Dupleix meeting the Soudhabar of the Deccan

Muhyi ad-Din Muzaffar Jang Hidayat (died 13 February 1751) was the third

Nizam Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

from 1750 until his death in 1751. He had taken up the title of ''Nawab Khan Bahadur, Muzaffar Jung, Nawab Subadar of the Deccan''. However, he is most famously known as Muzaffar Jung.

Early Life

He was a

Punjabi Muslim Punjabi Muslims are Punjabis who are adherents of Islam. With a population of more than 112 million, they are the third-largest predominantly Islam-adhering Muslim ethnicity in the world, after Arabs and Bengalis. The majority of Punjabi Musl ...

of the

Jat The Jat people (, ), also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in l ...

tribe as he was the great grandson of Nawab Saadullah Khan, the famous Punjabi grand vizier of the

Mughal empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

. He was born to

Nawab Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...

Mutawassil Khan Mutawassil Khan titled Rustam Jang Bahadur, was a Punjabi Muslim Mughal general in the Deccan. He descended from a powerful aristocratic family. His father, Hifzullah Khan, was a prominent noble of Aurangzeb Alamgir, and his grandfather, Saadul ...

, the ''Naib Subahdar'' of

Bijapur Bijapur (officially Vijayapura) is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural importa ...

, and his wife ''Sahibzadi'' Khair-un-nisa Begum, the daughter of Nizam-ul-Mulk.

Reign

As per the 1749 British records of

Fort St. George Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress at the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further ...

, Nizam-ul-Mulk even thought about installing Muzaffar Jung when he was dissatisfied with the conduct of Nasir Jung. He gave up that idea due to possible serious repercussions and reconciled with Nasir Jung. He recommended for bestowing the Circars of

Adoni Adoni or Adavani is a city in the Kurnool district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Adoni mandal, administered under the Adoni Revenue Division. In the 2011 census of India, Adoni had a popul ...

and

Raichur Raichur, also pronounced as Rāyachūru (formerly Raichore), is a city and headquarters of eponymous Raichur district in the Karnataka state of India. Raichur, located between Krishna River, Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers. History Ancient His ...

to Muzaffar Jung with acceptance of the

Padishah Padishah (; ) is a superlative sovereign title of Persian origin. A form of the word is known already from Middle Persian (or Pahlavi) as ''pātaxšā(h)'' or ''pādixšā(y)''. Middle Persian ''pād'' may stem from Avestan ''paiti'', and is ...

. Initially, he was appointed to an Imperial mansab of 3,000 ''zat'' and 2,000 ''

sowar Sowar (, also sawar or siwar meaning "the one who rides" or "rider", from Persian language, Persian , from the Sasanian Empire, Sasanid Middle Persian, Persian Aswaran, Aswār, from the Achaemenid Empire, Achaemenid Old Persian, Persian Asabār ...

,'' he was appointed as the Governor of Carnatic, later promoted to 4,000 zat on his appointment to Bijapur. He was

Subadar Subedar ( ) is a military rank in the militaries of South Asia roughly equivalent to that of a warrant officer. Historically classed in the British Indian Army as a Viceroy's commissioned officer, the rank was retained in the Indian Army and P ...

of Bijapur after the death of his father. When his grandfather Nizam-ul-Mulk died in 1748, he decided to stake his claim to the throne in opposition to his uncle, Nasir Jung. This resulted in the first major direct involvement of the Europeans in Indian domestic politics. He joined hands with his Carnatic ally

Chanda Sahib Chanda Sahib (died 12 June 1752) was a subject of the Carnatic Sultanate between 1749 and 1752. He was the son-in-law of the Nawab of Carnatic Dost Ali Khan, under whom he was a Dewan. An ally of the French, he was initially supported by ...

and the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

while Nasir Jung joined hands with his Carnatic ally Muhammad Ali Khan Walajah and the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

. Eventually, the serious situation in Deccan and Carnatic would result in the Second Carnatic War. During the war Muzaffar Jung was briefly captured in March, 1750 after the Battle of Villianur. But after the assassination of

Nasir Jung Mir Ahmad Ali Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi, Nasir Jung, was the second Nizam of Hyderabad State. He was the son of Asaf Jah I and his wife Saeed-un-nisa Begum. He was born 26 February 1712. He had taken up a title of ''Humayun Jah, Nizam ud-Daula ...

, he was released and took the throne of

, 16 December 1750. He granted territories and titles to Dupleix and the French on 31 December 1750.

Death

While Muzaffar Jung's relations with the French were sound, he failed to assuage his Afghan allies in a similar way. The resulting disagreement escalated into the Battle of Lakkireddipalli Pass in the

Rayachoti Rayachoti is a Municipality and District headquarters of Annamayya district which is formed after Rajampet (Lok Sabha constituency) of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Rayachoti is the headquarters of Rayachoti revenue division and is one ...

taluka, Kadapa district. In the conflict, the

Nawab of Kurnool Kurnool is a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It formerly served as the capital of Andhra State (1953–1956). The city is often referred to as "The Gateway of Rayalaseema". Kurnool is also famous for Diamond hunting as diamonds can ...

struck him in the head with a spear, 13 February 1751 killing him instantly. Muzzafar Jung's death lead to the deaths of the

, Himmat Bahadur and

Nawab of Savanur Savanur State, Nawab of Savanur was one of the princely states in British India. The last ruler of the state acceded to the Dominion of India on 8 March 1948, becoming part of the Bombay State. Later in 1956, it transferred to Mysore State in ...

, Abdul Majid Khan I. At this critical juncture in history the French commander De Bussy made the decision to install

Salabat Jung Salabat Jung, born as Mir Sa'id Muhammad Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi on 24 November 1718, was the fourth Nizam of Hyderabad State. He was the third son of Asaf Jah I. During the Second Carnatic War he was a prisoner, first in Nasir Jung's camp a ...

as the new

Family

Muzaffar Jung had only one son, Nawab Muhammad Sa'ad ud-din Khan Bahadur, who was a minor at the death of his father in February 1751. He became

Subedar Subedar ( ) is a military rank in the militaries of South Asia roughly equivalent to that of a warrant officer. Historically classed in the British Indian Army as a Viceroy's commissioned officer, the rank was retained in the Indian Army an ...

in 1751, and died later from

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

Positions held

References