Asif Jahi

Nizam of Hyderabad
Coat of Arms
Sir Mir Osman Ali Khan
Details
Style	His Exalted Highness
First monarch	Qamar-ud-din Khan
Last monarch	Osman Ali Khan
Formation	31 July 1724
Abolition	17 September 1954
Residence	Falaknuma Palace
Pretender(s)	Mukarram Jah

The Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad, popularly known as the Nizam of Hyderabad, was a monarch of the Hyderabad State, now divided into Telangana state, Hyderabad-Karnataka region of Karnataka and Marathwada region of Maharashtra. Nizam, shortened from Nizam-ul-Mulk, meaning Administrator of the Realm, the title of the sovereigns of Hyderabad State, was the premier Prince of India, since 1724, belonging to the Asaf Jah dynasty.

The Asaf Jah Dynasty was founded by Mir Qamar-ud-Din Siddiqi, a viceroy of the Deccan under the Mughal Empire from 1713 to 1721. He intermittently ruled after Aurangzeb's death in 1707. In 1724, Mughal control lapsed, and Asaf Jah declared himself independent in Hyderabad.

Following the decline of the Mughal power, the region of Deccan saw the rise of Maratha Empire. The Nizam himself saw many invasions by the Marathas in the 1720's, which resulted in the Nizam paying a regular tax (Chauth) to the Marathas. The major battles fought between the Marathas and the Nizam include Palkhed, Rakshasbhuvan, and Kharda, in all of which the Nizam lost. Following the conquest of Deccan by Bajirao I and the imposition of chauth by him, Nizam remained a tributary of the Marathas for all intent and purposes.

In 1805, after the British victory in the Second Anglo-Maratha War, Nizam of Hyderabad came under the protection of the British East India Company.,