Nasir-ud-din Muhammad Shah, the ineffective, pleasure-loving son of Shah Jahan, had been made Mughal emperor on September 29, 1719, by the powerful Sayyid brothers, 'Abdullah and Husayn 'Ali, the two generals who had killed the emperor Farrukh-Siyar.

The assassination in 1720 of Husayn 'Ali and the defeat of 'Abdullah at the battle of Hasanpur (southwest of Delhi) had liberated Muhammad Shah from effective Sayyid control.

he had married the daughter of Farrukh-Siyar in 1721.

The provinces have steadily slipped out of imperial control since 1724, when Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah, the court-appointed vizier, had left the court in disgust.