Nawab ( Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ;

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 ...

, Punjabi , Sindhi,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Royal title Traditional rank amongst European royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to another's grand duke ...

indicating a

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the western title of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kings of Saxony to the

German Emperor The German Emperor (german: Deutscher Kaiser, ) was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the offi ...

. In earlier times the title was ratified and bestowed by the reigning

Mughal emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

to semi-autonomous

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

rulers of subdivisions or

princely states A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

loyal 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 ...

, for example the Nawabs of Bengal. The title is common among Muslim rulers of South Asia as an equivalent to the title

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

. "Nawab" usually refers to males and literally means ''Viceroy''; the female equivalent is "

Begum Begum (also begüm, bagum, begom, begam, baigum or beygum) is a royal and aristocratic title from Central and South Asia. It is the feminine equivalent of the title ''baig'' or '' bey'', which in Turkic languages means "higher official". It us ...

" or "''Nawab Begum''". The primary duty of a Nawab was to uphold the sovereignty of the

along with the administration of a certain province. The title of "nawabi" was also awarded as a personal distinction by the paramount power, similar to a

British peerage The peerages in the United Kingdom are a legal system comprising both hereditary title, hereditary and life peer, lifetime titles, composed of various Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks, and forming a constituent part of the Orders ...

, to persons and families who ruled a princely state for various services to the government of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. In some cases, the titles were also accompanied by

jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

grants, either in cash revenues and allowances or land-holdings. During the British Raj, some of the chiefs, or

sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar/Sirdar ( fa, سردار, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other aristocrats. It has also been u ...

s, of large or important tribes were also given the title, in addition to traditional titles already held by virtue of chieftainship. The term ''"

Zamindari A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

"'' was originally used for the '' subahdar'' (provincial governor) or viceroy of a ''

subah A Subah was the term for a province (State) in the Mughal Empire. The word is derived from Arabic and Persian. The governor/ruler of a ''Subah'' was known as a '' subahdar'' (sometimes also referred to as a "''Subeh''"), which later became ''subed ...

'' (province) or regions of 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 ...

History

Nawab is a Hindustani term, used in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

and many other North-Indian languages, borrowed via

from the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

honorific plural of ''naib'', or "deputy." In some areas, especially

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 ...

, the term is pronounced ''nobab''. This later variation has also entered English and other foreign languages as

nabob A nabob is a conspicuously wealthy man deriving his fortune in the east, especially in India during the 18th century with the privately held East India Company. Etymology ''Nabob'' is an Anglo-Indian term that came to English from Urdu, poss ...

The term "Nawaab" is often used to refer to any Muslim ruler in north or

south India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

while the term "

nizam The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

" is preferred for a senior official—it literally means "governor of region". The

Nizam of Hyderabad The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

had several nawabs under him: Nawabs of Cuddapah, Sira, Rajahmundry, Kurnool, Chicacole, et al. "Nizam" was his personal title, awarded by the Mughal Government and based on the term "Nazim" as meaning "senior officer". "Nazim" is still used for a district collector in many parts of India. The term "nawab" is still technically imprecise, as the title was also awarded to Hindus and

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

s, as well, and large

zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

s and not necessarily to all Muslim rulers. With the decline of that empire, the title, and the powers that went with it, became hereditary in the ruling families in the various provinces. Under later British rule, nawabs continued to rule various

of Amb,

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur () is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. With inhabitants as of 2017, it is Pakistan's 11th most populous city. Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Abbasi fa ...

Balasinor Balasinor, also known as Vadasinor, is a city located in the Mahisagar district of Gujarat, India. The city was formerly part of Balasinor State, a princely state ruled by the Babi dynasty, from September 1758 until its accession to India in J ...

Baoni Kadaura is a town and a Nagar Panchayat in Jalaun District in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. During the British Raj, Kadaura was the capital of an 11-gun salute princely state. History During the British Raj era, Kadaura was the capital o ...

