Nawab of Awadh

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 monarchSaadat Ali Khan I
Last monarchBirjis Qadr
Formation26 January 1722
Abolition3 March 1858
ResidenceChattar 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

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

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 1680 Nishapur, Khurasan, Safavid dynasty, Persia 1722 – 19 March 1739 1739
Abul-Mansur Khan Safdar Jung
ابو المنصور خان صفدرجنگ 		Muhammad Muqim 1708 1739 – 5 October 1754 1754
Shuja-ud-Daula
شجاع الدولہ 		Jalal-ud-din Haider Abul-Mansur Khan 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 Wazir Ali Khan
وزیر علی خان 		1780 21 September 1797 – 21 January 1798 1817
Yamin-ud-Daula Saadat Ali Khan II
سعادت علی خان 		1752 21 January 1798 – 11 July 1814 1814
Ghazi-ud-Din Haidar Shah
 Ghazi-ud-Din Haidar Shah
غازی الدیں حیدر شاہ 		1769 11 July 1814 – 19 October 1827 1827
Abul- Mansur Qutub-ud-din Sulaiman jah Nasir-ud-Din Haidar Shah
ناصر الدیں حیدر شاہ 		1803 19 October 1827 – 7 July 1837 1837
Abul Fateh Moin-ud-din Muhammad Ali Shah
محمّد علی شاہ 		1777 7 July 1837 – 7 May 1842 1842
Najm-ud-Daula Abul-Muzaffar Musleh-ud-din Amjad Ali Shah
امجد علی شاہ 		1801 7 May 1842 – 13 February 1847 1847
Abul-Mansur Mirza Wajid Ali Shah
واجد علی شاہ 		1822 13 February 1847 – 11 February 1856 1 September 1887
Mohammadi Khanum 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

See also

References

  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.
  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

  • 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
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