Nizam of Hyderabad VI – Photogravure 1915
An old 1915 photogravure print of Asaf Jah VI the Nizam of Hyderabad. Because of their immense wealth, the Nizams of Hyderabad instill a sense of awe even today. They were originally proxy rulers for the Mughals. Since the Mughal Empire covered a vast area in India, from Afghanistan in the west to present-day Bangladesh in the east, north of Kashmir to Mangalore in the south.
Managing this vast area was no easy task for any emperor. Thus to circumvent this problem the Mughal Emperor deputed his most loyal aides as proxy rulers to these remote provinces. The purpose was to keep the land intact, deterring any enemy attacks. And most importantly collecting the necessary financial revenue and forwarding it to the Mughal treasury.
Asaf Jah I (Mir Qamar-Ud-Din Khan) was one such proxy ruler. The emperor made him the Nizam-Ul-Mulk or proxy ruler for the Deccan region in 1724. But after 1858 they ruled independently. And Asaf Jah VI or Mir Mahbub Ali Khan became the eighth in the line of Nizams of Hyderabad. Born in 1866, he ruled from 1869 until his death in 1911. Mir Osman Ali Khan his son became the last Nizam ruled from 1911 to 1948, he died in 1967. Click on the photo for better view.
Read more in A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE NIZAMS OF HYDERABAD.
Did you know- despite their huge wealth at their disposal they managed their princely state admirably. He also claimed to possess a healing power against snakebites. It was his order that if anyone from the public had a snake bite, they could approach him. As a result, he was repeatedly awakened from his sleep to cure people of snakebites.
From the collection- 1964 M. Suriyamoorthy Charcoal Art Abstract (#1)., Fort St George – Old Photo 1890., Bombay Backbay View From Malabar Hill – Old Print 1900., St George’s Cathedral Madras – Old Postcard 1915
The images are of the actual items from my collection. And Not a photocopy, pirated, reproduced, or stock photos or taken from other sources.