Banganapalle Banaganapalli is a town in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It lies in Nandyal district, 38 km west of the city of Nandyal. Banaganapalli is famous for its mangoes and has a cultivar, ''Banaganapalli'', named after it. Between 1790 and ...

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...

Cambay Cambay, Kambay or Khambhat was a princely state in India during the British Raj. The City of Khambat (Cambay) in present-day Gujarat was its capital. The state was bounded in the north by the Kaira district and in the south by the Gulf of C ...

Jaora Jaora is a city and a municipality in Ratlam district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Jaora is located in the Malwa region, between Ratlam and Mandsaur. It was the capital of the Jaora princely state of Jaora before Independence. During ...

Junagadh Junagadh () is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state. Literally t ...

Kurnool Kurnool is a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It formerly served as the capital of Andhra State (1953–1956). The city is often referred to as "The Gateway of Rayalaseema".Kurnool is also known as The City of Gem Stones. It also se ...

(the main city of Deccan),

Kurwai Kurwai is a town and a Nagar Panchayat in Vidisha district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. History The town of Kurwai was founded by mohm. Diler khan in 1715 of Kurwai State Kurwai was formerly a Muslim princely state of British India. ...

, Mamdot,

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the List ...

Palanpur Palanpur is a city and a municipality of Banaskantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Palanpur is the administrative headquarters of Banaskantha district. Palanpur is the ancestral home to an industry of Indian diamond merchants. Ety ...

Pataudi Pataudi is a town and one of the 4 sub-divisions of Gurugram district, in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Haryana, within the boundaries of the National Capital Region of India. Ahirs/Yadav dominate the area. It is located f ...

Radhanpur Radhanpur is a town and a municipality in Patan district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Origin of name According to the tradition, the city is named after Radhan Khan, a descendant of Fateh Khan Baloch. Fateh Khan Baloch received a freedom fro ...

, Rampur,

Malerkotla Malerkotla is a city and district headquarters of Malerkotla district in the Indian state of Punjab. It was the seat of the eponymous princely state during the British Raj. The state acceded to the union of India in 1947 and was merged with ...

, Sachin, and Tonk. Other former rulers bearing the title, such as the nawabs of

and

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 ...

, had been deprived by the British or others by the time the Mughal dynasty finally ended in 1857. Some princes became Nawab by promotion, e.g. the ruler of

was "diwan" until 1910, then "nawab sahib". Other nawabs were promoted are restyled to another princely style, or to and back, e.g. in Rajgarh a single rawat (rajah) went by nawab. The style for a nawab's queen is ''

begum Begum (also begüm, bagum, begom, begam, baigum or beygum) is a royal and aristocratic title from Central and South Asia. It is the feminine equivalent of the title ''baig'' or '' bey'', which in Turkic languages means "higher official". It us ...

''. Most of the nawab dynasties were male

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

s, although several ruling Begums of Bhopal were a notable exception. Before the incorporation of the

Subcontinent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...

into the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

, nawabs ruled the kingdoms of Awadh (or Oudh, encouraged by the British to shed the Mughal suzerainty and assume the imperial style of Badshah), Bengal,

Arcot Arcot (natively spelt as Ārkāḍu) is a town and urban area of Ranipet district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Located on the southern banks of Palar River, the city straddles a trade route between Chennai and Bangalore or Salem, between t ...

and Bhopal.

Ruling nawab families

Families ruling when acceding to India

* Nawab of Akbarpur - Asmatara Farida Begum * Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur, the 7th

* Nawab of Ashwath * Nawab Babi of

Nawab of Banganapalle Banganapalle State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. The state was founded in 1665 and had its capital in Banganapalle. Its rulers were Shia Muslims and the last one signed the accession to the Indian ...

, previously

Masulipatam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar, is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the mandal headquarte ...

