{{Short description|Polity in the Awadh region of North India (1732–1856)}} {{About|the Mughal province and later kingdom|the natural and historical region in Uttar Pradesh |Awadh}} {{redirect|Oudh|the Oudh tree|agarwood|the Arabic musical instrument|Oud}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}} {{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}} {{Infobox former country | life_span = 1572–1856 | conventional_long_name = Oudh<br>Awadh | religion = [[Shia Islam]] ([[State religion|official]]), [[Hinduism]] (majority), [[Sunni Islam]], [[Jainism]], [[Buddhism]], [[Sikhism]], [[Christianity]] | government_type = {{plainlist| *[[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[State government|subah]] (1572–1722) *[[Feudal]] [[absolute monarchy]] (1722–1816) *[[Feudal]] [[absolute monarchy]] as a [[British protectorate]] (1816–1856) }} | event_start = Independence from [[Mughal Empire]] | date_start = 26 January | year_start = 1722 | event_end = [[Central Indian campaign of 1858|Oudh campaign]] | date_end = 3 March | year_end = 1858 | event1 = Annexation of Oudh | date_event1 = 1856 | event2 = [[Siege of Cawnpore]] | date_event2 = 5 – 25 June 1857 | event_post = Merger of Oudh to [[North-Western Provinces]] | date_post = 1859 | p1 = Mughal Empire | flag_p1 = Alam of the Mughal Empire.svg | border_p1 = no | p2 = Chero dynasty | s1 = North-Western Provinces and Oudh | flag_s1 = British Raj Red Ensign.svg | s2 = Benares State | flag_s2 = Drapeau Benares.png | border_s2 = no | image_flag = Flag of Awadh.svg | flag_border = no | image_coat = Oudh-arms short.gif | image_map = Pope1880Oudh2.jpg | image_map_caption = The Kingdom of Oudh in 1856 (red) | capital = {{Plainlist| *[[Ayodhya]] (1722–1740) *[[Faizabad]] (1740–1775) *[[Lucknow]] (1775–1858)}} | common_languages = [[Persian language|Persian]] (official), [[Awadhi language|Awadhi]] (regional), [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] | area_label = 1601 | area_sq_mi = 26463<ref>{{Cite book |last=Habib |first=Irfan |url= |title=An Atlas of the Mughal Empire: Political and Economic Maps with Detained Notes, Bibliography and Index |date=1986 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-560379-8 |language=en|chapter=Table I: Area and ''ʽJama'' of the Mughal Empire, c. 1601|author-link=Irfan Habib|pp=xii–xiii}}</ref> | currency = [[Indian Rupee]] | representative1 = [[Girdhar Bahadur]] (last) | representative2 = | year_representative1 = 1722 | year_representative2 = | title_representative = [[Subedar]] | leader1 = [[Saadat Ali Khan I]] (first) | leader2 = [[Wajid Ali Shah]] (last) | year_leader1 = 1722–1739 | year_leader2 = 1847–1856 | title_leader = [[Nawab of Awadh|Nawab/Padshah]] | footnotes = }}
[[File:Saadat_Ali_Khan_II.jpg|thumb|Nawab [[Saadat Ali Khan II]].]] [[File:Nasir ud din haidar.jpg|thumb|Nawab [[Nasiruddin Haider]]]] The '''Oudh State''' ({{IPA|en|ˈaʊd|lang}}, {{IPA|hi|ˈəʋədʱ|lang|hi-Awadh.ogg}},<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Oudh |title=Oudh – definition of Oudh in English from the Oxford dictionary |access-date=1 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909123759/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Oudh |archive-date=9 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> also '''Kingdom of Awadh''', '''Kingdom of Oudh''', '''Awadh Subah''', '''Oudh Subah''', or '''Awadh State''') was a [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[subah]], then an independent kingdom, and lastly a [[British protectorate]] in the [[Awadh]] region of [[North India]] until its annexation by the [[British East India Company]] in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name of the state, also written historically as '''Oudhe.'''
As the [[Mughal Empire]] declined and decentralized, local governors in Oudh began asserting greater autonomy, and eventually Oudh matured into an independent polity governing the fertile lands of the Central and Lower [[Doab]].
