Nawab Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan Barha (1666 – 8 October 1720), officially Ihtisham-ul-Mulk, was a

kingmaker A kingmaker is a person or group that has great influence on a royal or political succession, without themselves being a viable candidate. Kingmakers may use political, monetary, religious and military means to influence the succession. Origina ...

of the later Mughal Period. Best known for ordering the death of the Emperor Farrukhsiyar largely in attempt to halt the numerous assaination attempts that the latter had ordered against him and his brother Abdullah Khan Barha. Hussain Ali Khan rose as a kingmaker in early 18th century India, when he was also the de jure ruler of

Aurangabad Aurangabad ( is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a hilly upland terrain in the Deccan Traps, Aurangabad is th ...

, ruler of

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...

by proxy and Subedar of the

Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in South India, southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bou ...

Both Hussain Ali Khan and his brother,

Abdullah Khan II Abdullah Khan (''Abdollah Khan Ozbeg'') (1533/4–1598), known as "The old Khan (title), Khan", was an Uzbeks, Uzbek ruler of the Khanate of Bukhara (1500–1785). He was the last Shaybanid Dynasty, Shaybanid Khan of Bukhara from 1583 until his ...

, had a hand in the installation or deposition (or both installation and deposition) of several emperors to the throne at Delhi, including:

Bahadur Shah I Bahadur Shah I (14 October 1643 – 27 February 1712), also known as Muhammad Mu'azzam and Shah Alam I. was the eighth Mughal Emperor who ruled from 1707 until his death in 1712. In his youth, he conspired to overthrow his father Aurangzeb, t ...

Jahandar Shah Mirza Mu'izz-ud-Din Beg Muhammad Khan (10 May 1661 – 11 February 1713), more commonly known as Jahandar Shah (), was the ninth Mughal Emperor who ruled for a brief period in 1712–1713. He was the son of Bahadur Shah (Shah Alam), and the ...

Furrukhsiyar Farrukhsiyar or Farrukh Siyar () (20 August 16839 April 1719) was the tenth Mughal emperors, emperor of the Mughal Empire from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after assassinating his uncle, Emperor Jahandar Shah. Reportedly a handsome man ...

Rafi ud Darajat Rafi ud-Darajat (; 1 December 1699 – 6 June 1719), the youngest son of Rafi-ush-Shan and the nephew of Azim-ush-Shan, was the eleventh Mughal Emperor. He was placed on the throne by the Sayyid Brothers of Barha, after they had executed the ...

Shah Jahan II Shah Jahan II (; June 1696 – 19 September 1719), born Rafi-ud-Daulah, was the twelfth Mughal emperor for a brief period in 1719. After being chosen by the Sayyid Brothers of Barha, he succeeded his short-lived brother Rafi-ud-Darajat in th ...

Ibrahim Ibrahim ( ar, إبراهيم, links=no ') is the Arabic name for Abraham, a Biblical patriarch and prophet in Islam. For the Islamic view of Ibrahim, see Abraham in Islam. Ibrahim may also refer to: * Ibrahim (name), a name (and list of people ...

and

Muhammad Shah Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad Shah (born Roshan Akhtar; 7 August 1702 – 26 April 1748) was the 13th Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1719 to 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. After being chosen by the ...

. and eventually became de facto rulers of the sub-continent by the early 18th century, at a time when India's economy was the largest in the world.

Early life and family

Barha was the second son of the Nawab of

, Sayyid Mian Abdullah Khan I. They claim to be descendants of the fourth

Rashidun , image = تخطيط كلمة الخلفاء الراشدون.png , caption = Calligraphic representation of Rashidun Caliphs , birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia present-day Saudi Arabia , known_for = Companions of t ...

Caliph,

Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

, and after migrating in ancient times to India, the family quickly became established as

nobles of the sword The Nobles of the Sword (french: noblesse d'épée) were the noblemen of the oldest class of nobility in France dating from the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, and arguably still in existence by descent. It was originally the knightly cl ...

a status they held under various empires, notably including the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

and later the

Sur Empire The Sur Empire ( ps, د سرو امپراتورۍ, dë sru amparāturəi; fa, امپراطوری سور, emperâturi sur) was an Afghan dynasty which ruled a large territory in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent for nearly 16 year ...

. The claims of such ancestry are not accepted, instead they are described as descendants of peasants from

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

. Under the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

the family was firmly regarded as old nobility and by the reign of

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

they held the prestige of being Nawabs of

or Dakhin, premier realms typically reserved for princes of blood. The Sadaat-e-Bara tribe, due to their reputation, acquired a hereditary right to lead the vanguard of imperial Mughal armies in every battle. The Mughal emperor

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

remarked that the Sadaat-e-Bara were "averters of calamity from this dominion". Sayyid from Saadat-e Barah

He started his early career as a Faujdar under Aurangzeb's reign and eventually gained higher positions after backing

in the succession war ensuing Aurangzeb's death.

Biography

Hussain Ali Khan served as the Commander-in-chief and Mir Bakhsi of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

(the premier general and defence minister of the empire, with powers often extending beyond the war office) the Sipahsalar, and the Amir-ul-Umara(chief of all nobles) , and personally oversaw the end of Ajit Singh's rebellion. He was appointed the Viceroy of the six provinces of the Deccan, after which he broke the peace agreements with the Marathas and engaged in open warfare with all the Maratha chieftains without discrimination. He was inclined to use of exaggerated and insolent language, and flatterers in the camp of Hussain Ali Khan used to recite the verses, even in the Emperor's presence

"The whole world and all creation seeks the shelter of your umbrella, Kings of the world earn crowns through your emprize."

He is noted by William Irvine to have been "Really friendly to the poor and non-oppressive in disposition." During his time as the ruler of

, Barha began a reservoir, a bridge and other works for the public.

Death

He was eventually assassinated by Turkish nobles also known as the Turani faction. On the pretext of presenting a petition concerning his malnourished troops, Haider Beg Dughlat fatally stabbed Hussain Ali Khan as his attention was diverted to reading the petition. Haider Beg Dughlat was immediately killed by Hussain Ali Khan's fourteen year old nephew Sayyid Nurallah Khan (Sayyid Nur Ali) who was himself immediately killed by Mughal troops. According to the historian Khizr Khan, Hussain Ali Khan was buried in his fathers tomb at

Titles

Upon helping the Emperor Farrukhsiyar to the throne of Delhi, Hussain Ali Khan Barha was awarded with the position of Mir Bakshi and granted the following titles and appellations: Umdat-ul-mulk, Amir-ul-Umara, Bahadur, Feroze Jung, Sipah Sardar.

Depictions

References

{{reflist 1666 births 1720 deaths History of the Mughal Empire