The Oudh State (, also Kingdom of Awadh, Kingdom of Oudh, or Awadh State) was a
princely state in the
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 ...
region of
North India until its annexation by the British in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name of the state, also written historically as Oudhe.
As the
Mughal Empire declined and decentralized, local governors in Oudh began asserting greater autonomy, and eventually Oudh matured into an independent polity governing the fertile lands of the Central and Lower
Doab. With the
British 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 ...
entering Bengal and decisively defeating Oudh at 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, ...
in 1764, Oudh fell into the British orbit.
The capital of Oudh was 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 Cor ...
, but the Company’s Political Agents, officially known as "Residents", had their seat in
Lucknow. At par existed a Maratha embassy, in the Oudh court, led by the
Vakil
''Vakil'' was one of the highest positions in the hierarchy of Safavid Iran, denoting the viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term deri ...
of 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, ...
, until the
Second Anglo-Maratha War
}
The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) was the second conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India.
Background
The British had supported the "fugitive" Peshwa Raghunathrao in the First Anglo-Maratha War, ...
. The Nawab of Oudh, one of the richest princes, paid for and erected a
Residency in Lucknow as a part of a wider programme of civic improvements.
Oudh joined other Indian states in an upheaval against British rule in 1858 during one of the last series of actions in the
Indian rebellion of 1857. In the course of this uprising detachments of the British Indian Army from the
Bombay Presidency
The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...
overcame the disunited collection of Indian states in a single rapid campaign. Determined rebels continued to wage sporadic guerrilla clashes until the spring of 1859. This rebellion is also historically known as the ''
Oudh campaign''.
After the British
annexation
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
of Oudh by the
Doctrine of Lapse, the
North Western Provinces
The North-Western Provinces was an administrative region in British India. The North-Western Provinces were established in 1836, through merging the administrative divisions of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces. In 1858, the nawab-ruled kingd ...
became the ''North Western Provinces and Oudh''.
History
''Oudh Subah'' was one of the initial 12 subahs (later expanded to 15 ''subahs'' by the end of Akbar's reign) established by
Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
during his administrative reforms of 1572–1580. ''Subah'' was divided into ''
Sarkars'', or districts. ''Sarkars'' were further divided into ''
Parganas'' or ''
Mahals''. As the
Mughal empire began to dissolve in the early 18th century, Oudh, like many ''subahs'' became effectively independent.
Establishment
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 ...
was appointed
Nawab of 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 Nishapu ...
on 9 September 1722, succeeding
Girdhar Bahadur. He immediately subdued the autonomous Shaikhzadas of
Lucknow and Raja Mohan Singh of
Tiloi, consolidating Oudh as a state. In 1728, Oudh further acquired
Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic tr ...
,
Jaunpur and surrounding lands from the Mughal noble Rustam Ali Khan and established stable revenue collection in that province after quelling the chief of
Azamgarh
Azamgarh is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Azamgarh division, which consists of Ballia, Mau and Azamgarh districts. Azamgarh is situated on the bank of Tamsa River (Tons). It is located east of the st ...
,
Mahabat Khan. In 1739 Saadat Khan mobilized Oudh to defend against
Nader Shah's
invasion of India, ultimately being captured in the
Battle of Karnal
The Battle of Karnal (24 February 1739), was a decisive victory for Nader Shah, the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran, during his invasion of India. Nader's forces defeated the army of Muhammad Shah within three hours, paving the way f ...
. He attempted to cooperate with Nader Shah but died in Delhi.
In 1740, his successor
Safdar Jang
Abul Mansur Mirza Muhammad Muqim Ali Khan (c. 1708 – 5 October 1754), better known as Safdar Jang, was a major figure at the Mughal court during the declining years of the Mughal Empire. He became the second Nawab of Awadh when he succeeded ...
moved the capital of the state from
Ayodhya
Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhya wa ...
to
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 Cor ...
.
Safdar Jang gained recognition from Persia after paying tribute. He continued Saadat Khan's expansionist policy, promising military protection to Bengal in exchange for the forts at
Rohtasgarh and
Chunar
Chunar is a city located in Mirzapur district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is nearby Mirzapur city. The railway tracks passing through Chunar Junction railway station leads to major destinations of India, including Howrah, Delhi, T ...