* Nawab of

* Nawab of Lucknow, Late Nawab B.B Agnihotri * Nawab of Basai, Nawab Khwaja Muhammad Khan * Nawab of

Berar Berar may refer to: *Vidarbha, the eastern region of Maharashtra Province, India, historically known as Berar *Berar Sultanate (1490–1596), one of the Deccan sultanates *Berar Subah (1596–1724), a Subah of the Mughal Empire *Berar Province (1724 ...

styled Mirza of Berar (under the

) * Nawab of Bhikampur and Datawali (Aligarh) *

Nawab of Bhopal The Nawabs of Bhopal were the Muslim rulers of Bhopal, now part of Madhya Pradesh, India. The nawabs first ruled under the Mughal Empire from 1707 to 1737, under the Maratha Empire from 1737 to 1818, then under British rule from 1818 to 1947, an ...

(female rulers were known as Nawab Begum of Bhopal) *

Nawabs of Cambay 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, ...

(Kambay) * the former

Nawabs of the Carnatic The Carnatic Sultanate was a kingdom in South India between about 1690 and 1855, and was under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until their demise. They initially had their capital at Arcot in the present-day Indian state of Tamil N ...

, restyled Princes of Arcot * Nawab of Dujana * Nawab of Farrukhabad * Nawab of

* Nawab Sahib of

* Nawab of

Maler Kotla The State of Malerkotla or Maler Kotla was a princely state in the Punjab region during the era of British India. The last Nawab of Maler Kotla signed the instrument of accession to join the Dominion of India on 20 August 1948. Its rulers belo ...

* Nawab of Muhammadgar * Nawab Sahib of

(till 1910 styled Diwan) *Nawab of Awadh * Nawab of Pathari *

Nawab of Radhanpur Radhanpur State was a princely state in India during the British Raj. Its rulers belonged to a family of Babi House, the state was once a polity within the Mughal Empire. The last ruling Nawab, Nawab of Radhanpur, Nawab Murtaza Khan, signed the ...

Nawab of Rampur Rampur State was a 15 gun-salute princely state of British India. It came into existence on 7 October 1774 as a result of a treaty with Oudh. Following independence in 1947, Rampur State and other princely states of the area, such as Bena ...

Nawab of Sachin The Sachin State ( gu, સચીન રિયાસત; ur, سچن ریاست) was a princely state belonging to the Surat Agency, former Khandesh Agency, of the Bombay Presidency during the era of the British Raj. Its capital was in Sachin, ...

* Nawab of Sardhana *

Nawab of Tonk Tonk was a Princely State of India at the time of the British Raj. The town of Tonk, India, Tonk, which was the capital of the state, had a population of 273,201 in 1901. The town was surrounded by a wall and boasted a mud fort. It had a high ...

, India * Nawab of

Ghazipur Ghazipur is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ghazipur city is the administrative headquarters of the Ghazipur district, one of the four districts that form the Varanasi division of Uttar Pradesh. The city of Ghazipur also constitute ...

Former dynasties of princely states in India abolished before independence

Nawab of Kurwai Kurwai State was a princely state of British India under the Bhopal Agency and centered around Kurwai town. The town of Kurwai was founded by Mohammed Diler Khan in 1715. The state was 368 km² in area and had a population of 30,631 in 1892. ...

Nawab of Pataudi The term Nawab of Pataudi refers to the lineage of rulers of the former princely Pataudi State in Northern India. Pataudi was established in 1804 by the British East India Company, when Faiz Talab Khan, an Afghan Muslim Pashtun of the Barech tri ...

Nawab of Savanur Savanur State, Nawab of Savanur was one of the princely states in British India. The last ruler of the state acceded to the Dominion of India on 8 March 1948, becoming part of the Mysore State in what is now Karnataka. History The name Savanur ...

Nawab of Mamdot The Nawab of Mamdot was the title of the hereditary rulers of Mamdot, a princely state, near Firozpur, in the Punjab region of British India. Background In 1794, Nizamuddin and his younger brother Qutbuddin, established themselves as rulers of Kasu ...