The capital of Oudh was in [[Faizabad]], but the company's Political Agents, officially known as "Residents", had their seat in [[Lucknow]]. At par existed a Maratha embassy, in the Oudh court, led by the [[Vakil]] of the [[Peshwa]], until the [[Second Anglo-Maratha War]]. The Nawab of Oudh, one of the richest princes, paid for and erected a [[The Residency, Lucknow|Residency in Lucknow]] as a part of a wider programme of civic improvements.<ref>Davies, Philip, ''Splendours of the Raj: British Architecture in India, 1660–1947.'' New York: Penguin Books, 1987</ref>
Oudh joined other Indian states in an upheaval against British rule in 1858 during one of the last series of actions in the [[Indian rebellion of 1857]]. In the course of this uprising, detachments of the [[Bombay Army]] of the East India Company overcame the disunited collection of Indian states in a single rapid campaign. Determined rebels continued to wage sporadic guerrilla clashes until the spring of 1859. This rebellion is also historically known as the [[Oudh campaign of 1858-9|Oudh campaign]].<ref>Michael Edwardes, ''Battles of the Indian Mutiny,'' Pan, 1963, {{ISBN|0-330-02524-4}}</ref>
After the British [[annexation]] of Oudh by the [[Doctrine of Lapse]], the [[North Western Provinces]] became the North Western Provinces and Oudh.<ref>{{cite book|title=Town Planning Regeneration of Cities|author=Ashutosh Joshi|publisher=New India Publishing|date=1 Jan 2008|isbn=978-8189422820|page=237|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UFaGME0XDBkC&pg=PA151|access-date=13 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303145638/https://books.google.com/books?id=UFaGME0XDBkC&pg=PA151|archive-date=3 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
==History== {{see also|Oudh Bequest}} [[File:Elaborately illustrated map of the Awadh Subah of the Mughal Empire, commissioned by Jean Baptiste Joseph Gentil, ca.1770.jpg|thumb|Elaborately illustrated map of the Awadh Subah of the Mughal Empire, commissioned by Jean Baptiste Joseph Gentil, ca.1770]] ''Oudh Subah'' was one of the initial 12 subahs (later expanded to 15 ''subahs'' by the end of Akbar's reign) established by [[Akbar]] during his administrative reforms of 1572–1580. A Mughal ''[[Subah]]'' was divided into ''[[Sarkar (administrative division)|Sarkars]]'', or districts. ''Sarkars'' were further divided into ''[[Pargana]]s'' or ''[[Mahalla|Mahals]]''. [[Saadat Ali Khan I]] was appointed [[Subahdar]] of Oudh Subah on 9 September 1722, succeeding [[Girdhar Bahadur]]. He immediately subdued the autonomous Shaikhzadas of [[Lucknow]] and Raja Mohan Singh of [[Tiloi]], consolidating Oudh as a state. In 1728, Oudh further acquired [[Varanasi]], [[Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh|Jaunpur]] and surrounding lands from the Mughal noble Rustam Ali Khan and established stable revenue collection in that province after quelling the chief of [[Azamgarh]], [[Mahabat Khan]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Srivastava |first1=Ashirbadi Lal |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.49871/page/n1 |title=The First Two Nawabs Of Oudh (a Critical Study Based On Original Sources) |date=1933 |publisher=The Upper India Publishing House, Ltd. |location=Lucknow}}</ref>{{rp|44}} In 1739 Saadat Khan mobilized Oudh to defend against [[Nader Shah]]'s [[Nader Shah's invasion of the Mughal Empire|invasion of India]], ultimately being captured in the [[Battle of Karnal]]. He attempted to negotiate with Nader Shah but died in Delhi.
===Establishment=== In 1740, his successor [[Safdar Jang]] moved the capital of the state from [[Ayodhya]] to [[Faizabad]].<ref name="Gopal1993">{{cite book|author=Sarvepalli Gopal|title=Anatomy of a Confrontation: Ayodhya and the Rise of Communal Politics in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=47AARF595dUC&pg=PA39|date=15 October 1993|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-85649-050-4|pages=39–|access-date=9 November 2019|archive-date=9 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240209112831/https://books.google.com/books?id=47AARF595dUC&pg=PA39#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Safdar Jang gained recognition from Persia after paying tribute. He continued Saadat Khan's expansionist policy, promising military protection to Bengal in exchange for the forts at [[Rohtasgarh]] and [[Chunar]], and annexing portions of [[Farrukhabad]] with Mughal military aid which was ruled by [[Muhammad Khan Bangash]].
