Nawab of Awadh

Nawab of Awadh
Semi-autonomous domain of the Mughal Empire
File:British India Map of 1785.pdf Awadh at the center
Capital	Lucknow to Faizabad
Government
Nawab
• 1722–1818	Saadat Ali Khan I (first)
• 1818–1893	Saadat Ali Khan II (last)
Preceded by Succeeded by Mughal Empire Oudh State British Raj
Today part of	India Nepal (perhaps)

The Nawab of Awadh or the Nawab of Oudh (IPA: /ˈaʊd/) was the title of the rulers who governed the state of Oudh or Awadh in India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The first Nawab of Awadh claimed to be descendants of Musa al-Kadhim. In 1724, Nawab Sa'adat Khan established the Oudh State.

History

Establishment of the Nawab of Oudh

Main articles: Battle of Bhopal, First Battle of Sikandarabad, Third Battle of Panipat, and Battle of Buxar

As the Mughal Empire declined, the emperors lost their power and became puppets and prisoners of their new overlords. Awadh thus grew stronger and more independent. The capital city at the time was Faizabad.

Oudh's importance for the Mughal Empire began during the Later Mughal-Maratha Wars during which Saadat Ali Khan I was unable to relieve his companions during the Battle of Bhopal.

His son in law and nephew Safdarjung, who was the son of his sister, had tried to overthrow the Eunuch Vizier, but later had to confront Feroze Jung III and the remaining followers of the Sayyid Brothers and the Regents of Rohilkhand, he was unable to aid his sovereign, Ahmad Shah Bahadur during the First Battle of Sikandarabad.

Shuja-ud-Daula had succeeded his father during an unstable period in the Indian subcontinent the Mughal Empire's capital Delhi was under Maratha control and the emperor Alamgir II assassinated along other members of the imperial Timurids, his son Shah Alam II managed to escape from the carnage and seek refuge with Shuja (who was thenceforth declared "Nawab Wazir of the Mughal Empire". Shuja reconciled with the Regents of Rohilkhand and joined Ahmad Shah Durrani and helped secure a decisive victory during the Third Battle of Panipat.

Shuja later joined Mir Qasim and Shah Alam II during the Battle of Buxar losing much territory after the confrontation. Which Shah Alam II managed to return to him by granting Diwani rights to Robert Clive.

Establishment of Oudh State

Main article: Oudh State

Ghazi-ud-Din Haider (1814–1827) declared independence from the Mughal emperor Akbar Shah II with the support of the British East India Company, he raised his own flag and coat of arms.

List of Nawabs

Main article: Nawab

Nawabs of Awadh (1722–1856)

Portrait	Titular Name	Personal Name	Birth	Reign	Death
	Burhan ul Mulk Sa'adat Khan برہان الملک سعادت خان	Mir Muhammad Amin Musawi	1680 Nishapur, Khurasan, Safavid dynasty, Persia	1722 – 19 March 1739	1739
	Abul-Mansur Khan Safdar Jung ابو المنصور خان صفدرجنگ	Muhammad Muqim	1708	1737 – 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 – 21 September 1797	1797
	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

See also

• List of Nawabs of Awadh
• Begum Hazrat Mahal
• List of Shi'a Muslims dynasties
• Shatranj Ke Khilari

External links

• 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