was a former ally of the Barha Sayyids, who was appointed by Muhammad Shah to kill Asaf Jah I. Taking advantage of Mubariz Khan's conventional weaknesses, Asaf Jah I defeated and eliminated his opponent during the Battle of Shakar Kheda. Asaf Jah I then established the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1725. The ears of the Emperor were possessed by the Amir-ul-Umara, Khan-i Dauran. Muhammad Shah appointed Qamar-ud-Din Khan as Wazir in succession to the Nizam. However he was shortly dismissed in favour of Roshan-ud-Daulah Turrah Baz Khan, a native of Panipat, who was appointed the Wazir, in order to reduce the influence of the Turani family. During this time, the Mughal-Maratha Wars (1728–1763) would cause irreparable devastation to the inhabitants of the ill-administered Mughal Empire. As the Mughal court of Northern India was hostile to Nizam-ul-Mulk and attempted to suppress his independence, the Nizam encouraged the Marathas to invade Malwa and the northern Indian territories of the empire in order to save himself from intentions of the Emperor. The Nizam, who considered the Maratha army as his own, says that he used the Marathas to his own advantage in the Maasir-i Nizami: "I consider all this army (Marathas) as my own and I will get my work done through them. It is necessary to take our hands off Malwa. God willing, I will enter into an understanding with them and entrust the Mulukgiri(raiding) on that side of the Narmada to them." Despite efforts to counter the rise of rebellions in 1724, by the Nawab of Awadh Saadat Ali Khan and the Mughal Subedar in Bangalore, Dilawar Khan (r.1726–1756), who established a well-protected bastion in the Malabar Coast. Muhammad Ali Khan the Mughal Faujdar of Rangpur and his stern ally Deena Narayan were ambushed out of Koch Bihar by Upendra Narayan a Hindu Bihari and Mipham Wangpo (r.1729–1736) the ruler of Bhutan. Ali Mohammed Khan had established the barons of Rohilakhand. The Nawab of Bhopal, Yar Muhammad Khan Bahadur, also ratified by the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah in 1728, countered ceaseless raids by the Marathas in Malwa and nearly began to lose half of his territories in the year 1742. Muhammad Shah eventually learned the skills of statesmanship after removing his three incompetent advisors, namely Koki Jee (his foster sister), Roshan-ud-Daula (his mercantile friend) and Sufi Abdul Ghafur of Thatta (his spiritual teacher). In the Punjab region, the Sikhs were at