page_title: Nawab
section_title: Nawab as a court rank
hierarchical_section_title: Nawab / Miscellaneous nawabs / Nawab as a court rank
caption_attribution_description: English: Saadat Ali Khan I हिन्दी: सआदत अली खान प्रथम
context_page_description: Nawab also spelt Nawaab, Navaab, Navab, Nowab, Nabob, Nawaabshah, Nawabshah or Nobab, is a Royal title indicating a sovereign ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the western titles of King, Grand Duke and Duke. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Dukes, Grand Dukes, and Kings of Saxony to the German Emperor. In earlier times the title was ratified and bestowed by the reigning Mughal emperor to semi-autonomous Muslim rulers of subdivisions or princely states in the Indian subcontinent loyal to the Mughal Empire i.e. Nawabs of Bengal. The title is common among Muslim rulers of South Asia as an equivalent to the title Maharaja, however it is not exclusive to Muslims only.
  "Nawab" usually refers to males and literally means Viceroy; the female equivalent is "Begum" or "Nawab Begum". The primary duty of a Nawab was to uphold the sovereignty of the Mughal emperor along with the administration of a certain province.
context_section_description: Nawab was also the rank title—again not an office—of a much lower class of Muslim nobles—in fact retainers—at the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad and Berar State, ranking only above Khan Bahadur and Khan, but under (in ascending order) Jang, Daula, Mulk, Umara and Jah; the equivalent for Hindu courtiers was Raja Bahadur.
caption: A picture of whom is believed to be the first ever "Nawab" of Mughal Empire, "Saadat Ali Khan I" of Awadh.
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