Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan Siddiqi (11 August 16711 June 1748) also known as Chin Qilich Qamaruddin Khan, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah and Nizam I, was the first Nizam of Hyderabad. He was married to the daughter of a Syed nobleman of Gulbarga. He began his career as a favourite of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who made him a general. Following the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, Asaf Jah refused to favour any one of Aurangzeb's warring sons and as such remained neutral. When Aurangzeb's third son Bahadur Shah ultimately emerged victorious, Asaf Jah was rotated as governor of multiple Mughal provinces until 1714, when he was created Viceroy of the Deccan with authority over six Mughal provinces in southern India from 1714 to 1719. From 1719 onwards he was involved in combating the intrigues of the Sayyid brothers. From 1720 to 1722 he helped the new Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah eliminate the Sayyid brothers and was rewarded by being elevated to the grand viziership from 1722 to 1724.
Political intrigues compelled Asaf Jah to rebel against the emperor and in 1724 Muhammad Shah was forced to recognise Asaf Jah as the permanent Viceroy of the Deccan. Later that year Asaf Jah proclaimed himself Nizam and began the Asaf Jahi dynasty, with himself as its first ruler.
Background
Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan (also known as Nizam) was the son of Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung I and Wazir un-nissa (Safia Khanum)-married in 1670. Nizam's mother Wazir un-nisa Begum was the daughter of Sadullah Khan, the Grand vizier (1645-1656) of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. During his tenure, construction of Taj Mahal was completed. Though through his father, he is a descendant of Abu Bakr, the first caliph of Islam, his ancestry is traced from Shihab al-Din 'Umar al-Suhrawardi (1145–1234). His great-grandfather Alam Sheikh was a Sufi saint of Bukhara (in present-day Uzbekistan) he was titled as Azam ul Ulama by Imam Quli Khan (1611–1642) of Khanate of Bukhara. His grandfather Kilich Khan hailed from Samarkand in present-day Uzbekistan. In 1654, Kilich Khan came to India for the first time while on his way to the Hajj (Islamic pilgrimage) during the reign of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. After completing the pilgrimage, he migrated to India and joined erstwhile Mughal prince Aurangzeb's army in Deccan in 1657. Khan fought in the Battle of Samugarh which ended with the defeat of Aurangzeb's brother Dara Shikoh. Besides being a commander in Aurangzeb's army, he also served as governor of Zafarabad (present-day Bidar). Khan's eldest son and Nizam-ul-Mulk's father Feroze Jung migrated to India in 1669, and got employed in Aurangzeb's army, raised a General and later as governor of Gujarat.
Early life
He was born on 11 August 1671 as Mir Qamaruddin Khan to Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung I and his first wife Safia Khanum (Wazir unnisa Begum) at Agra, the name was given to him by the Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb. His grandfathers were both important Mughal courtiers namely; General Kilich Khan (Paternal) and Grand vizier Saadullah Khan (Maternal).