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(1761-1803): Nizam of Hyderabad, father of Sikander Jah. The fourth son of the first Nizam, Nizam ul-Mulk, he succeeded his father having dethroned and imprisoned his brother Salabat Jung.
    Bakshi Begum: First wife of Nizam Ali Khan and adoptive mother of Sikander Jah. Very powerful: ‘in charge of the Privy Purse and control of all Mahal disbursements’. In 1800 was considered ‘elderly’.
    Tînat un-Nissa Begum: Wife of Nizam Ali Khan and mother of Sikander Jah. Also old and powerful: according to James Kirkpatrick she had custody over the family jewels.
    Ali Jah (d.1798): Son of Nizam Ali Khan who rebelled in 1798. Ali Jah surrendered near Bidar to Mir Alam and General Raymond, and shortly afterwards ‘committed suicide’ in somewhat suspicious circumstances.
    Dara Jah: Son-in-law of Nizam Ali Khan who revolted against him in 1796. Dara Jah was recaptured by James Dalrymple at Raichur and returned to Hyderabad, where he subsequently disappears from the record.
    Nawab Mir Akbar Ali Khan, Sikander Jah, Asaf Jah III (1771-1829): Nizam of Hyderabad; only surviving son of Nizam Ali Khan.
    Jahan Pawar Begum: Also known as Hajji Begum. Daughter of Ma’ali Mian and Farzand Begum, granddaughter of Aristu Jah from whom she inherited Purani Haveli, and wife of Nizam Sikander Jah. Mistreated by Sikander Jah, she warned James of Sikander Jah’s plan to assassinate him.
    Mama Barun, Mama Champa: Aseels at the court and the principal attendants at the durbar of Nizam Ali Khan. Also commanded the female regiment—the Zuffur Plutun—at the Battle of Khardla.
Aristu Jah’s Household
    Ghulam Sayyed Khan, Aristu Jah, Azim ul Omrah (d.9 May 1804): The Nizam’s Minister, dubbed ‘Solomon’ by the Kirkpatrick brothers. Started his career as qiladar (fortress-keeper) in Aurangabad, and after the assassination of Minister Rukn-ud-Dowlah became First Assistant Minister, then Minister. Following the defeat at Khardla, he was sent in March 1795 as a hostage to Pune. After his return in 1797 he resumed office, a position he held until his death in 1804. His granddaughter Jahan Pawar Begum married Nizam Sikander Jah.
    Sarwar Afza, Nawab Begum: Aristu Jah’s chief wife. Mir Alam plundered her of all her property after the death of her husband.
    Ma’ali Mian: Son of Aristu Jah; died young in 1795 on the Khardla campaign.
    Farzand Begum: Sister of Munir ul-Mulk and the Minister’s daughter-in-law, married to Ma’ali Mian, and close friend of Sharaf un-Nissa. According to some sources she put pressure on Sharaf un-Nissa to marry Khair to James Kirkpatrick.
The Shushtaris
    Sayyid Reza Shushtari (d.1780): Shi’a divine who travelled from Shushtar first to Mughal Delhi then to Hyderabad, where he was given land by Nizam ul-Mulk. Sayyid Reza ‘refused all public office, even the post of Chief Judge’, retiring to a life of prayer. His reputation for integrity was the foundation upon which his son, Mir Alam, and so the rest of the Shushtari clan, rose to power in Hyderabad.
    Mir Abul Qasim, Mir Alam Bahadur (d.8 December 1808): Aristu Jah’s vakil and representative of the Nizam in Calcutta; led the Nizam’s army on the Seringapatam campaign (1799); exiled in 1800; restored to favour and made Prime Minister in July 1804 to succeed Aristu Jah; first cousin of Bâqar Ali Khan. Until his death from leprosy in 1808 he was in receipt of a pension from the British government of two thousand rupees a month.
    Mir Dauran (d.1801): Son of Mir Alam. Died of leprosy in 1801.
    Mir Abdul Lateef Shushtari: Cousin and colleague of Mir Alam. His representative at the court after Mir Alam’s disgrace. Author of the Tuhfat al-’Alam.
    Bâqar Ali Khan, Akil ud-Daula: A native of Shushtar in Iran. First cousin of Mir Alam: he was the son of the sister of Mir Alam’s father. Accompanied Mir Alam on his embassy to Calcutta. Later became the bakshi or Paymaster of the Subsidiary Force, in which capacity he accompanied the Subsidiary Force to Seringapatam;