Nawab is a royal title indicating a 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. The ...

. 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 (, ) was the official title of the head of state and Hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the abdicati ...

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

Mughal emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

to semi-autonomous

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

rulers of subdivisions or princely states in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

loyal to the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

, for example the

Nawabs of Bengal The Nawab of Bengal (, ) 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 Orissa which constitute the mod ...

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

Begum Begum (also begüm, bagum, begom, begam, baigum or beygum) is an honorific title from Central Asia, Central and South Asia, often used by leading women in society, including Royal family, royals, aristocrats, first lady, first ladies and prime ...

" or "''Nawab Begum''". The primary duty of a Nawab was to uphold the sovereignty of the Mughal emperor 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 A Peerage is a form of The Crown, crown distinction, with Peerages in the United Kingdom comprising both hereditary title, hereditary and life peer, lifetime titled appointments of various Imperial, royal and noble ranks, ranks, which form ...

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

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. In some cases, the titles were also accompanied by

jagir A jagir (), ( Hindustani: जागीर/جاگیر, ''Jāgīr''), ( Marathi: जहागीर, ''Jahāgīrá'') also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar ( Zamindar ...

grants, either in cash revenues and allowances or land-holdings. During the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

, some of the chiefs, or

sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar (, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royal family, royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other Aristocracy (class), aristocrats. It ha ...

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

Zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

i"'' was originally used for the ''

subahdar Subahdar, also known as Nazim, was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty, Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, and the Mughal era who was alternately designated as Sahib- ...

'' (provincial governor) or viceroy of a ''

subah A ''Subah'' is a term for a province or state in several South Asian languages. It was introduced by the Mughal Empire to refer to its subdivisions or provinces; and was also adopted by other polities of the Indian subcontinent. The word is derive ...

'' (province) or regions of the Mughal Empire.

History

Nawab was a Hindustani term, used in

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

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 ...

Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

and many other North-Indian languages, borrowed via

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 ...

from the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

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

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

, 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

Subahdar Subahdar, also known as Nazim, was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty, Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, and the Mughal era who was alternately designated as Sahib- ...

was the head of the Mughal provincial administration. He was assisted by the provincial ''Diwan'', '' Bakhshi'', ''

Faujdar Faujdar under the Mughals was an office that combined the functions of a military commander along with judicial and land revenue functions. The term faujdar contained pre-Mughal origins. During those times, the term referred to a military offic ...

'', ''

Kotwal The Kotwal also spelled as Cotwal, or Kotval, was a title used in medieval and early modern period for the leader of a Kot or fort. Kotwals often controlled the fort of a major town or an area of smaller towns on behalf of another ruler. It was ...

'', ''

Qazi Qazi may refer to: * Qadi A qadi (; ) is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works. History ...

'', ''Sadr'', ''Waqa-i-Navis'', ''Qanungo'' and ''

Patwari A village accountant or karanam (Andhra Pradesh), patwari (Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana, West Bengal), patowary (Assam), talati (Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra), lekhpal (Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand) is a government role in rural areas of t ...

''. As the

Mughal empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

began to dissolve in the early 18th century, many ''subahs'' became effectively independent. The term ''nawaab'' is often used to refer to any Muslim ruler in north or

south India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

while the term ''

nizam Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...

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

Nizam of Hyderabad Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I wh ...

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 (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

s, as well, and large

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

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 princely states of Amb,

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur (Urdu: ; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 13th largest city of Pakistan and List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, 8th most populous city of Punjab. Bahawalpur is the capital of Bahawalpur Division. Founded in ...

, Balasinor,

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 ...

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 (; ISO 15919, ISO: Bhōpāl, ) is the capital (political), 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 ...

Cambay Khambhat state or Cambay state was a princely state in India during the British Raj. The city of Khambhat in present-day Gujarat was its capital. The state was bounded in the north by the Kaira district (Kheda district, Kheda) and in the sout ...

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. Durin ...

Junagadh Junagadh () is the city and 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. It i ...

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 famous for Diamond hunting as diamonds ca ...

(the main city of Deccan), Kurwai, Mamdot,

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

Palanpur Palanpur (Gujarati language, Gujarati: ) is a city and a headquarters of Banaskantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Palanpur is the ancestral home to an industry of Indian diamond merchants. Etymology Palanpur in early times is said ...

