The facts are :
Bhopal State was
an independent state of 18th century India, a
princely salute state in a
subsidiary alliance with
British India from 1818 to 1947, and an independent state from 1947 to 1949.
Islamnagar served as the State's first capital, which was later shifted to the city of
Bhopal.
The state was founded by
Dost Mohammad Khan, an
Afghan soldier in the
Mughal army who became a mercenary after the Emperor
Aurangzeb's death and annexed several territories to his feudal territory. It came under the suzerainty of the
Nizam of Hyderabad shortly after its foundation in 1723.
In 1737,
Marathas defeated the Mughals in the
Battle of Bhopal, bringing Bhopal under Maratha rule. The city remained under Maratha suzerainty until the
Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818, when Bhopal became a
British princely state.
Bhopal State was the second largest state in pre-independence India, with a Muslim leadership, first being
Hyderabad State.
The state was merged into the
Union of India in 1949 as
Bhopal.
