My Science School

Nizam-ul-Mulk’s greatest achievement was the foundation of the princely state of Hyderabad. As the Viceroy of the Deccan, the Nizam was the head of the executive and judicial departments and the source of all civil and military authority of the Mughal Empire in the Deccan. All officials were appointed by him directly or in his name. He drafted his own laws, raised his own armies, flew his own flag and formed his own government.

He divided his kingdom into three parts – one part became his own private estate known as the Sarf-i-Khas; another was allotted for the expenses of the government and was known as the Diwan’s territory; and the remainder was distributed amongst Muslim nobles (jagirdars, zamindars and deshmukhs), who in return paid nazars (gifts) to the Nizam for the privilege of collecting revenue from the villages under them. The most important of these nobles were the Paigahs (see p128). The properties were usually split into numerous pieces in order to prevent the most powerful of the nobles from entertaining any thought of carving out an empire for themselves. The system, which continued relatively unchanged until 1950, ensured a steady source of income for the state treasury and the Nizam.

The Nizam is remembered for having laid the foundation for what would become one of the most important Muslim states outside the Middle East by the first half of the 20th century. The kingdom he ruled over was said to have been close to the size of France.

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