* Nawab of Tarakote State * Nawab of Farukhnagar * Nawab of Jhajjar *

Nawab of Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the A ...

Families ruling when acceding to Pakistan

Nawab of Kalabagh Malik Amir Mohammad Khan (; 20 June 1910 – 26 November 1967) was the Nawab of Kalabagh and a prominent feudal lord, politician, the chief or sardar of the Awan tribe, and of his tribal estate Kalabagh, in Mianwali District of north western P ...

* Nawab of Amb *

Nawab of Bahawalpur Bahawalpur (Urdu, skr, ) was a princely state of British India, and later Dominion of Pakistan, that was a part of the Punjab States Agency. It existed as an autonomous state, within Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, when it was dissolved and merge ...

* Nawab of Dir * Nawab Sahib of

* Nawab of Kharan * Nawab of

Families ruling when acceding to Bangladesh

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, ...

Nawab of Dhaka The Nawab of Dhaka (Bengali: "ঢাকার নবাব"), originally spelt in English Nawab of Dacca, was the title of the head of largest Muslim zamindar in British Bengal and Assam, based in present-day Dhaka, Bangladesh. The title of ''na ...

Nawab of Longla The Prithimpassa family, also known as the Nawabs of Longla, are an royal family from the Prithimpassa Union, Kulaura Upazila, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, Bangladesh. The family was of the erstwhile feudal nobility of East Bengal. They played important ...

(Sylhet)

Former dynasties which became political pensioners

Padshah-i-Oudh 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 during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to a dynasty of Persian origin from Nishap ...

, formerly Nawab Wazir of Awadh, :: also imperial Wazir of all Mughal India, both hereditary * Nawabs of Bengal, as Nawabs of

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 ...

* Nawab of Marauli * Nawab of Patna * Nawab of Surat *

(Sylhet)

Rohilla Confederation

All of these states were at some point under the authority of the Nawab of Rohilkhand, later made the Nawab of Rampur. Most of these states were annexed at the close of the

First Rohilla War The First Rohilla War of 1773–1774 was a punitive campaign by Shuja-ud-Daula, Nawab of Awadh on the behalf of Mughal Emperor, against the Rohillas, Afghan highlanders settled in Rohilkhand, northern India. The Nawab was supported by troops of t ...

. * Nawab of Badaun * Nawab of Moradabad * Nawab of Bareilly * Nawab of Najibabad * Nawab of Philibit * Nawab of Farrukhabad * Nawab of Bisollee

Miscellaneous nawabs

Personal nawabs

The title ''nawab'' was also awarded as a personal distinction by the paramount power, similarly to a

, to persons and families who never ruled a princely state. For the Muslim elite various Mughal-type titles were introduced, including nawab. Among the noted British creations of this type were Nawab

Hashim Ali Khan Mir Hashim Ali Khan ( ar, هاشم على خاں; honorific titles: Nawab Hashim Nawaz Jang Bahadur, Colonel, Sardar Bahadur) was commandant of the 2nd Lancers, Hyderabad Imperial Service Troops. Biography Mir Hashim Ali Khan represented the ...

(1858–1940), Nawab

Khwaja Abdul Ghani Nawab Bahadur Sir Khwaja Abdul Ghani (30 July 1813 – 24 August 1896) was the second Nawab of Dhaka and the first to assume the title of Nawab as hereditary, recognized by the British Raj. He introduced the panchayat system, gaslights, wat ...

(1813–1896),

Nawab Abdul Latif Nawab Bahadur Abdul Latif (1828 – 10 July 1893) was a 19th-century Bengali aristocrat, educator and social worker. His title, ''Nawab'' was awarded by the British in 1880. He was one of the first Muslims in 19th-century India to embrace the i ...