Pataudi Pataudi is a town, a tehsil and one of the 4 sub-divisions of Gurugram district, in the Indian state of Haryana, within the boundaries of the National Capital Region of India. It is located southwest of Gurugram city. Gurgaon-Pataudi road, k ...

Radhanpur Radhanpur is a village and a gram panchayat in Patan district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. Origin of name According to the tradition, this village is named after Radhan Khan, a descendant of Fateh Khan Baloch. ...

, Rampur,

Malerkotla Malerkotla is a city and the district headquarters of Malerkotla district in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It served as the seat of the eponymous princely state during the British Raj. The state acceded to the Dominion of India, un ...

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

Awadh Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North-central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala Regio ...

, had been deprived by the British or others by the time the Mughal dynasty finally ended in 1857. Some princes became nawab by promotion. For example, the ruler of

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

begum Begum (also begüm, bagum, begom, begam, baigum or beygum) is an honorific title from Central Asia, Central and South Asia, often used by leading women in society, including Royal family, royals, aristocrats, first lady, first ladies and prime ...

''. Most of the nawab dynasties were male

primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...

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

Subcontinent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as in the case of A ...

into the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

, 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 Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the southern banks of Palar River, the city straddles a trade route between Chennai and Bangalore or Salem, betwe ...

and Bhopal.

Ruling nawab families

Nawabi dynasties acceding to India

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

* Nawab of Ashwath * Nawab Babi of Balasinor *

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 India ...

, 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 headqua ...

* Nawab of

* Nawab of Basai, Nawab Khwaja Muhammad Khan * Nawab of

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

styled Mirza of Berar (title held by the heir to the

) * Nawab of Bhikampur and Datawali *

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 Confederacy from 1737 to 1818, then under British rule from 1818 to 19 ...

(female rulers were known as Nawab Begum) * Nawabs of Cambay * the former Nawabs of the Carnatic, restyled Princes of Arcot * Nawab of Dujana * Nawab of Farrukhabad * Nawab of

* Nawab Sahib of

* Nawab of

* Nawab of Muhammadgarh * Nawab Sahib of

(''Diwan'' until 1910) *Nawab of Awadh * Nawab of Pathari * Nawab of Radhanpur * Nawab of Rampur * Nawab of Sachin *

Nawab of Sardhana The Nawab of Sardhana is an honorary Muslim title bestowed upon the descendants of the Afghan noble chieftain (nawab) and statesman Jan-Fishan Khan for services to the British Raj – both in the failed British Anglo-Afghan War, Afghan campaigns, as ...

* Nawab of Tonk, 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. It is located on the Ganges (Ganga) ...

Nawabi dynasties in India abolished before independence

* Nawab of Kurwai *

Nawab of Pataudi Pataudi State was a small princely state in India, established in 1804 by the East India Company rule in India. The state formed a part of the Delhi Territory in the Ceded and Conquered Provinces. It was under the suzerainty of the Commiss ...

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 Bombay State. Later in 1956, it transferred to Mysore State in ...

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 K ...

* Nawab of

Tarakote State Tarakote formerly Shergarh-Tarakote Estate was a quasi princely state in Korei, Odisha which was established under the Mughal Empire as a Sarakaar and was later reduced to an intermediary princely estate during the subsequent Maratha and the Bri ...

* Nawab of Farukhnagar * Nawab of Jhajjar * Nawab of Surat * Nawab of Mohna

Nawabi dynasties acceding to Pakistan

* Nawab of Kalabagh *

Nawab of Amb Amb () or the State of Amb was a princely state in the present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan. Together with Phulra, it was known as Jagir, Feudal Tanawal ruled by Tanoli tribe. A Ruling class, Royal Tenure start from Timurid Empire ...

Nawab of Bahawalpur State of Bahawalpur was a state in the Punjab region of South Asia that existed as a sovereign polity from 1748 to 1833 and as a princely state, under subsidiary alliance with British India and later Dominion of Pakistan, from 1833 to 1955 ...

