Alivardi Khan (Bengali: আলীবর্দী খান, romanized: Alibordi Khan, Persian: على وردي خان‎; 1671 – 9 April 1756) was the Nawab of Bengal from 1740 to 1756. He toppled the Nasiri Dynasty of the Nawabs and took powers of the Nawab. He is also one of the few Mughal-era leaders known for his victory during the Battle of Burdwan against the Maratha Empire during the Maratha invasions of Bengal. Alivardi Khan's father was Shah Quli Khan (Mirza Muhammad Madani) and his mother was the daughter of Nawab Aqil Khan Afshar (Mir Muhammad Askari). Alivardi's birth name was Mirza Muhammad Ali. His father was employee of Azam Shah, the son of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Azam Shah also employed the sons of Mirza Muhammad. But after the death of Azam Shah, the family fell into poverty. His two sons Muhammad Ali and Mirza Ahmed managed to find employment under the Subahdar (Provincial governor) of Orissa, Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan. After Shuja-ud-Din was promoted to the post of the Nawab of Bengal, the two brothers' future prospects widened. Equestrian portrait of Nawab Aliwardi Khan Islamic; Mughal about 1750–55 (1163–1168 Hijra) Object Place: Murshidabad, West Bengal, Northeastern India MEDIUM/TECHNIQUE Ink, watercolor and gold and silver on paper DIMENSIONS 41.3 x 29.2 cm (16 1/4 x 11 1/2 in.) ACCESSION NUMBER 14.673 ON VIEW Arts of Islamic Cultures Gallery (Gallery 175) COLLECTIONS Asia CLASSIFICATIONS Paintings INSCRIPTIONS Inscription in front: Inscription at top of painting, identifying subject. PROVENANCE By 1912, Victor Goloubew (b. 1879 - d. 1945), Paris [see note 1]; 1914, sold by Goloubew through M. Meyer-Riefstahl to the MFA for $76,999.81 (total price for 14.532-700). (Accession Date: June 4, 1914) NOTES: Victor Goloubew was born in Russia but lived in Paris by the time of this acquisition. He formed this collection of Persian and Indian miniature paintings and exhibited it at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris from 1912 to 1914 (Paull, Florence Virginia. "The Goloubew Collection of Persian and Indian Paintings." Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin. Vol. XIII. No. 74. (February 1915) 1-16).