Hyderabad

Princely States

For all practical purposes, Hyderabad is not a kingdom in it's own right a Mughal continuum like Junagarh which drifted away with time.

The ruling line can be said to start with Abid Khan Siddiqi, more famously known as Khilich Khan, a Mughal commander of note. Khilich Khan, who was born near Samarqand comes from a line of Sufi scholars and unlike his ancestors, Khilich Khan decided to become a soldier of fortune. He settled in India and was attached to the train of Aurangzeb from the time of his assignments in Central India and Deccan. In 1655, he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca and on his return, saw the kingdom engulfed in a civil war. Throwing loyalty to the sovereign away, he sided Aurangzeb and played a critical role in the Battle of Samugarh. He was amply rewarded and was with Aurangzeb during his subjugation of India after the civil war. He held the commands of Ajmer, Multan and other high ranking positions in the government. In the 1687 siege of Golconda, he served under the command of his son Ghazi ud–Din Khan Feroze Jung and his hand was blown off at the head of a charge of the fort. He died a few days later of his injuries.

Khilich Khan's son Shihabuddin, later famous as Ghazi ud–Din Khan Feroze Jung was also a Mughal officer of considerable note. Though his father was already in India, he was in Bukhara and came to India in 1670. Using his father's position, he soon emerged as a prominent field commander in the Deccan. His marriage was in fact arranged by Aurangzeb and his eldest son Mir Qamruddin (later Chin Qilich Khan) was named by Aurangzeb personally. Aurangzeb seems to have taken good care of the child in the quest for building a loyal base of courtiers. He was one of the main Mughal commanders opposing the rebellion of Mughal Crown Prince Akbar and for his role in Maratha Wars in 1684, he received the title of Ghaziuddin and a year later, Feroze Jung for his exploits on the field. He played a major role in the 1685 siege of Bijapur and the next year, he took Adoni. His father was killed under his command at Golconda in 1687 but the fort eventually fell. During these campaigns, he lost his sight due to bubonic plague and was posted in civil offices becoming the Governor of Berar in 1698 and in that position, routed the Maratha siege of Sironj in 1704.

Even from 1680s, Ghaziuddin was the leader of one of the court factions while the other was led by Asad Khan, the Wazir. His son Qamruddin was active in Deccan at least from 1684 and received the title Chin Qilich Khan(Boy Swordsman) from Aurangzeb for his exploits in the Maratha wars in 1690. By the time Aurangzeb died, he was a commander of note in his own right becoming the Fauzdar of Bijapur in 1700. In anticipation of Aurangzeb's death, Ghaziuddin and others of his faction started stockpiling weapons but on his death, they decided to stay neutral even though Ghaziuddin was pressed hard to join the standard of Azam Shah. When Azam Shah lost, Ghaziuddin was pardoned by the new king Muazzam who took the throne under the name Bahadur Shah even though both were old enemies because of his military value. He was made the Governor of Gujarat Subah where he died.
His son Qamruddin Khan was also posted as governor of various Mughal provinces including Awadh till he was made the Viceroy of Deccan with the title Nizam–ul–Mulk in 1714 a position in which he stayed till 1719. In Deccan, he refused to pay Chauth to the Marathas and on the other hand, avoided direct confrontation with the Marathas – he however, recruited discontent Marathas like Sambhaji II of Kolhapur, Chandrasen Jadhav and others. On the death of Farukhsiyar in 1719, he enmeshed himself in the court politics of the tottering Mughal Empire and helped crush the power of the notorious Syed Brothers post which he became the Grand Vizier of the Empire. But his attempts to reform the rotting edifice were resisted and he was transferred to Awadh. He refused, resigned as Grand Vizier and went back to Deccan in 1723 and held fort there as a de facto independent ruler. His march South was contested leading to the death of Mubariz Khan, the Governor of Hyderabad at Shakar Kheda and after the failure of the invasion from Delhi to Deccan failed to take off due to Chin Qilich Khan's machinations, his position as Nizam–ul–Mulk was reconfirmed. Though he became a ruler in his own right, he never assumed imperial titles and acknowledged formal Mughal suzerainty.