Nawab of Awadh

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Flag of Nawabs of Awadh, introduced during the reign of Ghazi-ud-Din Haider (1814–1827).
Other Seal, introduced during the reign of Ghazi-ud-Din Haider (1814–1827).

The Nawab of Awadh or Nawab of Oudh was the title of rulers who governed the state of Oudh (Awadh) in India in the 18th and 19th century. The Nawabs of Oudh belonged to a dynasty of Persian origin from Nishapur.[1][2][3] In 1724, Nawab Sa'adat Khan established Oudh State.


Establishment of the State of Oudh[edit]

As the Moghul power declined and the emperors lost their paramountcy and they became first the puppets and then the prisoners of their feudatories, so Awadh grew stronger and more independent. Its capital city was Faizabad.

Of all the Muslim states and dependencies of the Mughal empire, Awadh had the newest royal family. They were descended from a Persian adventurer called Sa'adat Khan, originally from the city of Nishapur.[4] There were many Khurasanis in the service of the Mughals, mostly soldiers, and if successful, they could hope for rich rewards. Burhan ul Mulk Sa'adat Khan proved to be amongst the most successful of this group. In 1732, he was made governor of the province of Awadh. His original title was Nazim, which means Governor, but soon he was made Nawab. In 1740, the Nawab was called Wazir or vizier, which means Chief Minister, and thereafter he was known as the Nawab Wazir. In practice, from Sa'adat Khan onwards, the titles had been hereditary, though in theory they were in the gift of the Mughal emperor, to whom allegiance was paid. A nazar, or token tribute, was sent each year to Delhi, and members of the imperial family were treated with great deference; two of them actually lived in Lucknow after 1819, and were treated with great courtesy.

Inclination towards the British[edit]

Achieving a degree of independence from the Mughals in Delhi did not mean the Nawabs could rule entirely as they pleased. They had merely exchanged one master for another. The British, in the form of the East India Company based in Calcutta, had long looked with predatory eyes at the wealth of Awadh. Excuses for interference in the province were not hard to find. The most catastrophic from Awadh's point of view came when Shuja-ud-Daula invaded Bengal and briefly held Calcutta. The British military victories at Plassey in 1757 and Buxar in 1764 proved damaging for the Nawab. When peace was made, Awadh had lost much land. But the enemies became friends, on the surface anyway, and the Nawab Wazir was extolled in the British Parliament as the Chief native ally of the East India Company in all India.

The Nawabs surrendered their independence little by little over many years. To pay for the protection of British forces and assistance in war, Awadh gave up first the fort of Chunar, then the districts of Benares and Ghazipur, then the fort at Allahabad; as the cash subsidy which the Nawab paid to the Company kept growing over the years.

In 1773, the Nawab accepted a British Resident at Lucknow, and surrendered to the Company all control over foreign policy. Soon the Resident, however much he might defer ceremonially to the Nawab, became the real ruler.

Move of capital[edit]

Hyder Beg Khan, minister to Nawab of Awadh, Asaf-ud-Daula

Asaf-ud-Daula, son of Shuja-ud-Daula, moved the capital from Faizabad to Lucknow in 1775 and made it one of the most prosperous and glittering cities in all India. It is said, he moved because he wanted to get away from the control of a dominant mother. On such a thread did the fate of the great city of Lucknow depend!


British interference[edit]




The Golden Age[edit]

A Nawab of Awadh, Lucknow, 19th century.


However, his son Nasir-ud-Din who succeeded to the throne, had an attachment to the English, not founded upon those things the English would like to be admired for justice, liberty, democracy but upon their dress, their eating habits and, more unfortunately, the drinking habits of the more disreputable element of English adventurer with whom he surrounded himself.

Nasir-ud-Din, despite such a temperament, was a popular monarch, who was responsible for the construction of an astrological center, Tarunvali Kothi. Equipped with sophisticated instruments, it was entrusted to the care of a British astronomer. When he died there was another disputed succession and the British insisted on Muhammad Ali, another son of Sadat Ali, being enthroned. Muhammad Ali was a just and popular ruler and under him, Lucknow regained its splendour for a brief spell. He was however sorely troubled by rheumatism. He died in 1842 and his son Amjad Ali succeeded, a man more inclined towards matters religious and spiritual, leading to the neglect of governance.