(1828–1893), Nawab

Faizunnesa Choudhurani Nawab Begum Faizunnesa Choudhurani ( bn, নওয়াব বেগম ফয়জুন্নেসা চৌধুরানী; 1834–1903) was Zamindar of Homnabad-Pashchimgaon Estate in present-day Comilla District, Bangladesh. She is mo ...

(1834–1904), Nawab Ali Chowdhury (1863–1929),

Nawaab Syed Shamsul Huda Syed Shamsul Huda (1862–1922) was a Muslim political leader of the Bengal Executive Council. He became the first British Indian Muslim President of the Legislative council in 1921. Huda was born in Gokarna, palace known as Gokarna Nawab ...

(1862–1922), Nawab Sirajul Islam (1848–1923),

Nawab Alam yar jung Bahadur Mir Alam Ali Khan, also known as Nawab Alam Yar Jung Bahadur, was an Indian judge and politician. Early life and education Alam Ali Khan was the eldest son of Mir Hashim Ali Khan. Nawab Hashim Nawaz Jung, a colonel with the Hyderabad Imper ...

, M.A, Madras, B.A., B.C.L., Barr-At-Law (1890–1974). There also were the Nawabs of Dhanbari, Nawabs of Ratanpur, Nawabs of

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

and such others.

Nawab as a court rank

''Nawab'' was also the rank title—again not an office—of a much lower class of

nobles—in fact retainers—at the court of the

and

State, ranking only above

Khan Bahadur Khan Bahadur – a compound of khan ('leader') and bahadur ('brave') – was a formal title of respect and honor, which was conferred exclusively on Muslim and other non-Hindu natives of British India. It was one degree higher than the title of K ...

and Khan, but under (in ascending order) Jang, Daula, Mulk,

Umara Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremo ...

and Jah; the equivalent for Hindu courtiers was

Raja Bahadur ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested fr ...

Derived titles

Nawabzada

The Navab's arrival before Clive's position

This style, adding the Persian suffix ''-zada'' which means son (or other male descendants; see other cases in prince), etymologically fits a nawab’s sons, but in actual practice various dynasties established other customs. For example, in

only the nawbab's

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

used ''nawabzada'' before his personal name, then ''Khan Abassi'', finally ''Wali Ahad Bahadur'' (an enhancement of Wali Ehed), while the other sons of the ruling nawab used the style sahibzada before the personal name and only Khan Abassi behind. "Nawabzadi" implies daughters of the reigning nawbab. Elsewhere, there were rulers who were not styled nawbab yet awarded a title nawabzada to others.

Naib (Ottoman, Iranian, Arabic title)

The word ''naib'' ( ar, نائب) has been historically used to refer to any

suzerain Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is calle ...

leader,

feudatory A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

, or

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

in some parts of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, successive early modern

Persianate A Persianate society is a society that is based on or strongly influenced by the Persian language, culture, literature, art and/or identity. The term "Persianate" is a neologism credited to Marshall Hodgson. In his 1974 book, ''The Venture of Is ...

kingdoms (

Safavids Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

, etc.), and in the eastern

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

(e.g. during

Caucasian Imamate The Caucasian Imamate, also known as the Caucasus Imamate ( ar, إمامة القوقاز, translit=Imamat Al-Qawqaz), was a state established by the imams in Dagestan and Chechnya during the early-to-mid 19th century in the North Caucasus ...

). In the

Sultanate of Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, the Naib was the Sultan's

emissary Emissary may refer to: * Ambassador * Apostle (disambiguation) * Diplomat * ''Emissaries'' (album), a 2006 album by black metal group Melechesh * Emissary (hydraulics), channel by which an outlet is formed to carry off any stagnant body of wate ...

to the foreign legations in

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...

between 1848 and 1923, when the creation of the

Tangier International Zone The Tangier International Zone ( ''Minṭaqat Ṭanja ad-Dawliyya'', , es, Zona Internacional de Tánger) was a international zone centered on the city of Tangier, Morocco, which existed from 1924 until its reintegration into independent Moroc ...

led to its replacement by the office of the

Mendoub The Mendoub or Mandub ( ar, مندوب, "delegate" or "representative") was a key official in the governance of the Tangier International Zone between 1925 and 1956, with a wartime interruption from 1941 to 1945. He represented the authority of ...

