The Sayyid brothers were Abdullah Khan II and Syed Hussain Ali Khan, two powerful Mughal nobles who were active during the decline of the Mughal 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. Their claim was generally not accepted, and they were said to be descendants of peasants from Punjab who migrated to the eastern part of Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. According to historian Richard M. Eaton, they were "as native to India as were Jats, Rajputs or Marathas."
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 seat and unseat emperors. They restored Mughal authority to Ajmer in Rajasthan with the surrender of Maharaja Ajit Singh, and the Jat leader Churaman. 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.
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 also 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 died of lung disease in September, Muhammad Shah (r. 1719–1748) ascended the throne at the age of 17 with the Sayyid brothers as regents until 1720.
To restore 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 was fatally poisoned in 1722.
Early appointments of the Syed brothers
The two brothers, who now come into such prominence came from the old military aristocracy. Besides the prestige of the Syed lineage and the personal renown acquired by their own valor, they were the sons of Abdullah Khan BarhaLater Mughals by William Irvine who was chosen by Aurangzeb as the first Subedar of Bijapur in the Deccan and then Subedar of Ajmer. Abdullah Khan had risen in the service of Ruhullah Khan, Aurangzeb's Mir Bakhshi (top government official), and finally, on receiving the rank of an imperial Mansabdar, attached himself to the eldest Prince Muazzam.
In 1697, Syed Hassan Ali Khan was Faujdar (military commander) of Sultanpur, Nazarbar in Baglana, and was appointed Subahdar (governor) of Khandesh in 1698 to halt Maratha expansion in the region. Later he was appointed ruler of Hoshangabad, Khandesh (Maharashtra). He was responsible for attacking Aurangabad during the final campaign against the Marathas in 1705 and attended the funeral of Aurangzeb in 1707.
Hassan's younger brother, Hussain Ali Khan, who is known to have greater energy than his elder brother, had during the reign of Aurangzeb held charge first of Ranthambore, in Ajmer, and then of Hindaun-Bayana, in Agra.
Role in the Mughal war of succession (1707–1709)
After Prince Mu'izz ud-Din Jahandar Shah, the eldest of Emperor Bahadur Shah's sons, had been appointed in 1694–95 to Multan province, Syed Hassan Ali Khan and his brother followed him there. Seeking to claim honor against the Baloch zamindar in an expedition, Jahandar Shah sought not to allow this, and assigned them under Isa Khan Main, his Punjabi Muslim administrator. Consequently, the Sayyids quit the service and went to Lahore, where they lived in comparative poverty, waiting for employment from Munim Khan II, the Nazim (convenor) of that place.
When Emperor Aurangzeb died and Prince Muhammad Mu'azzam Shah Alam, reached Lahore on his march to Agra to contest the throne, the Sayyids presented themselves and allied with Shah Alam. In the Battle of Jajau on 18 June 1707, they served in the vanguard where their brother, Syed Nur ud-Din Ali Khan, was left dead on the field, and Syed Hussain Ali Khan was severely wounded. Though their rank was raised to 4,000, and the elder brother received his father's title of Syed Mian, they were not treated with high favour either by the new emperor or his vizier.The two Sayyids quarrelled with Khanazad Khan, the Vizier Munim Khan's second son, and offended Jahandar Shah, though the conflict was settled from a visit by the vizier, there is little doubt that this difference helped to keep them out of employment. The morning after the Battle of Jajau, the Prince Jahandar Shah visited their quarters to condole with them on the death of their brother, Syed Nur ud-Din Ali Khan. Syed Hussain Ali Khan responded aggressively, which angered Jahandar Shah and so refrained from making any recommendation to his father in their favour. However, Syed Shujaat Khan Barha held the province of Ajmer, and another Sayyid Hussain Barha was made faujdar of Amber.
In April 1708, Prince Azim-ush-shan nominated the younger brother Syed Hussain Ali Khan, to represent him as the governor of Bihar, in the capital Azimabad (Patna). In October 1708, Syed Hassan Ali Khan was named subah of Ajmer, (then in a disturbed state owing to the Rajput rising) which displeased Syed Shuja'at Ali Khan Barha. When Syed Hassan Ali Khan almost reached Delhi, to raise new troops and make other preparations, Emperor Bahadur Shah, changed his mind and Shuja'at Ali Khan Barha was received again into favour and maintained in his government. Sayyid Saeed Khan Barha was placed in charge of the Kachawa capital at Amber. Prince Azim-ush-shan made Syed Hassan Ali Khan his deputy of Allahabad in January 1711. Khan-i Jahan Barha was made the faujdar of Moradabad.