As the [[Mughal Empire]] began to dissolve in the early 18th century, many ''subahs'' became effectively independent.<ref name="Whitworth1885">{{cite book |last=Whitworth |first=George Clifford |title=An Anglo-Indian Dictionary: A Glossary of Indian Terms Used in English, and of Such English Or Other Non-Indian Terms as Have Obtained Special Meanings in India |publisher=K. Paul, Trench |year=1885 |pages=301– |chapter=Subah |access-date=13 July 2020 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7tAOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA301 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240209112831/https://books.google.com/books?id=7tAOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA301#v=onepage&q&f=false |archive-date=9 February 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> As regional officials asserted their autonomy in [[Bengal]] and the [[Deccan]] as well as with the rise of the [[Maratha Empire]], the rulers of Oudh gradually affirmed their own sovereignty. [[Safdar Jang]] went as far as to control the ruler of Delhi, putting [[Ahmad Shah Bahadur]] on the Mughal throne with the cooperation of other Mughal nobility. In 1748 he gained the [[subah]] of [[Allahabad]] with Ahmad Shah's official support. This was arguably the zenith of Oudh's territorial span.<ref name="lal">{{cite book|last1=Jaswant Lal|first1=Mehta|title=Advanced Study in the History of Modern India: 1707-1813|date=2005|publisher=Sterling Publishers|isbn=9781932705546}}</ref>{{rp|132}} <ref name="markovits">{{Cite book| editor-last=Markovits| editor-first=Claude | year=2005| title=A History of Modern India 1480–1950 (Anthem South Asian Studies)| publisher=Anthem Press.| isbn=1-84331-152-6}}</ref>{{rp|193}}
The next nawab, [[Shuja-ud-Daula]], extended Oudh's control of the Mughal emperor. He was appointed [[Vizier|vazir]] to [[Shah Alam II]] in 1762 and offered him asylum after his failed campaigns against the British in the [[Bengal War]].<ref name="markovits"/>
===British contact and control=== Since Oudh was located in a prosperous region, the [[British East India Company]] soon took notice of the affluence in which the Nawabs of Oudh lived. Primarily, the British sought to protect the frontiers of Bengal and their lucrative trade there; only later did direct expansion occur.
====Shuja-ud-Daula==== {{See also|Shuja-ud-Daula}} British dominance was established at the [[Battle of Buxar]] of 1764, when the East India Company defeated the alliance between the nawab of Oudh [[Shuja-ud-Daula]] and the deposed nawab of Bengal [[Mir Kasim]].<ref name="ramusack">{{cite book|last1=Ramusack|first1=Barbara N.|title=The Indian Princes and their States|date=2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>{{rp|25}} The battle was a turning point for the once rising star of Oudh. The immediate effect was the British occupation of the fort at [[Chunar]] and the cession of the provinces of Kora and [[Allahabad]] to Mughal ruler [[Shah Alam II]] under the Treaty of Benares (1765). Shaja-ud-Daula further had to pay 5 million rupees as an indemnity, which was paid off in one year.<ref name="grover">{{cite book |last1=Grover |first1=B.L. |last2=Mehta |first2=Alka |title=A New Look at Modern Indian History (From 1707 to the Modern Times) |date=2018 |publisher=S. Chand Publishing |isbn=9789352534340 |edition=32 }}</ref>{{rp|158}}<ref name="markovits" />{{rp|252}} The long-term result would be direct British interference in the internal state matters of Oudh, useful as a buffer state against the [[Marathas]]. The treaty also granted British traders special privileges and exemptions from many customs duties, which led to tensions as British monopolies were established.
