Sayyid brothers

Syed Husain Ali Khan

Syed Hassan Ali Khan

The Sayyid brothers were Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha and Syed Hussain Ali Khan, two powerful Mughal nobles during the decline of the empire.

They were Indian Muslims belonging to the Sadaat-e-Bara clan of the Barha dynasty, who claimed to be Sayyids or the descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.^[1] Their claim was generally not accepted, and they were said to be descendants of peasants from Punjab who migrated to the eastern part of the Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh.^[2] According to historian Richard M. Eaton, they were "as native to India as were Jats, Rajputs or Marathas."^[3]

The brothers became highly influential in the Mughal Court after Aurangzeb's death in 1707 and became de facto sovereigns of the empire when they began to make and unmake emperors.^[4]^[5] They restored Mughal authority to Ajmer in Rajasthan with the surrender of Maharaja Ajit Singh, and the Jat leader Churaman.^[6] During their rule, the Sikh rebel Banda Singh Bahadur was captured and executed. The Sayyids engaged in recruitment of soldiers, very few of whom were not Sayyids, or inhabitants of Barha, or non-Muslims.^[7]

Emperor Bahadur Shah I died in 1712, and his successor Jahandar Shah was assassinated on the orders of the Sayyid Brothers. In 1713, Jahandar's nephew Farrukhsiyar (r. 1713–1719) became the emperor with the help of the brothers. His reign marked the ascendancy of the brothers, who monopolised state power and reduced the emperor to a figurehead. The brothers conspired to send Nizam-ul-Mulk to the Deccan, away from the Mughal Court to reduce his influence. In 1719, the brothers blinded, deposed and murdered Farrukhsiyar. They then arranged for his first cousin, Rafi ud-Darajat, to be the next ruler in February 1719. When Rafi ud-Darajat died of lung disease in June, they made his elder brother, Rafi ud-Daulah (Shah Jahan II), ruler. After the latter dying of lung disease in September, Muhammad Shah (r. 1719–1748) ascended the throne at the age of seventeen with the Sayyid Brothers as regents until 1720.

To restore power his de facto power, Muhammad Shah arranged for the brothers to be killed with the help of Nizam-ul-Mulk. Syed Hussain Ali Khan was murdered at Fatehpur Sikri in 1720, and Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha was fatally poisoned in 1722.^[8]

^ Claude Markovits; Maggy Hendry; Nisha George (2002). A History of Modern India, 1480-1950. Anthem. ISBN 9781843310044.
^ A., Kolff, Dirk H. (2002). Naukar, Rajput, and sepoy : the ethnohistory of the military labour market in Hindustan, 1450-1850. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52305-2. OCLC 717564639. As another example of such soldiers of marginal peasant origin, the Barha Sayyids, a celebrated troop of soldiers under the Mughals deserve attention. They were said to be the descendants of the families who had, at an uncertain date, moved from their homes in Panjab to a sandy and infertile tract of what is now the eastern part of the Muzaffarnagar district{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Eaton, Richard M. (2020). India in the Persianate Age: 1000-1765. National Geographic Books. p. 342. ISBN 978-0-14-198539-8. On one side were the Saiyid brothers, whose Baraha clan of Indian Muslims was as native to India as were Jats, Rajputs or Marathas.
^ Sen, Sailendra (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. p. 193. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4.
^ Mohammad Yasin. Upper India Publishing House. 1958. p. 18.
^ Krishna S. Dhir (2022). The Wonder That Is Urdu. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 119. ISBN 9788120843011.
^ Abdul Aziz (1964). Discovery of Pakistan. the University of Michigan. p. 136.
^ Khan, Shaharyar M. (2000). The Begums of Bhopal (illustrated ed.). I.B.Tauris. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-86064-528-0.

[1] Claude Markovits; Maggy Hendry; Nisha George (2002). A History of Modern India, 1480-1950. Anthem. ISBN 9781843310044.

[2] A., Kolff, Dirk H. (2002). Naukar, Rajput, and sepoy : the ethnohistory of the military labour market in Hindustan, 1450-1850. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52305-2. OCLC 717564639. As another example of such soldiers of marginal peasant origin, the Barha Sayyids, a celebrated troop of soldiers under the Mughals deserve attention. They were said to be the descendants of the families who had, at an uncertain date, moved from their homes in Panjab to a sandy and infertile tract of what is now the eastern part of the Muzaffarnagar district{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[3] Eaton, Richard M. (2020). India in the Persianate Age: 1000-1765. National Geographic Books. p. 342. ISBN 978-0-14-198539-8. On one side were the Saiyid brothers, whose Baraha clan of Indian Muslims was as native to India as were Jats, Rajputs or Marathas.

[sen2-4] Sen, Sailendra (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. p. 193. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4.

[5] Mohammad Yasin. Upper India Publishing House. 1958. p. 18.

[6] Krishna S. Dhir (2022). The Wonder That Is Urdu. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 119. ISBN 9788120843011.

[7] Abdul Aziz (1964). Discovery of Pakistan. the University of Michigan. p. 136.

[Shaharyar_Begums_2000-8] Khan, Shaharyar M. (2000). The Begums of Bhopal (illustrated ed.). I.B.Tauris. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-86064-528-0.

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