All about Mukarram Jah Bahadur, the 8th Nizam

who will be laid to rest in Hyderabad on January 18, 2023.

Mir Barkat Ali Khan, also known as Mukarram Jah Bahadur, the 8th Nizam of Hyderabad, passed away in Istanbul on January 14, 2023.

Who was the 8th Nizam?

His mother Princess Durru Shehvar was the imperial princess of the Ottoman empire in Turkey and daughter of the last Ottoman Caliph Abdul Majid II. Besides, the Nizam's wife is a Turkish citizen.

Why did he die in Turkey?

The Nizam died largely forgotten at the age of 89.

Because of his lineage. His family ruled Hyderabad for 236 years.

His biggest worry as Nizam was to take care of 14,718 staff and their dependents. At the Chowmahalla palace complex from where he ruled, he had 28 people whose only job was to bring drinking water to the Nizam and his immediate family from the traditional well outside the city.

When did Mukarram Jah become the Nizam?

In 1967 after his grandfather Mir Osman Ali Khan passed away. The first thing he told the press was that his grandfather never seemed to keep track of his wealth and he had not heard of any hidden treasure.

In the 1950s Osman Ali Khan's personal wealth stood at 1.35 billion rupees (then estimated at 100 million pounds). In 1949, The New York Times reported then that the Nizam's wealth could not be computed, but was estimated at something in excess of then $2 billion. The New York Time ssaid the Nizam's pearls alone would fill an Olympic sized swimming pool, or pave Broadway from Times Square to Columbus Circle.

The Nizam and his legendary wealth