The Institutes of Akbar 301.3

301.3

The Histories of India do not appear to make mention of the Sayyids of Barha before the times of Akbar; but they must have held posts of some importance under the Súrs, because the arrival of Sayyid Mahmud in Akbar’s camp (p. 389) is recorded by all Historians as an event of importance. He and other Sayyids were, moreover, at once appointed to high mançabs. The family boasts also traditionally of services rendered to Humáyún; but this is at variance with Abulfazl’s statement that Sayyid Mahmud was the first that served under a Timuride. The political importance of the Sayyids declined from the reign of Muhammad Shah (1131 to 1161), who deposed the brothers Sayyid ‘Abdullah Khan and Sayyid Husain ’Ali Khán, in whom the family reached the greatest height of their power. What a difference between the rustic and loyal Sayyid Mahmúd under Akbar, and the above two brothers, who made four Timurides emperors, dethroned and killed two, and blinded and imprisoned three! The Sayyids of Barha are even now-a-days numerous and ‘form the characteristic element in the population of the Muzaffarnagar district’ (Leeds’ Report). Abulfazl mentions nine Sayyids in this List of grandees, viz.— 1. Sayyid Mahmúd (No. 75). 2. Sayyid Ahmad, his brother, (No. 91). 3. Sayyid Qasim (No. 105). 4. Sayyid Hashim (No. 148). 5. Sayyid Raju (No. 165). 6. Sayyid Jamaluddin (No. 217), son of 2. 7. Sayyid Jhajhú (No. 221). 8. Sayyid Bayazid (No. 295). 9. Sayyid Lád (No. 409).