Who were the Sayyid Brothers?
The two Sayyid brothers were Abdulla Khan and Hussain Ali Khan.
The exertions of these two brothers won Farrukh Siyar his empire. Farrukh Siyar ascended the throne in 1713 and
Abdullah Khan was appointed Wazir and
Hussain Ali Khan was appointed Mir Bakshi.
They actually played the part of king-makers during the period 1713-1720.
The claim of Mughal Emperor, Jahandar Shah, to rule was disputed by Farrukh Siyar, the second son of Azim-us-Shan. Prince Farrukh Siyar aged about thirty, was deputy governor of Bengal on behalf of his father, on whose death he proclaimed himself emperor in April 1712. He managed to secure the assistance of Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan, deputy governor of Patna and the latter’s elder brother Abdullah Khan, deputy governor of Allahabad. They were known as the Sayyid brothers and later became famous as the king-makers in Indian history.
After Farrukh Siyar, the Sayyid Brothers placed Rafi-Ud-Darajat, the son of Rafi-ush-Shan to the throne on 28th February, 1719. The Sayyid brothers absolutely controlled the activities of Rafi-Ud-Darajat. The Sayyid brothers carried on the administration in his name.
After Rafi-ud-Darajat, Sayyid brothers placed Rafi-ud-daulah, brother of Rafi-Ud-Darajat, to the throne. Rafi-ud-daulah is also known as Shah Jahan II.
The Sayyids at last in 1719 set up Muhammad Shah as the Emperor. They wanted to rule through the medium of an imperial puppet. But Muhammad Shah refused to be controlled by them. The leader of the rival wing called the Turani party supported the Emperor. Soon Hussain Ali was assassinated. Abdulla made a futile effort to place another puppet on the throne, but he was defeated, imprisoned and subsequently poisoned in 1722.