. Today, the word is used to refer to directly elected legislators in lower houses of parliament in many Arabic-speaking areas to contrast them against officers of upper houses (or

Shura Shura ( ar, شُورَىٰ, translit=shūrā, lit=consultation) can for example take the form of a council or a referendum. The Quran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other. Shura is mentioned as a praisewort ...

). The term Majlis al-Nuwwab ( ar, مجلس النواب, literally ''council of deputies'') has been adopted as the name of several legislative lower houses and unicameral legislatures. "Naib" has also been used in the

Malay language Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spo ...

(especially of the Malaysian variant) to translate the component of "deputy" or "vice" in certain titles (e.g "Vice President" - ''Naib Presiden'') aside from ''timbalan'' and ''wakil'' (latter predominant in the Indonesian variant).

"Nabob", derived colloquial term

In colloquial usage in English (since 1612), adopted in other Western languages, the

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

"nabob" refers to commoners: a merchant-leader of high social status and wealth. "Nabob" derives from the

pronunciation of "nawab": bn, নবাব ''nôbab''. During the 18th century in particular, it was widely used as a disparaging term for British merchants or administrators who, having made a fortune in India, returned to Britain and aspired to be recognised as having the higher social status that their new wealth would enable them to maintain. Jos Sedley in Thackeray's ''Vanity Fair'' is probably the best known example in fiction. From this specific usage it came to be sometimes used for ostentatiously rich businesspeople in general. "Nabob" can also be used metaphorically for people who have a grandiose sense of their own importance, as in the famous alliterative dismissal of the news media as "''nattering nabobs of negativism''" in a speech that was delivered by

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

's vice president

Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second vice president to resign the position, the other being John ...

and written by

William Safire William Lewis Safire (; Safir; December 17, 1929 – September 27, 2009Safire, William (1986). ''Take My Word for It: More on Language.'' Times Books. . p. 185.) was an American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter. He w ...

."nattering nabobs of negativism"
, PoliticalDictionary.com. Retrieved 7 April 2015.

Gallery

File:Major-General the Hon. Arthur Wellesley being received in durbar at the Chepauk Palace Madras by Azim al-Daula Nawab of the Carnatic 18th February 1805.jpg,

Azim-ud-Daula Azim-ud-Daula (1775 – 2 August 1819) was the Nawab of Carnatic from 1801 to 1819. He was the eldest son of Amir ul-Umara and nephew of Umdat ul-Umara. Treaty of 1801 He ascended the throne upon his uncle's death in 1801. As soon a ...

File:Oziashumphrey.jpg, Hyder Beg Khan of

File:CheetahHunt.jpg, Nawabs hunting a

blackbuck The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is an antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources. It stands up to high at the shoulder. Ma ...

with their

Asiatic cheetah The Asiatic cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus venaticus'') is a critically endangered cheetah subspecies currently only surviving in Iran. It once occurred from the Arabian Peninsula and the Near East to the Caspian region, Transcaucasus, Kyzylkum D ...

File:Javanbakht.jpg,

Nawab of Awadh 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 during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to a dynasty of Persian origin from Nishap ...

File:Cheetahs nawab oudh1844.jpg, Nawabs and

cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

File:Nawab of Kalabagh Malik Amir Mohammad khan.jpeg,

Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan Malik Amir Mohammad Khan (; 20 June 1910 – 26 November 1967) was the Nawab of Kalabagh and a prominent feudal lord, politician, the chief or sardar of the Awan tribe, and of his tribal estate Kalabagh, in Mianwali District of north western Pu ...

