A Shameful defeat for Nizam Ali Khan.

In 1794 the Nizam decided to throw caution to the wind and attack the Marathas at Pune to eradicate the menace once and for all.

The crowd that fought in Mysore war was now a more polished machine thanks to the former French officer Michel Joachim Marie Raymond. A deserter from the second Mysore War, Raymond arrived in Hyderabad in 1792 with just 300 men and armed with hired guns from French merchant at the rate of a shilling a month. Promising the Nizam that under his command Hyderabad's army could defeat any force, European or Indian. He steadily increased his troop numbers. 

By 1795 he had under his command 11,000 infantry and artillery. Dressed in red jackets, black tricorn hats, white shirt and short shin-length boots, Raymond's brigade was impressive to look at; but had yet to prove itself on the battlefield.

William Kirkpatrick

Enter William Kirkpatrick; he would become the new resident in Hyderabad. Nizam had sent Aristu Jah to ask the support of the East India Company's armies. But his appeals were turned down on the grounds that the treaty of 1768 required them to be neutral.
Enter John Shore, an equivocating evangelical Christian, who succeed Cornwallis as the Governor- General, was reluctant to question the letter of the treaties.

To him, the Nizam was a defaulter trying to evade obligations. 
Meanwhile, Kirkpatrick as the resident of Hyderabad had unprecedented access to the Nizam and his court. He could see that the Nizam's army was not strong enough to take on the Marathas.
The leader of the Marathas Nana Phandavis, had a far larger pool of mercenaries to train his soldiers in his latest military techniques. 
Kirkpatrick's warnings were ignored, and in December the Nizam's 110,000-strong army began its slow march towards Pune from where 130,000 Maratha soldiers had been dispatched.
The two sides met on 14 March 1795 near the half-ruined fort of Khardla.

The first day of battle was an extraordinary sight as Raymond's corps, flying the tricolor, swept down on de Boigne's forces. At the end of the day, Nizam's forces had advanced several kilometers ahead despite continuous firing from the Marathas.
 But whatever advantage the Nizam gained in this battle was short lived.

As expected the Nizam had brought with him his new favorite wife, Bakshi Begum, and the rest of the oversized zanana. According to one eyewitness, Bakshi begum became so frightened by the ‘booming of the cannons and the sight of men falling down dead' that she blackmailed the Nizam by threatening to ‘expose herself to public gaze' unless he took her and the rest of the zanana inside the fort.

In the confusion, a Maratha night patrol looking for water stumbled upon the Nizam, who was accompanied by a unit of female bodyguards. During the ensuing gun battle, the Nizam tried to escape but found himself trapped in the fort.

The Marathas quickly surrounded the fort and after a siege lasting 22 days forced the Nizam to sign a treaty. The treaty concluded the territories of Daulatabad, Ahamadnagar, and Sholapur as well as an indemnity of 30 million rupees. In addition, he had to hand over Aristu Jah as a hostage to Nana Phandavis.

It was a humiliating defeat for Nizam Ali Khan.

The Third Anglo Mysore War

With Haider Ali's troops now marching towards the Karnataka and the Nizam threatening to join him the British had to act fast. Through the skillful mix of military force, diplomacy and a little bit of bribery Hasting manage to avert the disaster. Pune was brought to its heels by the arrival of six sepoy battalions. Nagpur's leader has been brought off.  Hasting also sacked the controversial governor of madras, Sir Thomas Rumbold. He then appointed the British resident John Holland in Hyderabad.  

Lord Cornwallis

Hasting was replaced as the Governor-general in 1786 by Lord Cornwallis, who arrived in India fresh from his surrender to George Washington at Yorktown during the American war of Independence. Although Hasting restored the fortunes of the East India Company, he left some unfinished business. Cornwallis first intentions were to go to war against Tipu Sultan. But first, he had to build up an alliance with Hyderabad and the Marathas.

Cornwallis reacted by instructing his residents in Pune and Hyderabad to bring to Marathas and the Nizams into a tripartite alliance against Mysore and assemble the strongest possible armies to press an attack.

Under the terms of the treaty concluded with the Nizam in July 1790. It was agreed that Hyderabad would wage war separately against Tipu Sultan. The treaty contained clauses that the Nizam to each sends on demand 10,000 cavalries to operate with the British. In return, the British would supply them with two detachments of battalion strength. Each party would receive a third of the share of any territory captured during the campaign.