, and annexing portions of
Farrukhabad with Mughal military aid which was ruled by
Muhammad Khan Bangash
Nawab Ghazanfar-Jang, Bangash Khan (1665 – 1743) was the first Nawab of Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh, India. He was a "Bawan Hazari Sardar" (Commander of 52,000 men strong force) in the Mughal Army. He served as governor of Malwa and Allahaba ...
.
As regional officials asserted their autonomy in
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, predo ...
and the
Deccan as well as with the rise of the
Maratha Empire, the rulers of Oudh gradually affirmed their own sovereignty.
Safdar Jang
Abul Mansur Mirza Muhammad Muqim Ali Khan (c. 1708 – 5 October 1754), better known as Safdar Jang, was a major figure at the Mughal court during the declining years of the Mughal Empire. He became the second Nawab of Awadh when he succeeded ...
went as far as to control the ruler of Delhi, putting
Ahmad Shah Bahadur
Ahmad Shah Bahadur , also known as Mirza Ahmad Shah or Mujahid-ud-Din Ahmad Shah Ghazi (23 December 1725 – 1775 AD), was the fourteenth Mughal Emperor, born to Emperor Muhammad Shah. He succeeded his father to the throne in 1748, at the age ...
on the Mughal throne with the cooperation of other Mughal nobility. In 1748 he gained the
subah of
Allahabad
Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administra ...
with Ahmad Shah's official support. This was arguably the zenith of Oudh's territorial span.
The next nawab,
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 ...
, extended Oudh's control of the Mughal emperor. He was appointed
vazir to
Shah Alam II in 1762 and offered him asylum after his failed campaigns against the British in the
Bengal War
Bengal War, Campaign for the Eastern Subah's, was waged by the Mughal imperial crown Prince Ali Gauhar (later known as Shah Alam II) so as to recapture the Nawab of Bengal from the British East India Company. Hostilities began in 1756 and ended ...
.
British contact and control
Since Oudh was located in a prosperous region, the
British 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 ...
soon took notice of the affluence in which the Nawabs of Oudh lived. Primarily, the British sought to protect the frontiers of Bengal and their lucrative trade there; only later did direct expansion occur.
Shuja-ud-Daula
British dominance was established at 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, ...
of 1764, when the East India Company defeated the alliance between the nawab of Oudh
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 ...
and the deposed nawab of Bengal
Mir Kasim.
The battle was a turning point for the once rising star of Oudh. The immediate effect was the British occupation of the fort at
Chunar
Chunar is a city located in Mirzapur district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is nearby Mirzapur city. The railway tracks passing through Chunar Junction railway station leads to major destinations of India, including Howrah, Delhi, T ...
and the cession of the provinces of Kora and
Allahabad
Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administra ...
to Mughal ruler
Shah Alam II under the Treaty of Benares (1765). Shaja-ud-Daula further had to pay 5 million rupees as an indemnity, which was paid off in one year.
The long-term result would be direct British interference in the internal state matters of Oudh, useful as a buffer state against the
Marathas
The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...
. The treaty also granted British traders special privileges and exemptions from many customs duties, which led to tensions as British monopolies were established.
Shuja-ud-Daula bought the Mughal provinces of Kora and Allahabad in the Treaty of Benares (1773) with the British (who held ''de-facto'' control over the area) for 50 lakh rupees, increased the cost of Company mercenaries, and military aid in 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 o ...
to expand Oudh as a buffer state against Maratha interests.
Done by
Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-General ...
, this move was unpopular among the rest of Company leadership, but Hastings continued a harsh policy on Oudh, justifying the military aid as a bid to strengthen Oudh's status as a buffer state against the Marathas. To shape the policy of Oudh and direct its internal affairs Hastings appointed the resident
Nathaniel Middleton in Lucknow that year as well. At the conclusion of the First Rohilla War in 1774, Oudh gained the entirety of
Rohilkhand and the Middle
Doab region, only leaving the independent
Rampur State as a Rohilla enclave.
