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 ...

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 w ...

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 Turkm ...

.''Encyclopædia Iranica''

R. B. Barnett In 1724, Nawab Saadat Ali Khan I, Sa'adat Khan established the Oudh State 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 Co ...

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 divisio ...

History

The Nawabs of Awadh were semi-autonomous rulers within the fragmented polities of Mughal India 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 (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 ...

), 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 ( 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 eventually declared itself independent from the rule of the "Great Moghul" in 1818.

List of rulers

All of these rulers used the title of ''

'' from 1722 to 1856:

Gallery

File:Saadat Ali Khan I.jpg,

Saadat Ali Khan I Saadat Ali Khan Nishapuri (c. 1680 – 19 March 1739) was the Subahdar Nawab of Awadh (Oudh) 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 Emperor Aurangzeb ...

, 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

. 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. 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

References

{{Refend

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. LVI

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

History

List of rulers

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links