Nawabs of Awadh & Bengal

§1 — Successor States of the Mughal Empire

Successor States of the Mughal Empire

As Mughal central authority weakened after Aurangzeb's death (1707), three classes of successor states emerged:

Awadh and Bengal both belong to Type 1 — and both followed similar patterns: Mughal-appointed Subahdars who established hereditary rule, paid nominal tribute to Delhi, and eventually fell into the British orbit.

§2 — Nawabs of Awadh: Quick Reference

Nawabs of Awadh: Quick Reference

§3 — Sa'adat Khan: Foundation of Awadh

Sa'adat Khan, Burhan-ul-Mulk (1722–1739)

Sa'adat Khan (Mir Muhammad Amin Burhan-ul-Mulk) was a Persian Shia nau-Mussalman from Naishapur. He came to Mughal India as an adventurer under Aurangzeb, rose under successive emperors, and was appointed Subahdar of Awadh in 1722 by Muhammad Shah. He suppressed the Rajputs of Awadh and made the office hereditary in his family. The capital was Faizabad.

In 1739, when Nadir Shah invaded India and defeated Muhammad Shah at the Battle of Karnal, Sa'adat Khan was reportedly the one who advised Nadir Shah to demand a much larger ransom (out of jealousy of his rival, Nizam-ul-Mulk). Humiliated by the consequences and the loot of Delhi, Sa'adat Khan committed suicide by poisoning in 1739.

Demographic Composition of Awadh

Awadh under the Nawabs developed a distinctive social profile: a Shia Muslim ruling class over a predominantly Sunni and Hindu population. The Nawabs cultivated alliances with Hindu landholders (taluqdars). Persian was the court language; Urdu/Hindavi developed in the bazaars. The state's elaborate court culture produced what we now call "Lucknowi tehzeeb" (refined etiquette).

§4 — Safdar Jung & Shuja-ud-Daula

Safdar Jung (1739–1754) & Shuja-ud-Daula (1754–1775)

Safdar Jung succeeded Sa'adat Khan. He combined the offices of Nawab of Awadh with the imperial Wazir-ship (Wazir of the Mughal Empire) from 1748–53 under Ahmad Shah. He was perhaps the last serious Mughal Wazir. He fought the Rohilla Pathans (Najib-ud-Daula) and the Bangash chiefs, with mixed success.

Shuja-ud-Daula and the British

His son Shuja-ud-Daula ruled 1754–1775. He combined high political talent with limited military success. In 1761 he aided Ahmad Shah Abdali against the Marathas at the Third Battle of Panipat. In 1763 he gave refuge to the deposed Nawab of Bengal Mir Qasim who had fled the British. The next year, joining Mir Qasim and Shah Alam II, he fought the British at the Battle of Buxar (22 October 1764) and was decisively defeated by Hector Munro.

Treaty of Allahabad 1765

In the aftermath of Buxar, Robert Clive negotiated the Treaty of Allahabad (1765) with Shuja-ud-Daula on remarkably moderate terms — Awadh was preserved and not annexed. Terms:

• Shuja paid 50 lakh rupees war indemnity to the EIC
• Allahabad and Kora ceded to the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II (effectively to British protection)
• Awadh became a British ally — a buffer state between Bengal and the Maratha-Afghan-Sikh north
• British troops would protect Awadh in exchange for cash subsidy

This was the "buffer state" doctrine — Awadh as the bulwark of British Bengal. It would last for ninety years until 1856.

§5 — Asaf-ud-Daula and Lucknow

Asaf-ud-Daula (1775–1797) and the Shift to Lucknow

Asaf-ud-Daula shifted the capital from Faizabad to Lucknow in 1775. Under his patronage Lucknow became the most refined cultural centre of late 18th-century India. Achievements include:

• Built the Bara Imambara (1784) — built as famine relief work; the largest unsupported vaulted hall in India.
• Built the Rumi Darwaza — the iconic gateway of Lucknow.
• Patronised Mir Taqi Mir, Mirza Ghazi, Insha Allah Khan — Urdu poetry's Lucknow school.
• Encouraged Kathak dance and Hindustani music — the Lucknow gharana.

