Nawab of Awadh

Rulers of the state of Awadh (Oudh) in India (1722–1858)

Nawab of Awadh (Oudh)

Seal of the Kingdom of Awadh

First to reign
Saadat Ali Khan I
26 January 1722 - 19 March 1739

Details
First monarch| Saadat Ali Khan I
Last monarch| Birjis Qadr
Formation| 26 January 1722
Abolition| 3 March 1858
Residence| Chattar Manzil

The Nawab of Awadh or Nawab of Oudh /ˈaʊd/ 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[1][2][3] of Sayyid origin[4][5] from Nishapur, Iran. In 1724, Nawab Sa'adat Khan established the Kingdom of Awadh with their capital in Faizabad and Lucknow.

## History

[edit]

See also: Oudh State

The Nawabs of Awadh were semi-autonomous rulers within the fragmented polities of Mughal India after the death of Aurangzeb in 1707. They fought wars with the Peshwa, the Battle of Bhopal (1737) against the Maratha Confederacy (which was opposed to the Mughal Empire), and the Battle of Karnal (1739) as courtiers of the Moghul.[6]

The Nawabs of Awadh, along with many other Nawabs, were regarded as members of the nobility of the Mughal Empire. They joined Ahmad Shah Durrani during the Third Battle of Panipat (1761) and restored Shah Alam II (r. 1760–1788 and 1788–1806) to the imperial throne. The Nawab of Awadh also fought the Battle of Buxar (1764) preserving the interests of the Moghul. Oudh State eventually declared itself independent from the rule of the Moghul in 1818.[7]

## List of rulers

[edit]

All of these rulers of the Royal House of Awadh used the title of Nawab from 1722 onward:

Portrait  | Titular Name  | Personal Name  | Birth  | Reign  | Death

|
|
|
|
|

| Burhan ul Mulk Sa'adat Khan
برہان الملک سعادت خان | Saadat Ali Khan I
سعادت علی خان | 1680 Nishapur, Khurasan, Safavid dynasty, Persia | 1722 – 19 March 1739  | 1739
| Abul-Mansur Khan Safdar Jung
ابو المنصور خان صفدرجنگ | Muhammad Muqim
محمد مقیم | 1708  | 1739 – 5 October 1754  | 1754
| Shuja-ud-Daula
شجاع الدولہ | Jalal-ud-din Haider Abul-Mansur Khan
جلال الدین حیدر ابا المنصور خان | 1732  | 1754 – 26 January 1775  | 1775
| Asaf-ud-Daula
آصف الدولہ | Muhammad Yahya Mirza Amani | 1748  | 26 January 1775 – 20 April 1797  | 1798
| Asif Jah Mirza
آصف جاہ میرزا | Wazir Ali Khan
وزیر علی خان | 1780  | 21 September 1797 – 21 January 1798  | 1817
| Yamin-ud-Daula
یمین الدولہ | Saadat Ali Khan II
سعادت علی خان دوم | 1752  | 21 January 1798 – 11 July 1814  | 1814
|  Ghazi-ud-Din Haidar Shah
غازی الدین حیدر شاہ | Ghazi-ud-Din Haidar Shah
غازی الدین حیدر شاہ | 1769  | 11 July 1814 – 19 October 1827  | 1827
| Abul- Mansur Qutub-ud-din Sulaiman jah
ابا المنصور قطب الدین سلیمان جاہ | Nasir-ud-Din Haidar Shah
ناصر الدیں حیدر شاہ  | 1803  | 19 October 1827 – 7 July 1837  | 1837
| Abul Fateh Moin-ud-din
ابا الفاتح معین الدین | Muhammad Ali Shah
محمّد علی شاہ | 1777  | 7 July 1837 – 7 May 1842  | 1842
| Najm-ud-Daula Abul-Muzaffar Musleh-ud-din
نجم الدولہ ابا المظفر مصلح الدین | Amjad Ali Shah
امجد علی شاہ | 1801  | 7 May 1842 – 13 February 1847  | 1847
| Abul-Mansur Mirza
ابا المنصور میرزا | Wajid Ali Shah
واجد علی شاہ | 1822  | 13 February 1847 – 11 February 1856  | 1 September 1887
| Mohammadi Khanum
محمدی خانم | Begum Hazrat Mahal
بیگم حضرت محل | 1820  | 11 February 1856 – 5 July 1857
Wife of Wajid Ali Shah and mother of Birjis Qadra (in rebellion)  | 7 April 1879
| Ramzan Ali
رمضان علی | Birjis Qadr
بر جیس قدر | 1845  | 5 July 1857 – 3 March 1858
(in rebellion)  | 14 August 1893

