# Nawab of Awadh

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 of Sayyid origin from Nishapur, Iran. In 1724, Nawab Sa'adat Khan established the Kingdom of Awadh with their capital in Faizabad and Lucknow.

## History

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.
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.

## List of rulers

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

* 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)
** Nawab Kamran Meerza (son of Kaukab Meerza)
* Nawab Ibrahim Ali Khan Sheesh Mahal

## Gallery

* 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.