Treaty of Faizabad 1775

Under Warren Hastings, the British forced the Treaty of Faizabad (1775) on Asaf-ud-Daula:

• Benaras and Ghazipur were ceded to the British (forming Banaras Division)
• Subsidiary force payments raised
• Begums of Awadh (Asaf-ud-Daula's mother and grandmother) controversially despoiled by Hastings to extract money — leading to charges in his impeachment 1788

Subsidiary Alliance 1801

Sa'adat Ali Khan II (1798–1814) signed the Subsidiary Alliance with Wellesley in 1801 — Awadh ceded approximately HALF its territory:

• Rohilkhand (Bareilly, Moradabad)
• Lower Doab (Allahabad, Etawah, Mainpuri)
• Some Gorakhpur districts

These ceded territories together formed the new "Ceded Provinces" — later the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh — the heart of Hindi-speaking British India.

§6 — Annexation of Awadh 1856

Annexation of Awadh by Lord Dalhousie (February 1856)

Wajid Ali Shah (1847–1856) was the last Nawab of Awadh — a great patron of dance, music, poetry, drama, and personally a poet (pen name "Akhtar") and composer. His personal life was elaborate (he had thousands of dependents in his harem) but his administration was decentralised — much of Awadh was effectively run by taluqdars, with the Nawab a ceremonial sovereign.

Dalhousie's Pretext

Lord Dalhousie used the doctrine of "misgovernance" (NOT the Doctrine of Lapse — Awadh did have an heir) to annex Awadh on 13 February 1856. Colonel William Sleeman's reports on Awadh's condition were used as evidence. Wajid Ali Shah was deposed; he refused to sign a treaty surrendering his throne. He was pensioned off to Matiya Burj, near Calcutta, with an annual pension of ₹12 lakh, where he recreated a miniature Lucknow and lived until 1887.

Consequences for 1857

Awadh annexation deeply alienated:

• Sepoys: about 75,000 of the Bengal Army's sepoys were Awadh-origin Brahmins and Rajputs. With Awadh gone, their families lost privileged status and the recruitment grounds were destabilised.
• Taluqdars: the British "Summary Settlement" reduced taluqdars to mere zamindars, expropriating ancestral rights over revenue.
• Begum Hazrat Mahal: Wajid Ali Shah's begum became the central figure of Awadh's resistance in 1857 — proclaiming her son Birjis Qadr as Nawab and leading the defence of Lucknow.

Awadh was thus a major theatre of the 1857 Revolt — covered separately.

§7 — Nawabs of Bengal: Quick Reference

Nawabs of Bengal: Quick Reference

§8 — Murshid Quli Khan and Alivardi Khan

Murshid Quli Khan (1717–1727)

Murshid Quli Khan (originally Muhammad Hadi, a Brahmin convert who served Aurangzeb in the Deccan) was appointed Diwan of Bengal by Aurangzeb in 1700 and Nazim/Subahdar by Farrukh Siyar in 1717.

Reforms

• Shifted capital from Dhaka to Maksudabad, renamed Murshidabad (1704)
• Replaced the old Mughal jagirdars with revenue farmers (ijaradars)
• Encouraged Hindu zamindars and bankers — especially the Jagat Seths banking house
• Maintained nominal allegiance to the Mughal emperor — sent annual remittances to Delhi
• Curbed European trade abuses — particularly British misuse of dastaks

Alivardi Khan (1740–1756)

Alivardi Khan seized the throne by killing the previous Nawab Sarfaraz Khan at the Battle of Giria (1740). His reign was dominated by the Maratha Bargi raids (1741–51) — devastating annual incursions led by Maratha generals (Bhaskar Pant, then Raghuji Bhonsle of Nagpur). Alivardi finally bought peace by ceding Odisha to the Marathas and agreeing to pay an annual chauth of ₹12 lakh.

Alivardi was politically astute with the Europeans — he kept the British, French and Dutch in check without provoking war. His grandson and successor Siraj-ud-Daula inherited the throne but lacked Alivardi's diplomatic skill, leading to the Plassey crisis.

For Bengal's later history — Plassey, Mir Jafar, Mir Qasim, Buxar, Dual Government — see the dedicated article on the Battle of Plassey.

§9 — Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions