The Nawab of Awadh or the Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers who governed the state of
Awadh (anglicised as Oudh) in north
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to a dynasty of
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
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 wr ...
,
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 of ...
with their capital in
Faizabad 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 division ...
.
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 Battle of Bhopal (1737) against the Maratha Confederacy (which was opposed to the Mughal Empire), and the Battle of Karnal (1739) as courtiers of the "Great Moghul".
The Nawabs of Awadh, along with many other Nawabs, were regarded as members of the nobility of the greater Mughal Empire. They joined Ahmad Shah Durrani during the Third Battle of Panipat (1761) and restored Shah Alam II ( and 1788–1806) to the imperial throne. The Nawab of Awadh also fought the Battle of Buxar (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 of ...
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'' 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.
File:अवध के नवाब शुजाउद्दौला.jpg, Shuja-ud-Daula fought the Maratha Confederacy during the Third Battle of Panipat on behalf of the Great Moghul, he's also known to have fought during the Battle of Buxar.
File:Gates of Palace at Lucknow William Daniell 1801.jpg, Gates of the Palace at Lucknow by William Daniell, W. Daniell, 1801.
File:Lalbagh gate faizabad c.1801.jpg, Gate of the Lal-Bagh fort at Faizabad 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)
References
{{Refend
Further reading
* Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava (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 Saadat Ali Khan I, Burhan ul Mulk Sa'adat Khan (1680-1739) and Safdar Jang (1708-1754), Nawabs of Awadh
* Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava (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
Nawabs of India, Awadh
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