Najm ud-din Ali Khan, better known as Najm-ud-Daulah (or Nazam-ud-Daulah) ( bn, নাজিমুদ্দীন আলী খান; ca. 1747– 8 May 1766), was the

Nawab of Bengal The Nawab of Bengal ( bn, বাংলার নবাব) was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the ''de facto'' independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar, ...

and

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

from 1765 to 1766. He was the second son of

Mir Jafar Sayyid Mīr Jaʿfar ʿAlī Khān Bahādur ( – 5 February 1765) was a military general who became the first dependent Nawab of Bengal of the British East India Company. His reign has been considered by many historians as the start of the expan ...

. Najm-ud-Daulah was crowned as the Nawab following the death of his father

. During his coronation he was only 15 years old. He ascended to the throne on February 5, 1765. In 1765 after the victory in 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, Sh ...

the British had formally gained ''

Dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the el ...

i'' of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

and Bihar from

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 powe ...

. The Nawab formally conferred this ''Dewani'' to the British on September 30, 1765. Najmuddin died soon afterwards, on May 8, 1766, apparently from a fever caught at a formal party given at

Murshidabad Murshidabad fa, مرشد آباد (, or ) is a historical city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, a distributary of the Ganges. It forms part of the Murshidabad district. During ...

fort in honour of

Robert Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British ...

. He was buried at

Jafraganj Cemetery Jafarganj Cemetery is located in Murshidabad, West Bengal, India. Geography Location Jafraganj Cemetery is located at . The Namak Haram Deorhi, House of Jagat Seth, Nashipur Rajbari , Kathgola Palace and Tomb of Azimunissa Begum are all ...

and was succeeded by his younger brother Nawab Nazim

Najabat Ali Khan Sayyid Najabat Ali Khan Bahadur, born ''Mir Phulwari'' ( bn, নজাবত আলী খান; 1749 – March 10, 1770), better known as Saif ud-Daulah succeeded his younger brother Nawab Nazim Najimuddin Ali Khan, after his death in 1766, as ...

Life

Birth

Nazam-ud-Daulah was the son of Munni Begum (noble) and Mir Jafar. Nazam-ud-Daulah was appointed as Mir Jafar's heir with the title of ''Murshidzada Bahadur'', by Mir Jafar himself on 29 January 1764.

Reign as a Nawab

After the death of Mir Jafar Nawab Nazim Najm-ud-din Ali Khan succeeded him to the Nawab's throne under the titles of ''Shuja-ul-Mulk'' (Hero of the Country), ''Nazam-ud-Daulah'' (Star of the State) and ''Mahabat Jang'' (Horror in War) at the age of 15 on February 5, 1765; it was confirmed by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

on February 23, 1765. This cost him £140,000 which was divided among the members of the

Calcutta Council The Supreme Council of Bengal was the highest level of executive government in British India from 1774 until 1833: the period in which the East India Company, a private company, exercised political control of British colonies in India. It was for ...

Death and succession

Nawab Nazim Najm-ud-din Ali Khan died on May 8, 1766 of fever he caught at a party, which was given in honour of

. The Nawab was buried at

Jafarganj Cemetery Jafarganj Cemetery is located in Murshidabad, West Bengal, India. Geography Location Jafraganj Cemetery is located at . The Namak Haram Deorhi, House of Jagat Seth, Nashipur Rajbari , Kathgola Palace and Tomb of Azimunissa Begum are all l ...

on the west of his father, Mir Jafar's grave. The Nawab was childless.

, Nazim-ud-din's brother, according to

Mohammedan ''Mohammedan'' (also spelled ''Muhammadan'', ''Mahommedan'', ''Mahomedan'' or ''Mahometan'') is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muham ...

law was the right successor of the late

Nawab Nawab (Balochi language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian language, Persian, Punjabi language, Punjabi , Sindhi language, Sindhi, Urd ...

, on the throne. Thus, Najim-ud-din was succeeded by his brother as Nawab Nazim Najabat Ali Khan.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Najimuddin Ali Khan Nawabs of Bengal People of British India 1740s births Year of birth uncertain 1766 deaths 18th-century Indian monarchs

Life

Birth

Reign as a Nawab

Death and succession

See also

References