* Nawab of Dir * Nawab of

Swat A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

* Nawab Sahib of

* Nawab of Kharan * Nawab of

Maler Kotla The State of Malerkotla or Maler Kotla was a princely state of Afghan origin in the Punjab region established in the medieval era and lasting to the era of British India. It has been described as being a princely enclave. Its rulers belonged ...

* Nawab of Jogezai * Nawab of

Bugti Bugti ( ) is a Baloch tribe found in eastern Balochistan, Pakistan. , it was estimated to comprise over 180,000 people, mostly living in the Dera Bugti Dera Bugti ( Balochi: , Urdu: ) is a district within the Balochistan province of Pakistan ...

* Nawab of

Marri (tribe) The Marri are a Balochi-speaking tribe of the Baloch people, who inhabit a large arid region in northeastern Balochistan, Pakistan. The Marri area is bounded to the west by the plains of Sibi. To the north are the Kakar and Loni tribes of the Pas ...

Nawab Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...

Sanghar Sanghar (; English: Sānghar) is a city in Sanghar District, Sindh, Pakistan. Sanghar is the headquarters of Sanghar District and Sanghar Taluka (a subdivision of the district). The driving distance of Sangher from Karachi is 268 kilometers ...

Nawabi dynasties acceding to Bangladesh

Nawab of Bengal The Nawab of Bengal (, ) 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 Orissa which constitute the mod ...

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

* Nawab of Longla (Sylhet)

Former dynasties which became political pensioners

Padshah-i-Oudh The Nawab of Awadh or Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers of Kingdom of Awadh (anglicised as Oudh) in northern India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to an Iranian dynasty''Encyclopædia Iranica'', R. B. B ...

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

, as Nawabs of Murshidabad * Nawab of Marauli * Nawab of Patna * Nawab of Surat * Nawab of Longla (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, Indian descendants of Afghan highlanders settled in Rohilkhand, northern India. The Nawab was s ...

. * 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 (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, w ...

(1813–1896),

Nawab Abdul Latif Nawab Bahadur Qazi Abdul Latif (1828 – 10 July 1893) was a Bengali Muslim 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 id ...

(1828–1893), Nawab Faizunnesa Choudhurani (1834–1904), Nawab Ali Chowdhury (1863–1929), Nawaab Syed Shamsul Huda (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 a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

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 an honorary title in British India conferred on Indian subjects who were adherents of Islam or Zoroastrianism. The equivalent title for Hindus, Buddhists and India ...

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

Umara Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, 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 ceremonial authority. The title has ...

and

Jah Jah or Yah (, ''Yāh'') is a short form of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), the personal name of God: Yahweh, which the ancient Israelites used. The conventional Christian English pronunciation of ''Jah'' is , even though the letter J here transliter ...

; the equivalent for Hindu courtiers was

Raja Bahadur Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The title has a long ...

Related titles

Nawabzada

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

only the nawab's

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

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 Sahib or Saheb () is a term of address originating from Arabic (). As a loanword, ''Sahib'' has passed into several languages, including Persian, Kurdish, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Uzbek, Turkmen, Tajik, Crimean Tatar, Urdu, Hi ...

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'' () has been historically used to refer to any

suzerain A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy and economic relations of another subordinate party or polity, but allows i ...

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 suzerai ...

, or

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

in some parts of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, 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 I ...

kingdoms (

Safavids The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

, etc.), and in the eastern

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

(e.g. during

Caucasian Imamate The Caucasian Imamate, also known as the North Caucasus Imamate (), was a state founded by Muslim imams in the early-to-mid 19th century across Dagestan and Chechnya. It emerged during the Caucasian War (1817–1864) as a resistance movement a ...

). In the

Sultanate of Morocco Sultanate of Morocco may refer to: * Alawi Sultanate, the sultanate period of Morocco under the current reigning dynasty * List of rulers of Morocco, including the sultans from various dynasties * History of Morocco The history of human habita ...

, the Naib was the Sultan's

emissary Emissary may refer to: __NOTOC__ Arts and entertainment Star Trek * Benjamin Sisko, the Emissary of the Prophets, the Bajorans' gods * "Emissary" (''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''), the pilot episode of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' * "The Em ...

to the foreign legations in

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

between 1848 and 1923, when the creation of the

Tangier International Zone The Tangier International Zone (; ; ) was a international zone centered on the city of Tangier, Morocco, which existed from 1925 until its reintegration into independent Morocco in 1956, with interruption during the Spanish occupation of Tang ...

led to its replacement by the office of the Mendoub. 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 () is the term for collective decision-making in Islam. It 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 praise ...