### Pretenders to the throne of Awadh

[edit]

* Meerza family. ...
* Nawab Meher Quder Zahid Ali Meerza (son of Nawab Birjis Qadr)
* Nawab Kaukab Quder Meerza (grandson of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and son of Nawab Meher Quder Zahid Ali Meerza)[8]
* Nawab Kamran Meerza (son of Kaukab Meerza)[8]
* Nawab Ibrahim Ali Khan Sheesh Mahal[9]

## Gallery

[edit]

* Saadat Ali Khan I, the first Nawab of Awadh, who laid the foundation of that state.

* Safdarjung is accused of making peace with the Maratha Confederacy.

* Shuja-ud-Daula fought the Maratha Confederacy during the Third Battle of Panipat on behalf of the Great Moghul, he's also known to have fought during the Battle of Buxar.

* Shuja ud-Daula and his ten sons

* Shuja-ud-Daulah on a hunt

* Shuja's army in Oudh

* Oudh Cavalry

* Mumtaz-ud-Daulah of the Budh Royal Family attributed to Felice Beato

* Moksim-ud-Daulah

* Gates of the Palace at Lucknow by W. Daniell, 1801.

* Gate of the Lal-Bagh fort at Faizabad in 1801.

## See also

[edit]

* Begum Hazrat Mahal
* List of Shia dynasties
* The Chess Players (film)

## References

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1. ^ Sacred space and holy war: the politics, culture and history of Shi'ite Islam Archived 29 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine By Juan Ricardo Cole
2. ^ Encyclopædia Iranica, [1] Archived 22 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, R. B. Barnett
3. ^ Art and culture: endeavours in interpretation by Ahsan Jan Qaisar, Som Prakash Verma, Mohammad Habib
4. ^ Davies, C. Collin (1960–2005). "Awadh". The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition (12 vols.). Leiden: E. J. Brill.
5. ^ Srivastava 1954, p. 1. sfn error: no target: CITEREFSrivastava1954 (help)
6. ^ Azhar, Mirza Ali (1982). King Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
7. ^ "As children, we wanted revenge on the British". The Times of India. 30 September 2016. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
8. ^ a b "In memoriam: Tribute to tragic Nawab Wajid Ali Shah on his bicentenary". Get Bengal. 22 July 2023. Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
9. ^ Sullivan, Tim (11 December 2010). "A noble feud reflects India's royal ambivalence". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2024.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava (1899–1973): The First Two Nawabs of Awadh. A critical study based on original sources. With a foreword by Sir Jadunath Sarkar. Lucknow : The Upper India Publishing House 1933. xi, 301 S. Originally Phil. Diss. Lucknow 1932. 2. rev. and corr. ed. Agra : Shiv Lal Agarwal 1954. About Burhan ul Mulk Sa'adat Khan (1680–1739) and Safdar Jang (1708–1754), Nawabs of Awadh
* Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava (1899–1973): Shuja-ud-Daulah. Vol. I (1754–1765). Calcutta : Sarkar Midland Press 1939 A thesis approved for the degree of doctor of letters by the Agra University in 1938. 2., rev. and corr. ed. Agra : Shiva Lal Agarwala 1961. Vol. II (1765–1775) Lahore : Minerva 1945. 2. ed. Agra : Agarwal 1974. About Shuja-ud-Daula (1732–1775), Nawab of Awadh

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nawab of Awadh.

* Nawabs of Awadh
* THE COURT LIFE UNDER THE NAWABS OF AWADH (1754–1797)
* Roots of North Indian Shi‘ism in Iran and Iraq:Religion and State in Awadh, 1722–1859, by J. R. I. Cole. University of California Press, 1989.
* HISTORICAL SERIES No. LVI
* Advanced study in the history of modern India, Volume 2, by G. S. Chhabra, Lotus Press, 1 January 2005

*[r.]: reigned