Shuja-ud-Daula bought the Mughal provinces of Kora and Allahabad in the Treaty of Benares (1773) with the British (who held ''de facto'' control over the area) for 50 lakh rupees, increased the cost of Company mercenaries, and military aid in the [[First Rohilla War]] to expand Oudh as a buffer state against Maratha interests.<ref name="ramusack" />{{rp|65}}<ref name="grover" />{{rp|75}} Done by [[Warren Hastings]], this move was unpopular among the rest of Company leadership, but Hastings continued a harsh policy on Oudh, justifying the military aid as a bid to strengthen Oudh's status as a buffer state against the Marathas. To shape the policy of Oudh and direct its internal affairs Hastings appointed the resident [[Nathaniel Middleton]] in Lucknow that year as well. At the conclusion of the First Rohilla War in 1774, Oudh gained the entirety of [[Rohilkhand]] and the Middle [[Doab]] region, only leaving the independent [[Rampur State]] as a Rohilla enclave.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}
====Asaf-ud-Daula==== {{See also|Asaf-ud-Daula}} Asaf-ud-Daula acceded to the nawabship of Oudh with British aid in exchange for the Treaty of Benares (1775) which further increased the cost of mercenaries and ceded the ''sarkars'' of [[Benares]], [[Ghazipur]], [[Chunar]], and [[Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh|Jaunpur]]. From this time onwards, Oudh consistently complied with the company's demands, which continued to demand more land and economic control over the state.<ref name="habib">{{cite journal |last1=Habib |first1=Irfan |last2=Habib |first2=Faiz |title=Mapping the Dismemberment of Awadh 1775-1801 |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |date=2014 |volume=75 |issue=455–460}}</ref>
The Treaty of Chunar (1781) sought to reduce the number of British troops in Oudh's service to cut costs, but failed in this measure due to the instability of Asaf-ud-Daula's rule and thus his reliance on British aid essentially as a puppet regime.<ref name="EI">{{Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition|volume=|title=Awadh|page(s)=|first=C. Collin|last=Davies|author-link=|url=}}</ref>
====Later rulers==== [[Saadat Ali Khan II]] acceded to the throne of Oudh in 1798, owing his seat to British intervention including Governor-General of Bengal [[John Shore, 1st Baron Teignmouth|Sir John Shore]]'s personal proclamation in Lucknow of his rule. A treaty signed on 21 February 1798 increased the subsidy paid to the British to 70 lakh rupees per year.<ref name="habib"/>
In light of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] and British demands for greater revenue from the company, in 1801, [[Saadat Ali Khan II]] ceded the entire [[Rohilkhand]] and [[Lower Doab]] as well as the ''sarkar'' of [[Gorakhpur]] under the pressure of [[Lord Wellesley]] to the British in lieu of the annual tribute.<ref>Treaty with the Nawab of Oudh for the cession of Territory in commutation of Subsidy, concluded by Henry Wellesley and Lieut.-Col. William Scott 10th Nov. 1801</ref> The cession halved the size of the polity, reducing it to the original Mughal [[subah]] of Awadh (excepting Gorakhpur which was ceded) and surrounded it by directly administered British territory, rendering it useless as a buffer. The treaty also mandated a government to be put in place that primarily served the citizens of Oudh. It was on the basis of the failure to meet this demand that the British later justified the annexation of Oudh.
[[Farrukhabad]] and [[Rampur State|Rampur]] was not annexed by the British yet; instead, they served as separate princely states for the moment.<ref name="habib"/>
The kingdom became a British [[protectorate]] in May 1816. Three years later, in 1819, the [[Ghazi-ud-Din Haidar Shah]] took the title of ''Badshah'' (king), signaling formal independence from the Mughal Empire under the advice of the [[Marquis of Hastings]].
Throughout the early 1800s until annexation, several areas were gradually ceded to the British.