). The term Majlis al-Nuwwab (, 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 ( , ; , Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken primarily by Malays (ethnic group), Malays in several islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and the Malay Peninsula on the mainland Asia. The lang ...

(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 script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → and → the digraph , Cyrillic → , Armenian → or L ...

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

pronunciation of "nawab": ''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 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...

'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 of two vice presidents to resign, the first being John C. ...

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 ...

."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 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 a medium-sized 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 sh ...

with their

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

File:Javanbakht.jpg,

Nawab of Awadh The Nawab of Awadh or Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers of Kingdom of Awadh (anglicised as Oudh) in northern India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to an Iranian dynasty''Encyclopædia Iranica'', R. B. B ...

(left) and Mughal prince and

Heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

Mirza Jawan Bakht (right) File:Cheetahs nawab oudh1844.jpg, Nawabs and

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

s File:Nawab of Kalabagh Malik Amir Mohammad khan.jpeg, Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan The Nawab of Kalabagh and chief of the Awan tribe File:A Nawab of Awadh, Lucknow, India. 19th century.jpg, Afsharids and a

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

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 Sultanate, Carnatic from 1749 until his death in 1795. He declared himself Nawab in 1749. This position was disputed betwe ...

the

Nawab of Carnatic The Carnatic Sultanate ( Persian: ; Tamil: ; Urdu: ) also known as Carnatic State or Arcot State was a kingdom in southern India between about 1690 and 1855, ruled by a Muslim nawab under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until thei ...

File:Nawab shuja ud daulah.jpg,

Shuja-ud-Daula Shuja-ud-Daula (19 January 1732 – 26 January 1775) was the third Nawab of Oudh and the Vizier of Delhi from 5 October 1754 until his death 26 January 1775. He was a key 18th-century Mughal ally who despised the Maratha-backed Imad-ul-Mulk. ...

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) The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761 between the Maratha Empire and the invading army of the Durrani Empire. The battle took place in and around the city of Panipat, approximately north of Delhi. The Afghans were supporte ...

File:Death of the Nabob of the Carnatic by Paul Philippoteaux.jpg,

Nawab of the Carnatic The Carnatic Sultanate ( Persian: ; Tamil: ; Urdu: ) also known as Carnatic State or Arcot State was a kingdom in southern India between about 1690 and 1855, ruled by a Muslim nawab under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until thei ...

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

Mughal Emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

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

Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan was the second Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. He married Zainab un-nisa Begum and Azmat un-nisa Begum, the daughters of Murshid Quli Khan by Nasiri Banu Begum. Shuja-ud-Din's third wife was Durdana Begum Sahiba. ...

the

File:Muhammad Anwaruddin.jpg,

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

the

File:Nawab of Bengal.jpg,

Indian states formerly ruled by Nawabs

* Amb (Tanoli) *

* Balasinor *

(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. This city is on the banks of river Ganges is from the national capital Delhi and from the state capital Lucknow. His ...

(

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, India) *

Farrukhnagar Farrukhnagar is a small town and municipality in Farrukhnagar tehsil of Gurugram district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is situated from Gurgaon and shares its border with Jhajjar district. It was established in 1732 by Faujdar Khan, the ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

* Janjira *

* Kurwai *

Kalabagh Kalabagh () is a town 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 The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Him ...

* 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 ...

* Warcha *

(

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, 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 List of states and union territories ...

, India) *

* Rampur * Sachin * Tonk

History

Ruling nawab families

Nawabi dynasties acceding to India

Nawabi dynasties in India abolished before independence

Nawabi dynasties acceding to Pakistan

Nawabi dynasties acceding to Bangladesh

Former dynasties which became political pensioners

Rohilla Confederation

Miscellaneous nawabs

Personal nawabs

Nawab as a court rank

Related titles

Nawabzada

Naib (Ottoman, Iranian, Arabic title)

"Nabob", derived colloquial term

Gallery

Indian states formerly ruled by Nawabs

See also

Notes

References

Further reading