Asaf Jah II.
Nawab Mir Nizam -ul-Mulk 'Ali Khan Siddiqi Bahadur, Asaf Jah II. (* February 24, 1734 , † August 6, 1803 in the Chomwalla Palace of Hyderabad ), was a younger son of Asaf Jah I , who succeededto consolidatehis legacy in the Deccan as the princely state of Hyderabad , after numerous wars and territorial losses. This was ruled autocratically by his family with their followers, who formed a Muslim conqueror class, under British protection until 1948. After his brother was murdered, he served almost 41 years in an age of war.
Life path
Asaf Jah II. Was the fourth surviving son of his father with the Umda Begum.
1748-1762
The area inherited from Asaf Jah I, the governor of the Deccan, was about 510,000 km². In the battles between his brothers, they had alternately bought French and British troops as allies, whose modern infantry ( sepoys ) brought a decisive advantage on the Indian battlefields. This was a time of ongoing wars with frequently changing allies, often by betrayal.
His brother, Ali Salabat Jung (* 1718), who took office with (paid) French support after the murder of Muzaffar Jung in 1751, gave him extensive powers as a divan . Years of campaigns followed with varying degrees of fortunes in war. Large tracts of land had to be ceded. On the one hand to the Marathas , allies of the eldest son of Asaf Jah I, Ghazi ud-Din. The Northern Circars went to the French General and Governor de Bussy . They were expelled from these areas by the British at the Battle of Masulipatnam (⚔ 1757; today's place name Machilipatnam ). These had already become the dominant power in Bengal through Clive's victory at Plassey (June 23, 1757) .
The death of Peshwa Ballaji Baji Rao made it possible to strike back against the Marathas. Ali Khan Siddiqi commanded the army of Hyderabad during the victory of Panipat (siege from October 25, 1760, ⚔ January 13, 1761). He could now march up to 20 km from Poona , where, after negotiations by Raghunath Rao (1734–84, = Ragoba ), he achieved the return of large parts of the lost territories. He used the reputation he had gained after this victory to arrest his brother in the fort of Bidar in Aurangabad after his return, with the help of the nobility (July 6, 1762). He was murdered there in 1763.
government
The war against the Marathas continued immediately in 1763, this time Poona was sacked, while Ragunāth Rāo Hyderabad had unsuccessfully besieged. On the march back Ragunāth succeeded in persuading Jānojī Bhonsle , who was allied with Asaf Jah, to betray. The massacre occurred while crossing the Godavari , and immediately afterwards, in October, a contract was signed between the two parties. Two years later they went together against the Bhonsle and expelled him from Berar . From February 4, 1766, these districts were again largely under the Nizam.
In the years since 1761, Haider Ali of Mysore in the south had grown into a threat, which led to the first Mysore War in which the Nizam switched sides twice. The British had their help paid for in 1766/8 by ceding the Northern Circars .
Although Asaf Jah II. De facto could operate until 1803 as an independent ruler, he made major decisions by the court of the Mughal emperor pro forma by Firman confirmed. His tenure was marked by the struggle between the French and British for influence. Various alliances have been concluded with both of them. The French influence remained strong even after their defeat, thanks in particular to the diplomatic skill of François Raymond , who also set up a foundry for cannons. Since April 1779, his opponent was John Holland , who had been sent by Madras to resolve certain misunderstandings that had arisen in connection with the negotiations between the British and Nizam Basalat Jung's brother . The conflict over the income of the Circars was initially settled peacefully, although they remained controversial for decades.
The treaties of June 1 and July 4, 1790 led to the formation of the three-party alliance Maratha-Hyderabad- East India Company , which was directed against Tipu Sultan . In the siege of Seringapatnam (1792) troops commanded by the second son Asaf Jah and the Diwan took part. The ensuing peace agreement brought the Nizam great territorial gains. In 1794 a campaign was launched against Daulut Rao Scindia . The Nizam was surrounded and enclosed in the fort of Kharda in 1795 . In order to be released, he had to hold his divan, the British-friendly Azim ul-Umra, hostage (until 1797) and cede the Daulatabad fort. His son's rebellion was put down with French help that same year. The support of the British against Tipu Sultan led to an advantageous contract. The sudden death of the French resident in 1798 reduced the French influence at court, which was not finally ousted until 1808. Further alliance agreements in the next few years led to territorial gains.
In a total of eight contracts with the British from 1798 to 1808 one had undertaken to provide troops ( Nizam's contingent ) even after the wars against Tipu Sultan . The Nizam maintained 14,000 men who had been trained by the French; this force was disbanded in 1798 at British insistence. Instead, in a contract in the same year, the Subsidiary Force, which had to be made available to the British since 1759 in the event of war, was made available to 6 battalions (cost 2.4 million Rs. ), Which were permanently deployed. From 1800 the strength of the troops based in Secunderabad was increased to 8 battalions of infantry and 2 cavalry regiments. The levy and maintenance of the troops were entrusted by the Nizam to a certain class of nobles, the paigah , who received hereditary lands and their tax revenue.
