The Nawab of Awadh or Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers of Kingdom of Awadh (anglicised as Oudh) in northern

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

dynasty''Encyclopædia Iranica''

, R. B. Barnett of

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' is an honorific title of Hasanid and Husaynid lineage, recognized as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and Ali's sons Hasan ibn Ali, Hasan and Husayn ibn Ali, Husayn. The title may also refer ...

origin from

Nishapur Nishapur or Neyshabur (, also ) is a city in the Central District (Nishapur County), Central District of Nishapur County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Ni ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. In 1724, Nawab Sa'adat Khan established the Kingdom of Awadh with their capital in

Faizabad Faizabad (Hindustani pronunciation: ɛːzaːbaːd is a city located in Ayodhya district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated on the southern bank of the River Saryu about 6.5 km from Ayodhya City, the district headquarter, ...

and

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

History

The Nawabs of Awadh were semi-autonomous rulers within the fragmented polities of

Mughal India The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...

after the death of

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

in 1707. They fought wars with the

Peshwa The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave t ...

, the Battle of Bhopal (1737) against the

Maratha Confederacy The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former. ...

(which was opposed to the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

), and the

Battle of Karnal The Battle of Karnal (Persian Language, Persian: نبرد کرنال) (24 February 1739) was a decisive victory for Nader Shah, the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Persian Empire, Iran, during his Nader Shah's invasion of India, invasion of ...

(1739) as courtiers of the Moghul. The Nawabs of Awadh, along with many other

Nawab Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...

s, were regarded as members of the nobility of the Mughal Empire. They joined

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (; ; – 4 June 1772), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan. Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought ov ...

during the

Third Battle of Panipat The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761 between the Maratha Empire and the invading army of the Durrani Empire. The battle took place in and around the city of Panipat, approximately north of Delhi. The Afghan (ethnonym), Af ...

(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 power w ...

( 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 of the British East India Company, under the command of Major Hector Munro, against the combined armies of Balwant Singh, Maharaja of the Benaras State; Mir Qa ...

(1764) preserving the interests of the Moghul.

Oudh State The Kingdom of Awadh (, , also Oudh State, Kingdom of Oudh, Awadh Subah, or Awadh State) was a Mughal subah, then an independent kingdom, and lastly a British protectorate in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the B ...

eventually declared itself independent from the rule of the Moghul in 1818.

List of rulers

All of these rulers of the Royal House of Awadh used the title of ''

'' from 1722 onward:

Decendants to the throne of Awadh

*Meerza family.... **Nawab Meher Quder Zahid Ali Meerza (son of Nawab Birjis Qadr) *** Nawab Kaukab Quder Meerza (son of Nawab Meher Quder Zahid Ali Meerza) ****Nawab Kamran Meerza (son of Kaukab Meerza) *****Mohammed Sulaiman Qudr Meerza (son of Kamran Meerza) *Nawab Ibrahim Ali Khan Sheesh Mahal

Gallery

File:Burhan ul Mulk Sa'adat Khan.jpg,

Saadat Ali Khan I Saadat Khan Nishapuri (born Mir Muhammad Amin; – 19 March 1739) was the first Nawab of the Kingdom of Awadh from 26 January 1722 to 1739 and the son of Muhammad Nasir. At age 25, he accompanied his father on the final campaign of the Mughal ...

, the first Nawab of Awadh, who laid the foundation of that state. File:Safdarjung (1).jpg,

Safdarjung Wazir-ul-Mamalik-e-Hindustan Asaf Jah Jamat-ul-Mulk Shuja-ud-Daula Nawab Abul Mansur Khan Bahadur Safdar Jang Sipah Salar (c. 1708 – 5 October 1754), better known as Safdar Jang, was the second Nawab of Kingdom of Awadh succeeding Saadat Al ...

is accused of making peace with the

. File:Shuja-ud-daula, Nawab of Oudh.tif, Shuja-ud-Daula fought the

during the

on behalf of the Great Moghul, he's also known to have fought during the

. File:Tilly Kettle painting a portrait of Shuja ud-Daula and his ten sons.jpg, Shuja ud-Daula and his ten sons File:Shuja-ud-Daulah's army on a hunt.jpg, Shuja-ud-Daulah on a hunt File:Shuja army.png, Shuja's army in Oudh File:Shuja Daulah Cavalry.png, Oudh Cavalry 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 File:Moksim-ud-Daulah of the Budh Royal Family attributed to Felice Beato.jpg, Moksim-ud-Daulah 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

in 1801.

References

External links

{{commons category, Nawab of Awadh
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. LVI

Advanced study in the history of modern India, Volume 2
by G. S. Chhabra, Lotus Press, 1 January 2005

Awadh Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North-central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala Regio ...

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