Asaf-ud-Daula
Asaf-ud-Daula acceded to the nawabship of Oudh with British aid in exchange for the Treaty of Benares (1775) which further increased the cost of mercenaries and ceded the ''sarkars'' of
Benares
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic tra ...
,
Ghazipur,
Chunar
Chunar is a city located in Mirzapur district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is nearby Mirzapur city. The railway tracks passing through Chunar Junction railway station leads to major destinations of India, including Howrah, Delhi, T ...
, and
Jaunpur. From this time onwards, Oudh consistently complied with the Company's demands, which continued to demand more land and economic control over the state.
The Treaty of Chunar (1781) sought to reduce the number of British troops in Oudh's service to cut costs, but failed in this measure due to the instability of Asaf-ud-Daula's rule and thus his reliance on British aid essentially as a puppet regime.
Later rulers
Saadat Ali Khan II
Yameen-ud Daula Saadat Ali Khan II Bahadur ( fa, سعادت علی خان, hi, सआदत अली ख़ान, ur, ) (bf. 1752 – c. 11 July 1814) was the sixth Nawab of Oudh from 21 January 1798 to 11 July 1814, and the son of Sh ...
acceded to the throne of Oudh in 1798, owing his seat to British intervention including Governor-General of Bengal
Sir John Shore's personal proclamation in Lucknow of his rule. A treaty signed on 21 February 1798 increased the subsidy paid to the British to 70 lakh rupees per year.
In light of the
Napoleonic Wars and British demands for greater revenue from the Company, in 1801,
Saadat Ali Khan II
Yameen-ud Daula Saadat Ali Khan II Bahadur ( fa, سعادت علی خان, hi, सआदत अली ख़ान, ur, ) (bf. 1752 – c. 11 July 1814) was the sixth Nawab of Oudh from 21 January 1798 to 11 July 1814, and the son of Sh ...
ceded the entire
Rohilkhand and
Lower Doab as well as the ''sarkar'' of
Gorakhpur under the pressure of
Lord Wellesley to the British in lieu of the annual tribute. The cession halved the size of the polity, reducing it to the original Mughal
subah of Awadh (excepting Gorakhpur which was ceded) and surrounded it by directly-administered British territory, rendering it useless as a buffer. The treaty also mandated a government to be put in place that primarily served the citizens of Oudh. It was on the basis of the failure to meet this demand that the British later justified the annexation of Oudh.
Farrukhabad and
Rampur was not annexed by the British yet; instead, they served as separate princely states for the moment.
The kingdom became a British
protectorate in May 1816 (However, the state was an unofficial British protectorate since 1764, having little external autonomy). Three years later, in 1819, the
Ghazi-ud-Din Haidar Shah took the title of ''Badshah'' (king), signaling formal independence from the Mughal Empire under the advice of the
Marquis of Hastings.
Throughout the early 1800s until annexation, several areas were gradually ceded to the British.
British annexation
On 7 February 1856 by order of
Lord Dalhousie, General of the East India Company, the king of Oudh (
Wajid Ali Shah) was deposed, and its kingdom was annexed to the
British 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 ...
under the terms of the
Doctrine of lapse on the grounds of alleged internal misrule.
[
Between 5 July 1857 and 3 March 1858 there was an upheaval by the son of the deposed king joining the Indian Rebellion of 1857. At the time of the rebellion, the British lost control of the territory; they reestablished their rule over the next eighteen months, during which time there were massacres such as those that had occurred in the course of the Siege of Cawnpore.
After Oudh's territory was merged with the ]North Western Provinces
The North-Western Provinces was an administrative region in British India. The North-Western Provinces were established in 1836, through merging the administrative divisions of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces. In 1858, the nawab-ruled kingd ...
, it formed the larger province of ''North-Western Provinces and Oudh''. In 1902, the latter province was renamed the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh
The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 1902 to 1921; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces (UP), by which the province had been c ...
. In 1921, it became the United Provinces of British India
The United Provinces of British India, more commonly known as the United Provinces, was a province of British India, which came into existence on 3 January 1921 as a result of the renaming of the ''United Provinces of Agra and Oudh''. It corre ...
