Sayyid Brothers Rafi ud-Darajat owed his throne to the Sayyid brothers -
Sayyid Hassan Ali Khan Barha and
Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan Barha - who had deposed emperor Farrukhsiyar with the help of
Ajit Singh of Marwar and
Balaji Vishwanath in 1719 and made themselves
badishahgar (kingmakers). His short reign would be as a
puppet ruler to the brothers.
Marathas Having been helped by the Marathas in his accession, Rafi ud-Darajat returned the favour by granting
Chauth and
Sardeshmukhi rights in 6 Mughal provinces to them. The condition was that these would be collected by Mughal officials and handed to the Marathas.
Rival claim to throne The reign of Rafi ud-Darajat was one of turbulence. On 18 May 1719, less than three months after his own accession, Rafi ud-Darajat's uncle,
Nekusiyar, assumed the Mughal throne at the
Agra Fort as he thought he was more eligible for the post. The Sayyid brothers determined to defend the emperor they had raised to the throne and punish the offender retook the fort within three months and captured Nekusiyar. He would be respectfully received by the
Amir ul-Umara and confined at the
Salimgarh Fort where he died in 1723. ==Death and succession==