Sayyid brothers

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The Sayyid brothers were Abdullah Khan II and Syed Hussain Ali Khan, two powerful Mughal nobles who were active during the decline of the Mughal Empire. They were Indian Muslims belonging to the Sadaat-e-Bara clan of the Barha dynasty, who claimed to be Sayyids or the descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Their claim was generally not accepted, and they were said to be descendants of peasants from Punjab who migrated to the eastern part of Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. According to historian Richard M. Eaton, they were "as native to India as were Jats, Rajputs or Marathas." The brothers became highly influential in the Mughal court after Aurangzeb's death in 1707 and became de facto sovereigns of the empire when they began to seat and unseat emperors. They restored Mughal authority to Ajmer in Rajasthan with the surrender of Maharaja Ajit Singh, and the Jat leader Churaman. During their rule, the Sikh rebel Banda Singh Bahadur was captured and executed. The Sayyids engaged in recruitment...

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