are various factors responsible for this decline such as internal conflicts, Maratha, Afghan and Persian Invasions and British colonialism.
The Battle of Raigad occurred between the Mughal Empire and the Maratha Empire in 1689. Aurangzeb ordered his General Zulfiqar Khan to capture the Maratha king, Rajaram. Mughal forces attacked Raigad and the fortress fell, however Rajaram Maharaj escaped before that happened.
The Battle of Salher was fought between the Marathas and the Mughal Empire in February 1672 CE. The battle was fought near the fort of Salher in modern day Nashik district. The result was a decisive victory for the Marathas. This battle is considered particularly significant as it is the first pitched battle where the Mughal Empire lost to the Marathas.
The Mughal war of succession (1707–1709) or the Mughal Civil War was a period of political disorder and armed conflict over succession in the Mughal Empire following the death of the sixth Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in March 1707.
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.
The siege of Panhala, 1692–1694, was a conflict that was part of the Deccan wars and Maratha conquests. In 1692, the Mughal army under Jahandar Shah marched into Maratha territory to reduce the fort of Panhala, but he was repulsed after the reinforcement of vast Maratha troops for Panhala.
The Maratha-Nizam wars (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.
Aurangzeb 