. In 1937, it became the United Provinces and continued as a province in independent India until finally becoming the state of Uttar Pradesh in 1950.
Government
Feudatory states
The following were feudatory estates —taluqdari
Taluqdars or Talukdar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: ; Perso-Arabic: , ; from ''taluq'' "estate/attachment" + '' dar'' "owner"), were aristocrats who formed the ruling class during the Delhi Sultanate, Bengal Sultanate, Mughal Empire and British Raj ...
s or parganas— of Oudh:
*Balrampur Estate
*Benares State
Benares or Banaras State was a kingdom and later princely state in what is today Uttar Pradesh, India. On 15 October 1948, Benares' last ruler signed the accession to the Indian Union.
The state was founded by the local zamindar, Raja Balw ...
until 1775
* Bhadri Estate
*
*Itaunja Estate
* Nanpara Taluqdari
* Pratapgarh Estate
*Tulsipur State
Tulsipur State was a small kingdom in the Awadh region of India that became the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh under the British Raj and Dundwa Range of the Siwaliks in the Dang and Deukhuri Valleys that became part of the Kingdom of N ...
* Kohra Estate
Rulers
The first ruler of Oudh State belonged to the Shia Muslim Sayyid Family and descended of Musa al-Kadhim
Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim ( ar, مُوسَىٰ ٱبْن جَعْفَر ٱلْكَاظِم, Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar al-Kāẓim), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan, Abū ʿAbd Allāh or Abū Ibrāhīm, was the seventh Imam in Twelver Shia Islam, after h ...
originated from Nishapur. But the dynasty also belonged from the paternal line to the Kara Koyunlu
The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu ( az, Qaraqoyunlular , fa, قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, Eng ...
through Qara Yusuf. They were renowned for their secularism
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...
and broad outlook.
All rulers used the title of ' Nawab'.
Residents
Demographics
In the early eighteenth century, the population of Oudh was estimated to be 3 million. Oudh underwent a demographic shift in which Lucknow and Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic tr ...
expanded to become metropolises of over 200,000 people over the course of the 18th century at the expense of Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
and Delhi. During this period the land on the banks of the Yamuna
The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ba ...
suffered frequent dry spells, while the Baiswara
Baiswara is a subregion of Awadh in Uttar Pradesh, India, which includes parts of Unnao and Raebareli districts. Unnao and Raebareli districts are part of Baiswara state.
Baiswara is established by Bais Rajput king Abhaichand Bais. He was the ...
did not.
Although it was ruled by Muslims, a majority, roughly four fifths, of Oudh's population were Hindus.
Culture
The Nawabs of Oudh were descended from a Sayyid
''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhammad' ...
line from Nishapur in Persia. They were Shia Muslims, and promoted Shia as the state religion. Ghazi-ud-Din Haidar Shah instituted the Oudh Bequest, a system of fixed payments by the British paid to the Shia holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. These payments, along with lifelong stipends to the wives and mother of Ghazi-ud-Din served as interest on the Third Oudh Loan taken in 1825.
The cities of Allahabad
Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administra ...
, Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic tr ...
, and Ayodhya
Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhya wa ...
were important pilgrimage sites for followers of Hinduism and other Dharmic religions. The town of Bahraich
Bahraich is a city and a municipal board in Bahraich district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Located on the Saryu River, a tributary of the Ghaghara river, Bahraich is north-east of Lucknow, the state capital. The districts of Bar ...
was also revered by some Muslims.
See also
* Awadh region
* List of Indian monarchs
* Mahseer in heraldry
*Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway
Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway was an extensive railway network in the North India, mostly north of the Ganges, starting from Benares and subsequently up to Delhi.
History
The Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway was formed in 1872 with the assets of ...
* Oudh and Tirhut Railway
* Oudh Bequest
References
External links
*
Heraldry of Oudh State
{{coord, 26.78, N, 82.13, E, region:IN_type:landmark_source:kolossus-svwiki, display=title
Princely states of India
History of Awadh
History of Uttar Pradesh
Mughal subahs
British administration in Uttar Pradesh
Shia dynasties
1816 establishments in British India