This time Nizam kept to his side of the bargain, but his forces moved so slowly that it was April before they finally joined Cornwalli's at Kottapalli.   
They were successful in the siege. Instead on attacking Mysore head-on they swing into the district of Kuddapah, where they became bogged down in another time-consuming attack on the hill fortress of GurramKonda. The war itself took a year to finish.

Tipu Sultan

Tipu Sultan finally called for a negotiated settlement in February 1793. Tipu was to pay an indemnity of 33 million rupees, surrender half of his territories and hand over to the British custody of two of his children, both eight at the time, as surety. 

All that was left was for the victors to share the spoils. Although his forces had played a minor role, the Nizam walked away with a large swath of territory.
No sooner had the booty dispersed, however than the triple alliance Cornwallis hoped for would become a permanent began falling apart. This time it was the Marathas.

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THE REVENGE OF NIZAM ALI

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The Nizam was planning his revenge. In 1778 he opened a secret correspondence with Nana Phadnavis, the Maratha Prime Minister, on creating a grand alliance against the British.

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“We shall manage the English with the means of French whose Vakeel is with us, with whom we have entered into a treaty.” Nana wrote to Nizam in August 1778.

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Unfortunately for both men, the letter has been intercepted by the British. As was the Nizam’s reply a few months later which said.
“I will repair in person to you, and rose that bad race from their dream of security, and overthrow their ambitions and designs”

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The contents of these letters and other intelligence that the Governor General Warren Hasting collected made for a disturbing reading. The ‘Vakeel’ Nana was talking about was the French agent Chevalier de St Lubin. He immediately began to consider plans to ‘avert those dreadful consequences’ of their designs.

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Those designs were complicated by the formations in 1780. A powerful confederacy comprised of the Nizams, the Marathas, and Haider Ali. All three hold a strong grudge against the British. They conspired to attack all three presidencies- Bombay, Madras, and Bengal- simultaneously. Nana Phadnavis and Maratha military chieftains were to attack Bombay, the Nizam and Haider Ali would march on Madras. Bhonsle, the Maratha ruler would take on Bengal.

The depth of Nizam’s hatred towards the British at this time was apparent in a letter he wrote to the Mughal Emir Najaf Khan in September 1780
“The world is now involved in calamities through the turbulence of the English; the deceits of this wicked nation are spread over the whole empire…A handful of people without a head of a foundation have possessed themselves of the three richest provinces in the empire, every one of which is equal to a kingdom, a set of merchants without a name and scarcely known have engrossed and disposed of as they please.”

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Nizam Ali Khan was now at the height of his power. Successfully playing off the British against the French. Through the confederacy, he was threatening the very future of the East India Company’s presence on the Indian Sub-continent.

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In the next episode, we shall find out did Nizam Ali Khan succeed in his attempt on taking revenge. Till then, stay classy!.

A LESSON FOR NIZAM ALI KHAN.

With the help of the French mercenaries, Haider Ali had built up a formidable army. And was looking to expand his territories.

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Fear of the rising Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan the Nizam and the British were ready to bring him down. Securing the support of the Marathas, the Nizam also called on the British to join the alliance to attack Mysore. Alarmed of Haider Ali’s conquest the British agreed to send forces. The plan Nizam hatched was entirely based on self-interest and self-preservation. He needed the strength of Marathas but also wanted to keep British on his side. This was in order to ensure a favorable division of the spoils of the battle.

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When Nizam Ali Khan set out from Hyderabad with 17,000 of his own troops and 10,000 Maratha soldiers paid out of his pocket in Jan 1767. Haider Ali decided that his best defense was bribery. The Maratha leader was brought off for 3.5 million rupees plus land. He tried to offer Nizam Ali as well, but the Nizam proved harder to sway. The Nizam wanted 5 million rupees, but Haider Ali was prepared to give only 2 million rupees.

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It was already March and the troops promised by the British in December had yet to arrive. The Nizam felt he had been cheated into by the East India Company into ceding the Northern Circars. When the Madras army finally reached the Nizam’s encampment on 13 April 1767, they were shocked to find the Marathas were nowhere to be seen. The Nizam had changed sides.
In the end of all this confusion, Haider Ali had been able to buy off the Nizam quite cheaply. So defective was the Nizam’s forces in arms, discipline, that Haider Ali secured a deal for a mere 600,000 rupees a month.

