The Nawab of Awadh or the Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers who governed the state of
Awadh
Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...
(anglicised as Oudh) in north
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to a dynasty of
Persian origin from
Nishapur
Nishapur or officially Romanized as Neyshabur ( fa, ;Or also "نیشاپور" which is closer to its original and historic meaning though it is less commonly used by modern native Persian speakers. In Persian poetry, the name of this city is wri ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
[''Encyclopædia Iranica'']
R. B. Barnett In 1724, Nawab
Saadat Ali Khan I, Sa'adat Khan established the
Oudh State
The Oudh State (, also Kingdom of Awadh, Kingdom of Oudh, or Awadh State) was a princely state in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the British in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name o ...
with their capital in
Faizabad
Faizabad (Hindustani pronunciation: ɛːzaːbaːd is a city situated near the southern banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The area of this Faizabad region is administered by Ayodhya Municipal Corpo ...
and
Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divis ...
.
History
The Nawabs of Awadh were semi-autonomous rulers within the fragmented polities of
Mughal India
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
after the death in 1707 of
Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
. They fought wars with the
Peshwa
The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later ...
, the
Battle of Bhopal (1737) against the
Maratha Confederacy
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of ...
(which was opposed to the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
), and the
Battle of Karnal (1739) as courtiers of the "Great Moghul".
The Nawabs of Awadh, along with many other
Nawab
Nawab ( Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب;
bn, নবাব/নওয়াব;
hi, नवाब;
Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ;
Persian,
Punjabi ,
Sindhi,
Urdu: ), also spelled Nawaab, Navaab, Navab, Nowab, Nabob, Nawaabshah, Nawabshah or Nobab, ...
s, were regarded as members of the nobility of the greater Mughal Empire. They joined
Ahmad Shah Durrani
Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...
during the
Third Battle of Panipat (1761) and restored
Shah Alam II
Shah Alam II (; 25 June 1728 – 19 November 1806), also known by his birth name Ali Gohar (or Ali Gauhar), was the seventeenth Mughal Emperor and the son of Alamgir II. Shah Alam II became the emperor of a crumbling Mughal empire. His po ...
( and 1788–1806) to the imperial throne. The Nawab of Awadh also fought the
Battle of Buxar
The Battle of Buxar was fought between 22 and 23 October 1764, between the forces under the command of the British East India Company, led by Hector Munro, and the combined armies of Mir Qasim, Nawab of Bengal till 1764; the Nawab of Awadh, ...
(1764) preserving the interests of the Moghul.
Oudh State
The Oudh State (, also Kingdom of Awadh, Kingdom of Oudh, or Awadh State) was a princely state in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the British in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name o ...
eventually declared itself independent from the rule of the "Great Moghul" in 1818.
[
]
List of rulers
All of these rulers used the title of ''
Nawab
Nawab ( Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب;
bn, নবাব/নওয়াব;
hi, नवाब;
Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ;
Persian,
Punjabi ,
Sindhi,
Urdu: ), also spelled Nawaab, Navaab, Navab, Nowab, Nabob, Nawaabshah, Nawabshah or Nobab, ...
'' from 1722 to 1856:
Gallery
File:Saadat Ali Khan I.jpg, Saadat Ali Khan I, the first Nawab of Awadh, who laid the foundation of that state.
File:Safdarjung (1).jpg, Safdarjung is accused of making peace with the Maratha Confederacy
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of ...
.
File:अवध के नवाब शुजाउद्दौला.jpg, Shuja-ud-Daula fought the Maratha Confederacy
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of ...
during the Third Battle of Panipat on behalf of the Great Moghul
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the ...
, he's also known to have fought during the Battle of Buxar
The Battle of Buxar was fought between 22 and 23 October 1764, between the forces under the command of the British East India Company, led by Hector Munro, and the combined armies of Mir Qasim, Nawab of Bengal till 1764; the Nawab of Awadh, ...
.
File:Gates of Palace at Lucknow William Daniell 1801.jpg, Gates of the Palace at Lucknow by W. Daniell, 1801.
File:Lalbagh gate faizabad c.1801.jpg, Gate of the Lal-Bagh fort at Faizabad
Faizabad (Hindustani pronunciation: ɛːzaːbaːd is a city situated near the southern banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The area of this Faizabad region is administered by Ayodhya Municipal Corpo ...
in 1801.
File:Mumtaz-ud-Daulah of the Budh Royal Family attributed to Felice Beato.jpg, Mumtaz-ud-Daulah of the Budh Royal Family attributed to Felice Beato
See also
*
Begum Hazrat Mahal
*
List of Shia dynasties
*
The Chess Players (film)
''Shatranj Ke Khilari'', also subtitled and later internationally released with the translated title ''The Chess Players'', is a 1977 Indian film written and directed by Satyajit Ray, based on Munshi Premchand's short story of the same name. ...
References
{{Refend
Further reading
*
Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava
Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava, more commonly known as A.L. Srivastava, born 16 September 1899, in Andhana, Uttar Pradesh, died 12 July 1973, in Agra district, was an Indian historian specialising in medieval, early modern and modern history of India. ...
(1899-1973): ''The First Two Nawabs of Awadh. A critical study based on original sources. With a foreword by Sir Jadunath Sarkar.'' Lucknow : The Upper India Publishing House 1933. xi, 301 S. - Originally Phil. Diss. Lucknow 1932. 2. rev. and corr. ed. Agra : Shiv Lal Agarwal 1954. - About
Burhan ul Mulk Sa'adat Khan (1680-1739) and
Safdar Jang
Abul Mansur Mirza Muhammad Muqim Ali Khan (c. 1708 – 5 October 1754), better known as Safdar Jang, was a major figure at the Mughal court during the declining years of the Mughal Empire. He became the second Nawab of Awadh when he succeeded ...
(1708-1754), Nawabs of Awadh
*
Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava
Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava, more commonly known as A.L. Srivastava, born 16 September 1899, in Andhana, Uttar Pradesh, died 12 July 1973, in Agra district, was an Indian historian specialising in medieval, early modern and modern history of India. ...
(1899-1973): ''Shuja-ud-Daulah''. Vol. I (1754-1765). Calcutta : Sarkar Midland Press 1939 - A thesis approved for the degree of doctor of letters by the Agra University in 1938. 2., rev. and corr. ed. Agra : Shiva Lal Agarwala 1961. - Vol. II (1765-1775) Lahore : Minerva 1945. 2. ed. Agra : Agarwal 1974. - About
Shuja-ud-Daula (1732-1775), Nawab of Awadh
External links
Nawabs of Awadh''Roots of North Indian Shi‘ism in Iran and Iraq:Religion and State in Awadh, 1722–1859'', by J. R. I. Cole. University of California Press, 1989.HISTORICAL SERIES No. LVIAdvanced study in the history of modern India, Volume 2 by G. S. Chhabra, Lotus Press, 1 January 2005
Awadh
Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...
History of Uttar Pradesh
History of Awadh
Nawabs of Awadh
Shia dynasties
Iranian Muslim dynasties
Mughal Empire
1772 establishments in India
1858 disestablishments in India