The

and chief of the Awan tribe File:A Nawab of Awadh, Lucknow, India. 19th century.jpg,

Afsharids Afsharid Iran ( fa, ایران افشاری), also referred as the Afsharid Empire was an Iranian empire established by the Turkoman Afshar tribe in Iran's north-eastern province of Khorasan, ruling Iran (Persia). The state was ruled by the Af ...

and a Mughal nawab File:Stinger Lawrence and Nawab Wallajah.JPG,

Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, or Muhammed Ali, Wallajah (7 July 1717 – 13 October 1795), was the Nawab of the Carnatic from 1749 until his death in 1795. He declared himself Nawab in 1749. This position was disputed between Wallajah and Ch ...

the

Nawab of Carnatic The Carnatic Sultanate was a kingdom in South India between about 1690 and 1855, and was under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until their demise. They initially had their capital at Arcot in the present-day Indian state of Tamil N ...

File:Nawab shuja ud daulah.jpg,

Shuja-ud-Daula Shuja-ud-Daula (b. – d. ) was the Subedar and Nawab of Oudh and the Vizier of Delhi from 5 October 1754 to 26 January 1775. Early life Shuja-ud-Daula was the son of the Mughal Grand Vizier Safdarjung chosen by Ahmad Shah Bahadur. Unlike ...

the

File:Shujah ud-Daulah and his sons shoberl.jpg,

and his sons and relative File:The Third battle of Panipat 13 January 1761.jpg, Nawabs in battle during the Battle of Panipat (1761) File:Death of the Nabob of the Carnatic by Paul Philippoteaux.jpg,

Nawab of the Carnatic The Carnatic Sultanate was a kingdom in South India between about 1690 and 1855, and was under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until their demise. They initially had their capital at Arcot in the present-day Indian state of Tamil N ...

in battle File:A Nawab of Mughal dynasty, India, 17th-18th century.jpg, A nawab, during the reign of the

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

Shah Jahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

File:Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan.jpg,

Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan ( bn, সুজাউদ্দীন মুহম্মদ খাঁন, fa, ) was the Nawab of Bengal. He married Zainab un-nisa Begum and Azmat un-nisa Begum, the daughters of Murshid Quli Khan by Nasiri Banu Beg ...

the

File:Muhammad Anwaruddin.jpg,

Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan Anwaruddin Khan (1672 – 3 August 1749), also known as Muhammad Anwaruddin, was the 1st Nawab of Arcot. He belonged to a family of Qannauji Sheikhs. He was a major figure during the first two Carnatic Wars. He was also Subedar of Thatta from 172 ...

the

File:Nawab of Bengal.jpg,

Indian states formerly ruled by Nawabs

* Amb (Tanoli) *

(nominally under Nizam of Hyderabad) *

* Dir *

Farrukhabad Farrukhabad is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Farrukhabad tehsil. The city is on the banks of river Ganges and is from the national capital Delhi and from the state capital Lucknow. ...

(

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

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 ...

) *

Farrukhnagar Farrukhnagar is a town and municipality in Gurugram district of Haryana, India. It is one of the four administrative blocks of Gurugram district situated from Gurugram and shares its border with Jhajjar district. It is part of the Ahirwal re ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

* Tarakote State *

Kalabagh Kalabagh ( ur, ) is a town and union council of Mianwali District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is part of Isakhel Tehsil. It is located on the western bank of the Indus River. It was the seat of the ''nawab'' of Kalabagh, who lived i ...

* Mamdot *

Manavadar Manavadar is a city and a municipality in Junagadh district of India. History Bantva Manavadar was a princely state of British India. Founded in 1733, it became a British protectorate in 1818. On 25 September 1947, it acceded to the newly for ...

Warcha Warcha ( ur, ), is a village and one of the 51 Union Councils (administrative subdivisions) of Khushab District in the Punjab Province of Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), i ...

(

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

) *

* Rampur * Sachin * Tonk