Nizam of Hyderabad
Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State (now part of the Indian state of Telangana, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). Nizam is a shortened form of Niẓām ul-Mulk (Persian: نظام الملک), 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".
"Nizam" redirects here. For other uses, see Nizam (disambiguation).Nizam of Hyderabad
31 July 1724
17 September 1948
Hereditary
Azmet Jah
The Asaf Jahi dynasty was founded by Mir Qamar-ud-Din Siddiqi (Asaf Jah I), who served as a Naib of the Deccan sultanates under the Mughal Empire from 1713 to 1721. He intermittently ruled the region after Emperor Aurangzeb's death in 1707. In 1724 Mughal control weakened, and Asaf Jah became virtually independent, but the state would eventually become a tributary of the Maratha Confederacy after a series of military losses in the late 18th century.[1][2][3] Later the Nizam defeated the Marathas with the alliance of the British in the Maratha-Nizam War, succeeding as the Peshwas by the British.
When the English East India Company achieved paramountcy over the Indian subcontinent, they allowed the Nizams to continue to rule their princely states as client kings. The Nizams retained internal power over Hyderabad State until 17 September 1948, when Hyderabad was integrated into the new Indian Union.[4]
The Asaf Jahi dynasty had only seven recognized rulers, but there was a period of 13 unstable years after the rule of the first Nizam when two of his sons, Nasir Jung,and Salabath Jung, and grandson Muzafur Jung ruled. They were never officially recognised as rulers. The seventh and last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, fell from power when India annexed Hyderabad State in 1948 in Operation Polo.[5] Today, the title is held by his great grandson and pretender, Azmet Jah.[6]
History[edit]
Descent[edit]
According to Sir Roper Lethbridge in The Golden Book of India (1893), the Nizams are lineally descended from the First Caliph Abu Bakr, the successor of the Islamic prophet Muhammed.[8] The family of Nizams in India is descended from Abid Khan, a Persian from Samarkand, whose lineage is traced to Sufi Shihab-ud-Din Suhrawardi (1154–91) of Suhraward in Iran. In the early 1650s, on his way to hajj, Abid Khan stopped in Deccan, where the young prince Aurangzeb, then Governor of Deccan, cultivated him. Abid Khan returned to the service of Aurangzeb to fight in the succession wars of 1657–58. After Aurangzeb's enthronement, Abid Khan was richly rewarded and became Aurangzeb's favourite nobleman. His son Ghazi Uddin Khan was married to Safiya Khanum, the daughter of the former imperial Grand Vizier (prime minister) Sa'dullah Khan. Mir Qamaruddin Khan, the founder of the line of Nizams, was born of the couple, thus descending from two prominent families of the Mughal court.[9]
Ghazi Uddin Khan rose to become a General of the Emperor Aurangzeb and played a vital role in conquering Bijapur and Golconda Sultanates of Southern India in 1686.[10] He also played a key role in thwarting the rebellion by Prince Akbar and alleged rebellion by Prince Mu`azzam.[11]
Places, things named after and established by the Nizams[edit]
Places and things named after the Nizam include Nizamabad, a city and district in the state of Telangana; Jamia Nizamia, a university; the Nizam College; the Nizam's Museum; the Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway; the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences; the Jewels of the Nizams; the Nizam Diamond; the Nizam Sagar, HMAS Nizam, Nizamia observatory; the Nizam Club; the Nizam of Hyderabad necklace; the Nizam's Contingent; the Nizam Gate; the Nizam Palace; Government Nizamia General Hospital; and H.E.H. the Nizam's Charitable Trust.