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In August 1767 their combined forces swept across the Ghats in what was to be the first of four wars against the British. Mysore forces were soon at the gates of Madras and by the end of September, they were ‘scampering about’ in the gardens of the company’s villas. The British, however, gave Haider Ali a severe beating. The Nizam had proved to be a useless ally.

Determined to teach Nizam a lesson, the British decides to send a military to invade a largely undefended city of Hyderabad. Fearful of losing his capital city, the Nizam again switched sides and sent his representatives to Madras to negotiate a new treaty. This time the British would not be so generous.

The British made Nizam Ali khan sign the treaty of ‘Perpetual Friendship and Alliance’ signed on 26 February 1768, Nizam Ali Khan was made to pay war expenses of 2.5 million rupees. Which was to be deducted from the annual tribute of 700,000 rupees over six years. Nizam was made to pay for the privilege of having British troops in his territory. Whether he needed them or not. He was made to declare Haider Ali a ‘Usurper, a rebel, and troublesome man’ and revoked all treaties with him.

In the next episode, we shall see the revenge of Nizam Ali khan. Stay tuned.

The Second Nizam

 Episode 4
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In 1762, the map of southern India was re-drawn over a dozen times. The Mughal Emperor in Delhi issued a farman (Royal Order) recognizing Nizam Ali Khan as the rightful heir of the Asaf Jahi dynasty. The Delhi court proclaimed Nizam Ali as the second Nizam.

The fourth son of Nizam-Ul-Mulk, Nizam Ali Khan was 28 when he took power. He was clearly a fighting man. He maintained his father’s white beard and maintained the carefully manicured mustache.

Over the succeeding generations the Nizams grew more corpulent and their jewelry more extravagant as they increasingly left running the state to others and indulged in more sensuous pursuits.

Nizam Ali Khan was destined to become the second-longest-serving ruler of the Asaf Jahi dynasty and the last to lead its armies into battle. But his longevity and military prowess did not translate into glory for the Nizam’s dominions.

Though Nizam Ali Khan came to power with the support of the East India Company, He believed British did not have the right to rule. The British constantly exploited Nizam’s weakness to their full advantage in their skirmishes with the French.

Nizam Ali khan would prove poor strategist in military matters. He took his entire zenana(the part of a house for the seclusion of women)  every time he went for a battle. This nearly cost him his empire and his life. Too weak to take on the East India Company by force, but too ambitious to give up pretensions of power. Nizam Ali Khan’s constantly shifting interests and alliances so frustrated the British. They ultimately forced his to sign no fewer than six treaties just to keep him in line.

By the end of the century, Nizam Ali Khan had played into their hands so completely that the East India Company. It was the strongest power in the Southern India and the leading trading conglomerate in the world.

Hyderabad became the largest and most important princely state In India.

After his inauguration, the Nizam’s first priority was to restore some of the territory lost to the French and the British. In November 1766, the first of a series of treaties were signed between Nizam Ali Khan and the East India Company. Most of the treaties very favorable compared with those that followed. Nizam Ali Khan had yet to commit the tactical blunders that would increasingly strengthen the British’s stronghold.

He was negotiating the treaty’s terms with the British. Nizam Ali Khan was setting aside half a century of hostilities and conducting secret talks with the Marathas on a new military alliance. The reason for the change of hearts towards his most bitter foes was the emergence in Mysore. Located to the south of Hyderabad, the ancient Hindu kingdom of Mysore was now owned by a Muslim nobleman.

Enter Haider Ali a military adventurer and a nobleman with his son Tipu Sultan created a powerful new dynasty. Haider Ali had built up a formidable army and was looking to expand his territories.

Having secured the support of Marathas, the Nizam called on the British to join the alliance to attack Mysore. The Nizam’s motive for calling on Marathas and the British was entirely based on self-interest and self-preservation.

In the next episode, we shall see the attack on Mysore. And how the defense was the best for Haider Ali and Tipu sultan.

A DEVESTATING TIME FOR ASAF JAHIS

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With Nasir Jung now out of the way, the French took Muzzafar Jung to Pondicherry, where, on 26 December 1750 he was proclaimed the new Nizam. Muzzafar Jung’s inauguration at Pondicherry rather than Hyderabad was a deliberate act. In return for France’s assistance in crowning Muzzafar Jung as the Nizam of Hyderabad, he bestowed honors, treasures, and land upon Dupleix and declared him as the viceroy of the whole south India from Krishna River to Cape Comorin.

Dupleix now ruled over 30 million people with absolute power. No enrollment could be obtained without his intervention.

By his actions, Muzzafar Jung would set an important precedent which would dictate the future of his dynasty. He became the first Indian ruler to engage a military force under the command of a European commander.

For all the pomp and installations of Muzzafar Jung’s coronation, his reign was never officially recognized by the Mughal Emperor in Delhi. As it was the Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb who under is wings concurred Hyderabad from the Qutub Shahi. In any case, Muzzafar Jung’s reign was destined to last only six weeks.

The same Nawabs who plotted with Dupleix to kill Muzzafar Jung’s uncle Nasir Jung were now demanding exorbitant sums of money from Muzzafar Jung for putting him on the throne. Fearing an ambush, Muzzafar Jung asked Dupliex for help.

Dupleix provided a force of 300 French soldiers under the command of de Bussy. But things did not go according to plan. The Nawabs who were asking for huge sums of money from Muzzafar Jung set a trap.

While approaching a narrow pass in the Eastern Ghats, Muzzafar Jung found his way blocked by the forces under the command of Nawab of Kadapa. Who attacked the Nizam’s army from the rear. Instead of waiting for the French force to arrive Muzzafar Jung mounted on his elephant and personally led the charge.

A well-aimed arrow from Himmat Khan’s bow hit Muzzafar Jung in the eye’ killing him instantly.

Normally the battle would have ended there with the defeat of Nizam’s forces, but a Hindu Raja named Raghunathdas, sitting behind Muzzafar Jung, removed the arrow, took hold of the corpse’s lifeless arms and pretended that his leader was still alive.

“By moving its head every now and then and asking for water, and making the arms of a dead man move as if directing his soldiers to kill his enemies.” Wrote one witness. “To the end of the battle, no one knew that the body of their leader was lifeless until the Nawab’s soldiers had fled.”

Only then did the news spread that Muzzafar Jung had “Quaffed the sherbet of death.

De Bussy would not allow himself to be diverted by such a minor matter. As luck would have it, Muzzafar Jung’s brother Salabat Jung had been encamped with the French forces when the fatal arrow was shot. And before the day was over Salabat Jung promptly imprisoned two of his brothers, Basalat Jung and Nizam Ali Khan.

Enter Ghazi-Ud-Din, the eldest son of Nizam-Ul-Mulk who has been serving as a minister in the court of the Mughal Emperor in Delhi since his father’s Death.  Deciding now is the right time to claim the viceroyalty, he marched to Deccan. He took a large force of Maratha warriors to take back the throne that he believed was rightly his.

But he only made as far as Aurangabad.

Living in Aurangabad was Nizam-Ul-Mulk’s former wife, whose ambition was to put his son, Nizam Ali Khan, on the throne.

An invitation was sent to Ghazi-ud-Din for an entertainment in the city. He accepted it and partook a poisoned dish prepared by the hand of the mother of Nizam Ali Khan.

Ghazi-Ud-Din expired the same night.

With three rivals to the Nizamate now dead and further two in prison, Salabat Jung ruled the Deccan for the next eleven years. Even though the real power lay in the hands of French and his reign was never officially recognized by Delhi.

Charles Joseph Patissier de Bussy

The outbreak of the war between the British and the French in 1756 had important ramifications for Deccan in particular. Due to the war, Dupleix was recalled to Paris. Two years later De Bussy was also told to withdraw his forces from Hyderabad. With De Bussy and Dupleix had gone Salabat was left fatally weakened.

Feeling exposed, Salabat Jung promised a district to the British in exchange for their military protection. But Salabat Jung’s vacillations cost him the support of his nobles. He was thrown into prison in the fort of Bidar. Where he was eventually strangled and died.

THE QUTUB SHAHIS LAID TO REST

The Qutb Shahis Tombs are located in the Ibrahim Bagh, close to the famous Golkonda Fort in Hyderabad, India. They contain the tombs and mosques built by the various kings of the Qutb Shahi dynasty. The galleries of the smaller tombs are of a single storey while the larger ones are two storied. In the center of each tomb is a sarcophagus which overlies the actual burial vault in a crypt below. The domes were originally overlaid with blue and green tiles, of which only a few pieces now remain.

During the Qutb Shahi period, these tombs were held in great veneration. After their reign, the tombs were neglected until Sir Salar Jung III ordered their restoration in the early 19th century. A garden was laid out, and a compound wall was built. Once again, the tomb-garden of the Qutb Shahi family became a place of serene beauty. All except the last of the Qutb Shahi sultans lie buried here.
Sultan Muhammed Quli Qutb Shah’s mausoleum is considered the grandest of the Qutb Shahi tombs. Built in 1602 A.D., the tomb is on a terrace of 65m square and 4m high. A flight of steps leads to the mausoleum proper, which is 22 m square on the outside and 11 m square on the inside. There are entrances on the southern and eastern sides. The tomb is in a vault below the terrace. Inscriptions in Persian and the Naskh scripts decorate it.

Now that we are through with the Qutub Shahis we move our attention to the main dynasty who shaped Quli Qutub Shahi’s vision of Hyderabad.

The real story begins here.

Aurangzeb had appointed Nizam-Ul-Mulk in charge of Hyderabad, He had his plans for the development of this spectacular city. He had made immense changes and brought some strict rules for every aspect of life. One of them being a 17 clause document was a blueprint for the governance and personal conduct that ranged from keeping troops well fed to an apology for neglecting his wife.
During his rule, the treasury had enough money to last seven generations if spent properly.
On June 1, 1748, he summoned his second son Nasir Jung, his wives and chief nobles to his bedside, said his prayers and died aged 77. Nizam-Ul-Mulk is remembered as laying the foundation stone for what would become the most important Muslim state outside the Middle East by a first half of the twentieth century. He not only founded the state but also organized and established it.

Enter Nasir Jung

Nasir Jung

Enter Nasir Jung; born on 26 February 1712 he was the second son of Nizam Ul- Mulk. The first Nizam left six sons and one grandson fighting for their right to succeed him. It was Nasir Jung who made the first move, seizing the treasury and claiming the title Nizam. Nasir Jung was described as “high-spirited”, but tender hearted, qualities at the time didn’t make for a long life expectancy. According to James Grant Duff, the nineteenth-century author of the iconic History of the Marathas, Nasir Jung was also a poet and a lover of literature.

Nasir Jung always hated the French. Still smarting from having their pride insulted by Nasir Jung the French-backed Nizam Ul-Mulk’s grandson Muzzafar Jung. Unlike his scheming uncle, Muzzafar Jung was said to be”brave and gallant youth, with a noble promise of making a great and good monarch”. He also had the advantage of being Nizam Ul-Mulk’s nominated heir.

Date of birth of Muzaffar Jung is not known.

The British backed Nasir Jung resulting in making him the second Nizam which will reign a short period of time. He was a scheming man who schemed his way to the seat of power.There were a lot of scheming and planning by done Nasir Jung in order to stay on the throne. for instance, during the siege of the fort of Gingee, the British had thrown their support behind Nasir Jung with some 30000 native troops and combined forces of Muzzafar Jung. When Muzzafar Jung refused to attack along with his uncle, Nasir Jung promised forgiveness and has sworn on the Quran. The guards took Muzzafar Jung and locked him in custody despite being promised that he would not be taken, prisoner

The end of Nasir Jung

After a successful siege on the fort of Gingee Nasir Jung sent most of his troops back to Hyderabad while he went to Arcot on a small hunting expedition. Seizing that exact moment the french general Dupleix sent a force of 250 European and 4200 sepoys to attack Gingee and took the fort under the french empire. Stung by defeat Nasir Jung assembled a force of 60000 men to retake the fort but failed. After this failure, Nasir Jung wore a white robe and rode unarmed on his elephant to the camp of the Nawab of Kurnool, Himmat Khan demanding that his men join him and fight the common enemy. As instructed by Dupleix, Himmat Khan refused to move and when Nasir Jung called him a coward, the nawab and his watchmen “discharged their guns into his breast and sent him to paradise at once”.