Farrukhsiyar's request to the Sayyids
When Prince Farrukhsiyar first arrived at Azimabad, Syed Hussain Ali Khan was away recapturing the Rohtas fort of Bihar, which about this time had been seized by Muhammad Raza Rayat Khan. The Sayyids had felt annoyed on hearing that Farrukhsiyar had issued coin and caused the khutba to be read in his father, Prince Azim-ush-shan's, name, without waiting to learn the result of the impending struggle at Lahore. On returning to headquarters, he declined the Prince's overtures. The Prince's mother made a private visit to the Sayyid's mother, mentioning that the Sayyids were in their position due to the kindness of the Prince's father. That father, two brothers, and two uncles had been killed, and the Prince's own means were insufficient for any enterprise. The mother said "let Syed Hussain Ali Khan then choose his own course, either let him aid Prince Farrukhsiyar to recover his rights and revenge his father's death, or else let him place the Prince in chains and send him a prisoner to Emperor Jahandar Shah". The Sayyid's mother called her son into the harem and told him that "whatever was the result he would be a gainer: if defeated, his name would stand recorded as a hero till Judgment Day; if successful, the whole of Hindustan would be at their feet and above them none but the Emperor". Finally she exclaimed, "If you adhere to Emperor Jahandar Shah, you will have to answer before the Great Judge for disavowing your mother's claim upon you."
Syed Hussain Ali Khan then swore a binding oath that he would espouse the Prince's cause. The following night Prince Farrukhsiyar presented himself at the Khan's house, saying that he had come either to be seized and sent to Emperor Jahandar Shah or to enter into an agreement for the recovery of the throne. The Sayyid decided to fight on Prince Farrukhsiyar's behalf. He wrote at once to his elder brother, Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha, at Allahabad, inviting him to join the same side, and Prince Farrukhsiyar addressed a firman to him making many promises, and authorising him to expend the Bengal treasure, then at Allahabad, on the enlistment of troops. The two chief postings in the Empire, those of Vizier and of Amir ul Umara were formally promised to the two brothers as their reward in case of success. Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha, on being superseded at Allahabad, gives in his allegiance to Prince Farrukhsiyar.
Mughal succession crises of 1712 At first Syed Hassan Ali Khan's intention was to submit to Jahandar Shah, to whom he sent letters professing his loyalty and offering his services. Three months before the death of Emperor Bahadur Shah, he had gone to Jaunpur to restore order. In this he was not successful and the pay of his soldiers fell into arrears. The men raised a disturbance, and Syed Hassan Ali Khan's took shelter within the fort of Allahabad and promised to pay the troops once he reached the city. On the return march, word came of Emperor Bahadur Shah's death. While Syed Hassan Ali Khan was still in expectation of a favourable reply to his letter to Jahandar Shah, he was surprised to learn that Jahandar had lost favor from his own government and that a new governor (the province had been granted to a Raji Muhammad Khan, subah of Allahabad) was nominated, Syed Abdul Ghafoorr.
Syed Abdul Ghafoor obtained contingents from one or two zamindars and collected altogether 6,000 to 7,000 men. When he drew near to Karra Manikpur, Syed Abul Hasan Khan, a Sayyid of Bijapur, who was Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha's Bakhshi, advanced at the head of 3,000 men to bar his progress. With Abul Hasan Khan's (who was allied to Syed Hassan Ali Khan) victory at the Battle of Sarai Alam Chand on 2 August 1712, it became clear that the Sayyids were allied against to Prince Farrukhsiyar, the new contender for the throne. Jahandar Shah confirmed Sayyid Hassan Ali Khan as governor of Allahabad.
Prince Farrukhsiyar, meanwhile, had marched out with an army along with Syed Hussain Ali Khan from Patna to Allahabad to join Syed Hassan Ali Khan. Emperor Jahandar Shah learning of the defeat of his general, Syed Abdul Ghafoor sent his own son Prince Azzu-ud-Din along with Generals Lutfullah Khan and Khwaja Hussain Khan Dauran to face this army. The Second Battle of Khajwah was fought in Fatehpur District, Uttar Pradesh on 28 November 1712. Prince Farrukhsiyar defeated Prince Azzu-ud-Din, and the General Lutfullah Khan of Panipat, Sayyid Muzaffar Khan Barha, the maternal uncle of Abdullah Khan, Sayyid Hassan Khan, the son of Hussain Ali Khan, and Sayyid Mustafa Khan, who were on the opposite side, joined the faction of Farrukhsiyar. This forced Jahandar Shah and his vizier to initiate the Battle of Agra on 10 January 1713, Prince Farrukhsiyar again won and became the Emperor of the Mughal Empire succeeding his uncle Jahandar Shah. Farrukhsiyar's revolt against Jahandar Shah was a risky pusuit, and his victory was due to the resources of the two Sayyid brothers.
Rise of the Sayyid brothers After his victory at the Battle of Agra in 1713, once Emperor Farrukhsiyar reached Delhi from Agre, conferred many new appointments and new titles on his generals and noblemen. Syed Hassan Ali Khan was awarded titles Nawab Qutb-ul-mulk, Yamin-ud-daulah, Syed Mian Saani, Bahadur Zafar Jung, Sipah-salar, Yar-i-wafadar and became Vizier. Syed Hussain Ali Khan was appointed first Bakhshi with the titles of Umdat-ul-mulk, Amir-ul-Umara, Bahadur, Feroze Jung, Sipah Sardar.
The Amir-ul-Umara Hussain Ali Khan, was inclined to the use of exaggerated and insolent language. Flatterers in the train of Hussain Ali Khan used to recite the verses in the emperor's presence:
Rajputana Campaign of 1714