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Some 1,000 swords and more, which were corroding in boxes hidden away, were polished, spruced up and made available for the public to view.

Daggers, swords, shields, lancers, axes and body armour make up the enormous collection. Many of the flamboyant ceremonial swords were crafted in Europe. The other weapons are traditionally Deccani.

Hyderabad state, which, in its heyday, was about as large (212,000 sq km) as the present-day United Kingdom, flourished under its dynasty of seven Nizams (apparently, there were actually 10 but three are not recognised). The Nizams initially ruled on behalf of the Mughals but eventually became a power centre of their own. The Asaf Jahi rulers did not engage in much warfare because of their special alliances with the British -- remember William Dalrymple's White Mughals -- but they, nevertheless, accumulated close to 7,000 pieces of weaponry.

Above: Princess Esra, wife of the eighth Nizam

Photograph: Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images

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