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Barha family
The Barha family (also Bahera or Bara) was an Ashrafized Shia noble family in India during the Mughal Empire. Its members traditionally held high military ranks and frequently led armies in the service of Mughal emperors, from the reign of Emperor Akbar into the early 18th century.
Under the Sayyid brothers, Hussain Ali Khan and Hassan Ali Khan, the Barhas became the de facto ruling family of the Mughal court from 1713 to 1720.
According to later sources recorded from family traditions, the dynasty traced its origin to Abul Farah al-Wasiti, who migrated to India from Wasit in the 13th century following the Siege of Baghdad. Tradition further holds that after the death of Hulegu Khan in 1265, Abul Farah returned to Persia, leaving four of his twelve sons in India, who later established the four branches of the Barha family.
The family was Indian Muslim belonging to the Sadaat-e-Bara clan, who also claimed to be Sayyids, descendants of the Prophet Muhammad. However, some modern historians dispute this claim. According to the American historian Richard M. Eaton, their clan was "as native to India as were Jats, Rajputs or Marathas." Dutch historian and Indologist Dirk H. A. Kolff argued that the ancestors of the Barha's moved at an uncertain date from their homeland in Punjab to a barren region in the Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh.
By the 17th Century, under the rule of Emperor Aurangzeb, the dynasty was firmly regarded as "Old Nobility" and held prestigious Subahs (provinces) such as Ajmer and the Deccan (Dakhin). They formed a Hindustani faction of Mughal nobility as opposed to the Turkic Turani and Persian Irani in the late Mughal period.
The children of Abdullah Abul Farah al-Wasiti settled in various towns, each eventually forming its own branch:
All the branches eventually migrated to the Doab, where the branches occupied the following towns:
The Tihaanpuri branch produced several high-ranking nobles, including Nawab Abdullah Khan I. The branch began with Sayyid Jalal Khan Emir, an 8th-generation descendant of Abdullah al Wasiti. Khan Emir left Tihanpur and settled in Dharsi, located in the pargana (an administrative district) of Jauli. He had four sons, of whom the eldest, Umar Shahid, settled in Jansath. The second son, Chaman, settled in Chitaura; a third son, Hassan, settled in Bihari, and a fourth, Ahmad, made his home in Kawal, in the pargana of Jansath.
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Barha family
The Barha family (also Bahera or Bara) was an Ashrafized Shia noble family in India during the Mughal Empire. Its members traditionally held high military ranks and frequently led armies in the service of Mughal emperors, from the reign of Emperor Akbar into the early 18th century.
Under the Sayyid brothers, Hussain Ali Khan and Hassan Ali Khan, the Barhas became the de facto ruling family of the Mughal court from 1713 to 1720.
According to later sources recorded from family traditions, the dynasty traced its origin to Abul Farah al-Wasiti, who migrated to India from Wasit in the 13th century following the Siege of Baghdad. Tradition further holds that after the death of Hulegu Khan in 1265, Abul Farah returned to Persia, leaving four of his twelve sons in India, who later established the four branches of the Barha family.
The family was Indian Muslim belonging to the Sadaat-e-Bara clan, who also claimed to be Sayyids, descendants of the Prophet Muhammad. However, some modern historians dispute this claim. According to the American historian Richard M. Eaton, their clan was "as native to India as were Jats, Rajputs or Marathas." Dutch historian and Indologist Dirk H. A. Kolff argued that the ancestors of the Barha's moved at an uncertain date from their homeland in Punjab to a barren region in the Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh.
By the 17th Century, under the rule of Emperor Aurangzeb, the dynasty was firmly regarded as "Old Nobility" and held prestigious Subahs (provinces) such as Ajmer and the Deccan (Dakhin). They formed a Hindustani faction of Mughal nobility as opposed to the Turkic Turani and Persian Irani in the late Mughal period.
The children of Abdullah Abul Farah al-Wasiti settled in various towns, each eventually forming its own branch:
All the branches eventually migrated to the Doab, where the branches occupied the following towns:
The Tihaanpuri branch produced several high-ranking nobles, including Nawab Abdullah Khan I. The branch began with Sayyid Jalal Khan Emir, an 8th-generation descendant of Abdullah al Wasiti. Khan Emir left Tihanpur and settled in Dharsi, located in the pargana (an administrative district) of Jauli. He had four sons, of whom the eldest, Umar Shahid, settled in Jansath. The second son, Chaman, settled in Chitaura; a third son, Hassan, settled in Bihari, and a fourth, Ahmad, made his home in Kawal, in the pargana of Jansath.