Annexation of Oudh by the British[edit]


This portrait of Wajid Ali Shah was used to justify British annexation of Awadh. If the charges of mismanagement levied against Wajid Ali Shah were true, the British were as much responsible for this as the Nawab. They were more in control of the administration and finances of Awadh since the 1780s than the Nawab. In addition, Awadh had been impoverished by the incessant cash demands of the British on the Nawab.

The excuse at last came for the British to invoke that clause of the 1801 Treaty. And the Governor General in 1856, Lord Dalhousie invoked the doctrine of lapse. Awadh was annexed, Wajid Ali Shah shipped off to virtual imprisonment in Matiyaburj in Calcutta and, though this was not on the British program, the stage set for the greatest rebellion to date against their power in India.

List of Rulers[edit]

All rulers used the title of Nawab'.

Nawabs of Awadh (1722–1856)[edit]

Portrait Titular Name Personal Name Birth Reign Death
Saadat Ali Khan I.jpg 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
Safdarjung, second Nawab of Awadh, Mughal dynasty. India. early 18th century.jpg Abul-Mansur Khan Safdar Jung
ابو المنصور خان صفدرجنگ
Muhammad Muqim 1708 1737– 5 October 1754 1754
अवध के नवाब शुजाउद्दौला.jpg Shuja-ud-Daula
شجاع الدولہ
Jalal-ud-din Haider Abul-Mansur Khan 1732 1754– 26 January 1775 1775
Asifportrait2 - Asuf ud Daula.jpg Asaf-ud-Daula
آصف الدولہ
Muhammad Yahya Mirza Amani 1748 26 January 1775– 21 September 1797 1797
WazirAliKhan.jpg Asif Jah Mirza Wazir Ali Khan
وزیر علی خان
1780 21 September 1797– 21 January 1798 1817
Saadat Ali Khan II.jpg Yamin-ud-Daula Saadat Ali Khan II
سعادت علی خان
1752 21 January 1798– 11 July 1814 1814
Ghazi-ud-Din Haider Robert Home 1820.jpg Rafa'at-ud-Daula
Abul-Muzaffar Ghazi-ud-din Haydar Khan
غازی الدیں حیدر
1769 11 July 1814– 19 October 1827 1827
Nasir ud din haidar.jpg Nasir-ud-din Haidar Shah Jahan
ناصر الدیں حیدر شاہ ‌جہاں
Abul-Mansur Qutb-ud-din Sulaiman Jah 1827 19 October 1827– 7 July 1837 1837
MuhammadAliShah.jpg Abul Fateh Moin-ud-din Muhammad Ali Shah
محمّد علی شاہ
1777 7 July 1837– 7 May 1842 1842
AmjadAliShah.jpg Najm-ud-Daula Abul-Muzaffar Musleh-ud-din Amjad Ali Shah
امجد علی شاہ
1801 7 May 1842– 13 February 1847 1847
Washah1.jpg Abul-Mansur Mirza Wajid Ali Shah
واجد علی شاہ
1822 13 February 1847– 11 February 1856 21 September 1887
Begum hazrat mahal.jpg Begum Hazrat Mahal
بیگم حضرت محل
Muhammadi Khanum - May 1857-1858
Consort to Birjis Qadra
7 April 1879
Birjis Qadra.jpg Birjis Qadr
برجیس قدر
Ramzan Ali
رمضان علی
1845 1857–1858
(in rebellion)
14 August 1893

See also[edit]


  1. ^ Sacred space and holy war: the politics, culture and history of Shi'ite Islam By Juan Ricardo Cole
  2. ^ Encyclopædia Iranica,, "Avadh", E. Yarshater
  4. ^ Art and culture: endeavours in interpretation By Ahsan Jan Qaisar,Som Prakash Verma,Mohammad Habib
  5. ^ 'The Private Life of an Eastern King' by William Knighton

External links[edit]