===British annexation=== [[File:7th Hussars, charging a body of the Mutineer's Cavalry.jpg|Mutineer's Cavalry at Alam Bagh, Lucknow|thumb]] On 7 February 1856, by order of [[Governor-General of India|Governor-General]] [[James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie|Lord Dalhousie]], the [[Nawab of Awadh|Nawab of Oudh]], [[Wajid Ali Shah]], was deposed, and Oudh State was annexed to the territories of the [[British East India Company]] under the terms of the [[Doctrine of lapse]] on the grounds of alleged internal misrule.<ref name=igi-V-72/>
=== Indian Rebellion of 1857 === Between 5 July 1857 and 3 March 1858, during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]], [[Begum Hazrat Mahal]], the wife of Wajid Ali Shah proclaimed their son [[Birjis Qadr]] the ''Wali'' of Awadh and ruled as regent. At the time of the rebellion, the British lost control of the territory; they reestablished their rule over the next eighteen months, during which time there were massacres such as those that had occurred in the course of the [[Siege of Cawnpore]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Ben Cahoon |url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_princes_K-W.html#oudh |title=Princely States of India – Oudh |publisher=Worldstatesmen.org |access-date=2014-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113065437/http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_princes_K-W.html#oudh |archive-date=13 January 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>William Barton, ''The princes of India''. Delhi 1983</ref>
After the rebellion, Oudh's territory was merged with the [[North Western Provinces]], forming the larger province of ''North-Western Provinces and Oudh''. In 1902, the latter was renamed the [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh]]. In 1921, it became the [[United Provinces of British India]]. In 1937, it became the [[United Provinces (1937–1950)|United Provinces]] and continued as a province in independent [[India]] until finally becoming the state of [[Uttar Pradesh]] in 1950.<ref name="igi-V-72">{{Harvnb|Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. V|1908|p=72}}</ref>
== Government == [[File:India1760 1905.jpg|thumb|The fully-fledged state of Awadh]]
=== Feudatory states === The following were feudatory estates —[[taluqdari]]s<ref>{{cite book|title=The Feudatory and zemindari India, Volume 17, Issue 2|date=1937|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BBYnAQAAIAAJ&q=nanpara|access-date=4 August 2014|archive-date=9 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240209113504/https://books.google.com/books?id=BBYnAQAAIAAJ&q=nanpara|url-status=live}}</ref> or [[pargana]]s— of Oudh: *Amethi Estate<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Amethi (Taluk) |url=http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/a/amethi.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814153603/http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/a/amethi.html |archive-date=14 August 2018 |access-date=2 April 2026 |website=}}</ref> *Balrampur Estate<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/b/balrampur.html |title=Balrampur (Taluqdari) |access-date=4 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304133300/http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/b/balrampur.html |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> *[[Benares State]] until 1740<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bayly |first=C. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfo3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA17 |title=Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion, 1770-1870 |date=1988-05-19 |publisher=CUP Archive |isbn=978-0-521-31054-3 |language=en}}</ref> *[[Bhadri Estate]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/b/bhadri.html |title=Bhadri (Taluq) |access-date=4 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131129144934/http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/b/bhadri.html |archive-date=29 November 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> *Itaunja Estate<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/i/itaunja.html |title=Itaunja – Raipur Ekdaria (Taluq) |access-date=4 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710154445/http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/i/itaunja.html |archive-date=10 July 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> *[[Jahangirabad Estate]] *[[Kohra Estate]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rathore |first=Abhinay |date= |title=Kohra (Taluk) |url=https://www.indianrajputs.com/view/kohra |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320120857/https://www.indianrajputs.com/view/kohra |archive-date=20 March 2023 |access-date=2023-03-14 |website=Rajput Provinces of India |language=en}}</ref> *[[Mahmudabad Estate]] *[[Nanpara Taluqdari]]<ref>{{cite book|title=The Indian Year Book, Volume 29|date=1942|publisher=Bennett, Coleman & Company|page=1286|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HV8dAQAAMAAJ&q=nanpara|access-date=6 August 2014|archive-date=9 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240209113509/https://books.google.com/books?id=HV8dAQAAMAAJ&q=nanpara|url-status=live}}</ref> *[[Pratapgarh Estate]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pratapgarh (Taluq) |url=http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/p/pratapgarh_up.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031014806/http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/p/pratapgarh_up.html |archive-date=31 October 2014 |access-date=20 June 2024}}</ref> *[[Sarosi estate|Sarosi Estate]] *[[Tulsipur State]]
=== Subdvisions === At the time of its creation by [[Akbar]], the Subah of Oudh consisted of 5 [[Sarkar (administrative division)|''sarkars'']], further subdivided into 38 [[Pargana|''parganas'']]:<ref>Abul Fazl-i-Allami (1949, reprint 1993). ''Ain-i-Akbari'' Vol. II (tr. H.S. Jarrett, rev. J.N. Sarkar), Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, pp.184-190</ref>
{| class="wikitable" |- ! Sarkar |- | [[Ayodhya|Oudh]] |- | [[Gorakhpur]] |- | [[Bahraich]] |- | [[Khairabad, Sitapur|Khairabad]] |- | [[Lucknow]] |}
=== Rulers === {{Main|Nawab of Awadh|l1=Nawabs of Oudh}}
The first ruler of Oudh State belonged to the [[Shia]] Muslim Sayyid Family and descended of [[Musa al-Kadhim]] originated from [[Nishapur]]. But the dynasty also belonged from the paternal line to the [[Kara Koyunlu]] through [[Qara Yusuf]]. They were renowned for their [[secularism]] and broad outlook.<ref>{{cite web |author=B. S. Saxena |url=http://oudh.tripod.com/misc/noosec.htm |title=Repertoire On Wajid Ali Shah & Monuments of Avadh – Nawabs of Oudh & their Secularism |publisher=Avadh Cultural Club (Lucknow) |date=1974 |access-date=2 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827010208/http://oudh.tripod.com/misc/noosec.htm |archive-date=27 August 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
All rulers used the title of '[[Nawab]]'.<ref>{{cite web |author=Ben Cahoon |url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_princes_K-W.html#Oudh |title=List of rulers of Oudh |publisher=Worldstatesmen.org |access-date=2014-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113065437/http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_princes_K-W.html#Oudh |archive-date=13 January 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |- ! Title !! Reign Start !! Reign End !! Name |- | rowspan = 2 | Subadar Nawab || 26 January 1722 || 19 March 1739 || [[Saadat Ali Khan I|Borhan al-Molk Mir Mohammad Amin Musawi Saʾadat ʾAli Khan I]] |- | 19 March 1739 || 28 April 1748 || rowspan = 3 | [[Safdarjung|Abu'l Mansur Mohammad Moqim Khan]] |- | Nawab Wazir al-Mamalik || 28 April 1748 || 13 May 1753 |- | rowspan = 2 | Subadar Nawab || 5 November 1753 || 5 October 1754 |- | 5 October 1754 || 15 February 1762 || rowspan = 2 | [[Shuja-ud-Daula|Jalal ad-Din Shojaʾ ad-Dowla]] Haydar |- | rowspan = 5 | Nawab Wazir al-Mamalik || 15 February 1762 || 26 January 1775 |- | 26 January 1775 || 21 September 1797 || [[Asaf-ud-Daula|Asaf ad-Dowla Amani]] |- | 21 September 1797 || 21 January 1798 || [[Wazir Ali Khan|Mirza Wazir ʾAli Khan]] |- | 21 Jan 1798 || 11 Jul 1814 || [[Saadat Ali Khan II|Yamin ad-Dowla Nazem al-Molk]] Saʾadat ʾAli Khan II Bahadur |- | 11 July 1814 || 19 October 1818 || rowspan = 2 | [[Ghazi-ud-Din Haidar Shah|Ghazi ad-Din Rafaʾat ad-Dowla]] Abul-Mozaffar Haydar Khan |- | rowspan = 6 | King (''Padshah-e Awadh, Shah-e Zaman'') || 19 October 1818 || 19 October 1827 |- | 19 October 1827 || 7 July 1837 || [[Nasir-ud-Din Haidar Shah|Naser ad-Din Haydar Solayman]] Jah Shah |- | 7 July 1837 || 17 May 1842 || [[Muhammad Ali Shah|Moʾin ad-Din Abu'l-Fath Mohammad]] ʾAli Shah |- | 17 May 1842 || 13 February 1847 || [[Amjad Ali Shah|Naser ad-Dowla Amjad ʾAli Thorayya]] Jah Shah |- | 13 February 1847 || 7 February 1856 || [[Wajid Ali Shah|Naser ad-Din ʾAbd al-Mansur]] Mohammad Wajed ʾAli Shah |- | 5 July 1857 || 3 March 1858 || [[Birjis Qadr|Berjis Qadr]] (in rebellion) |}