Like his mother and the successors of the next four generations, he is buried in the capital's Mecca mosque .
Capital
The capital of his empire was moved from Aurangabad to Hyderabad in 1763 . This place near Golkonda was strategically more favorable because of the greater distance from the territories of the Mahrats; his father had already had a city wall built.
During his term of office, the expansion of the Chowmahalla Palace began, a major new building was the Khilwat hall for meetings ( durbar ) of the local nobles, which was then used as a residence by his son. For Sikander Jah, between the Chatta Bazaar and Dabirpura main street northwest of the Charminar , the construction of some buildings had started in 1777 , which after further expansion formed the so-called Purani Haveli ("the old palace").
family
His main wife was the Zeib un-Nissa Begum, commonly called Burhanpur Begum. She bore him no children, but he had a total of eight sons and thirteen daughters from other women who survived infancy.
Children, as far as known:
- Mir Ali Jah, rebelled against his father † 1795
- Sikander Jah, Asaf Jah III. , * October 17, 1771 as Akbar Jah
- Me Subhan Ali
- Me Ahmad Ali
- Bashir un-Nissa Begum (1781–1863), married. with Fakhruddin Khan Amir-e-Kabir Shams ul-Umra II.
- Mir Zulfiqar Ali Khan (= Taymur Jang Nasir ud-Daula Zulfiqar Malik-e-Jan-Dar-Jha )
literature
- Aitchison, CU (Ed.) ; A collection of treaties, engagements, and sunnuds relating to India and neighboring countries; Calcutta 1885, Vol. V, S 220ff ( full text )
- Briggs, Henry George; The Nizam: His History and Relations With the British Government; London 1861 ( esp.Vol I., pp 65-85 ), reprint Delhi 1985
- Nayeem, Muhammad A .; The splendor of Hyderabad: the last phase of an oriental culture, 1591-1948 AD; Hyderabad rev. ed. 2002; ISBN 81-85492-20-4 (not error-free!)
- Regani, Sarojini; Nizam-British Relations, 1724-1857; New Delhi 1988; ISBN 9788170221951 (Orig. 1963)
See also
For a better understanding of the British and French alliance policy of the time, it is necessary to know what was going on in Europe, especially the War of the Austrian Succession , the Seven Years War and the early coalition wars .
Individual evidence
- ↑ On the development see: Barua, Pradeep; Military Developments in India, 1750-1850; Journal of Military History, Vol. 58, No. 4 (Oct. 1994), pp. 599-616
- ↑ Ua Bijapur, the forts of Daulatabad and Asirgur, large parts of the province of Aurangabad (not the city). Value of tax revenue 6.2 million p. a. Briggs (1861), IS 62
- ↑ On the person cf. Cambridge History of India, 1929, Vol. III, Ch. 6
- ↑ The eldest son of Peshwa Vishvas Rao fell. Three battles took place at this location in history: a victory of Babur in 1526 ( First Battle of Panipat ), a victory of Akbar over Hīmū ( Second Battle of Panipat ) and this one.
- ↑ Or died in 1764. Sources give different dates for the seizure of power (also July 8th) and death (probably September 13th 1763). Briggs (1861)
- ↑ Firman des Moguln 1765, as well as sanads des Nizam of November 12, 1766 and March 12, 1768. Aitchison (1885), Vol. V, No. XXXV-XXXVII
- ↑ Shortly after his death, the British were finally able to establish themselves as the dominant European power in India at the end of 1803 (victory over the Scindia and occupation of Delhi on December 30th). He continued to regard himself only as a subject of the Mughals.
- ↑ cf. en: Siege of Seringapatam (1792) , today's place name: Shrirangapattana
- ↑ cf. en: Treaty of Seringapatam
- ^ Agreement of division of June 22nd. 1799. Aitchison (1885), Vol. V., No. XLIII
- ↑ Texts in: Aitchison (1885)
- ↑ The French officers were extradited to the British, but not considered prisoners of war, but repatriated. Briggs (1861), Vol. 1, p. 78.
- ↑ Genealogy
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Asaf Jah II. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ali Khan Siddiqi (maiden name); نظام علی خاہ; Nizam Ali Jah (Urdu) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | ruler of the area of the Indian Deccan, which became the princely state of Hyderabad, for over 40 years |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 24, 1734 |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 6, 1803 |
| Place of death | Hyderabad (India) |