The Sayyid Brothers

Lived: Sayyid Abdullah Khan, 1666-1722 Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan Barha, c.1668-1720 Where: Mughal Empire

The kingmakers of the Mughal Empire and the power behind the throne, the Sayyid Brothers chose, installed and removed several puppet kings who had no independent control or influence. Following the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707, the brothers supported Bahādur Shah I in his successful bid to overthrow his older brother to become emperor.

After his death, he was succeeded by Jahāndār Shāh, but the brothers had him assassinated, replacing him with his nephew, Prince Farrukhsiyar. The new emperor held no real power as the brothers ruled behind the scenes, but after realising that Farrukhsiyar wanted to remove them, they had him assassinated in

April 1719. The next puppet emperor was Farrukhsiyar’s cousin, Rafi ud-darajat, who died just four months later, after which the brothers installed his older brother, Rafi ud-daulah (Shāh Jahān II) who died that September. At 17 years old, Muhammad Shah, the fourth son of Bahādur Shah, ascended the throne with the Sayyid brothers as his regents until 1720. With the help of nobleman Nizam-ul-mulk, the emperor had the pair assassinated, finally taking control and ending the corrupt reign of the Sayyid brothers.