===Residents=== {| class="wikitable" ! Name !! Start !! End |- | Nathaniel Middleton || 1773 || 1774 |- | John Bristow || 1774 || 1776 |- | Nathaniel Middleton || 1776 || 1779 (second time) |- | C. Purling || 1779 || 1780 |- | John Bristow || 1780 || 1781 (second time) |- | Nathaniel Middleton || 1781 || 1782 (third time) |- | John Bristow || 1782 || 1783 (third time) |- |William Palmer |1783 |1784 |- |Gabriel Harper |1784 |1785 |- | Edward Otto Ives || 1785 || 1794 |- |[[George Frederick Cherry]]|| 1794 || 1796 |- | James Lumsden || 1796 || 1799 |- | William Scott || 1799 || 1804 |- | John Ulrich Collins || 1804 || 1807 |- | John Baillie || 1807 || 1815 |- | Richard Charles Strachey || 1815 || 1817 |- | John.R. Monckton || 1818 || 1820 |- | Felix Vincent Raper || 1820 || 1823 |- | Mordaunt Ricketts || 1823 || 1827 |- | Thomas Herbert Maddock || 1829 || 1831 |- | [[John Low (East India Company officer)|John Low]] || 1831 || 1842 |- | James Caulfield (interí) || 1839 || 1841 |- | William Nott || 1841 || 1843 |- | George Pollock || 1843 || 1844 |- |J. D. Shakespear |1844 |1845 |- |T. Reid Davidson |1845 |1847 |- | Archibald Richmond || 1847 || 1849 |- | Sir [[William Henry Sleeman]] || 1849 || 1854 |- | [[Sir James Outram]] || 1854 || 1856 |}
==Demographics== In the early eighteenth century, the population of Oudh was estimated to be 3 million. Oudh underwent a demographic shift in which [[Lucknow]] and [[Varanasi]] expanded to become metropolises of over 200,000 people over the course of the 18th century at the expense of [[Agra]] and [[Delhi]]. During this period the land on the banks of the [[Yamuna]] suffered frequent dry spells, while the [[Baiswara]] did not.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cole|first1=J. R. I.|title=Roots of North Indian Shīʾism in Iran and Iraq: Religion and State in Awadh, 1722-1859|date=1989|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520056411|series=Comparative Studies on Muslim Societies}}</ref>{{rp|38}}
Although it was ruled by Muslims, a majority, roughly four fifths, of Oudh's population were [[Hindus]].<ref name="lal"/>{{rp|155}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Defence Journal, Volume 5, Issues 2-4|page=88|quote=On the contrary the annexation of Oudh in 1856 was viewed by the Muslim elite and the Hindu majority population of Oudh}}</ref>
==Culture== The Nawabs of Oudh were descended from a [[Sayyid]] line from [[Nishapur]] in Persia. They were [[Shia Islam|Shia Muslims]], and promoted Shia as the state religion.<ref name="EI"/> [[Ghazi-ud-Din Haidar Shah]] instituted the [[Oudh Bequest]], a system of fixed payments by the British paid to the Shia holy cities of [[Najaf]] and [[Karbala]]. These payments, along with lifelong stipends to the wives and mother of Ghazi-ud-Din served as interest on the [[Third Oudh Loan]] taken in 1825.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Litvak |first1=Meir |title=Money, religion, and politics: The Oudh Bequest in Najaf and Karbala, 1850-1903 |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies |date=Feb 2001 |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=1–21|doi=10.1017/S0020743801001015 |s2cid=155865344 }}</ref>
The cities of [[Allahabad]], [[Varanasi]], and [[Ayodhya]] were important pilgrimage sites for followers of [[Hinduism]] and other Dharmic [[religion]]s. The town of [[Bahraich]] was also revered by some [[Muslim]]s.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Kingdom of Awadh |author= Surya Narain Singh |year= 2003 |publisher= Mittal Publications}}</ref>
==See also== {{col div|colwidth=30em}} *[[Awadh|Awadh region]] *[[Wajid Ali Shah]] *[[Begum Hazrat Mahal]] *[[List of Indian monarchs#Nawabs of Oudh (1719 – 1858 CE)|List of Indian monarchs]]{{Broken anchor|date=2024-06-02|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=List of Indian monarchs#Nawabs of Oudh (1719 – 1858 CE)|reason= The anchor (Nawabs of Oudh (1719 – 1858 CE)) [[Special:Diff/1133674608|has been deleted]].}} *[[Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway]] *[[Oudh and Tirhut Railway]] *[[Oudh Bequest]] {{colend}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== *{{commons category-inline}} *[http://www.hubert-herald.nl/BhaAwadh.htm Heraldry of Oudh State]
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[[Category:Princely states of Uttar Pradesh]] [[Category:History of Awadh]] [[Category:Mughal subahs]] [[Category:Shia dynasties]] [[Category:1816 establishments in British India]] [[Category:Vassal and tributary states of the Mughal Empire]] [[Category:Oudh State]] [[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1856]] [[Category:States and territories established in 1722]] [[Category:1722 establishments in India]]