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Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India, now constituting the central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala region of Hindu scriptures, Buddhist, and Jain scriptures.
It was a province of all the major Islamic dynasties in India including the Mughal Empire. With the decline of late Mughal Delhi, Awadh became a major source of literary, artistic, religious, and architectural patronage in northern India under the rule of its eleven rulers, called Nawabs. From 1720 to 1856, the nawabs presided over Awadh, with Ayodhya and Faizabad serving as the region's initial capitals. Later, the capital was relocated to Lucknow, which is now the capital of Uttar Pradesh.
The British Empire conquered Awadh in 1856, which infuriated Indians and was recognised as a factor causing the Indian Rebellion (1857-58), the biggest Indian uprising against British rule.
Modern Awadh finds historical mention only in the Mughal time of Akbar, in the late 16th century.
In prehistoric times, Awadh, reputedly the kingdom of Bikukshi, contained five main divisions :
For about eighty-four years (from 1394 to 1478), Awadh was part of the Sharqi Sultanate of Jaunpur; emperor Humayun made it a part of the Mughal Empire around 1555. Emperor Jehangir granted an estate in Awadh to a nobleman, Sheik Abdul Rahim, who had won his favour. Sheik Abdul Rahim later built Machchi Bhawan in this estate; this later became the seat of power from where his descendants, the Sheikhzades, controlled the region. Until 1719, the Subah of Awadh (bordering (Old) Delhi, Agra, Illahabad and Bihar) was a province of the Mughal Empire, administered by a Nazim or Subah Nawab (governor) appointed by the Emperor. Nawab –the plural of the Arabic word 'Naib', meaning 'assistant'– was the term given to subahdars (provincial governors) appointed by the Mughal emperor all over India to assist him in managing the empire. In the absence of expeditious transport and communication facilities, they were practically independent rulers of their territory and wielded the power of life and death over their subjects. Persian adventurer Saadat Khan, also called Burhan-ul-Mulk, was appointed the Nazim of Awadh in 1722 and he established his court in Faizabad "Faizabad, town, India". The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Edition. 2001–07 near Lucknow. The Nawabs of Lucknow were in fact the Nawabs of Awadh, but were so referred to because after the reign of the third Nawab, Lucknow became the capital of their realm, where the British station Residents ('diplomatic' colonial Agents) from 1773. The city was "North India's cultural capital"; its nawabs, best remembered for their refined and extravagant lifestyles, were patrons of the arts. Under them music and dance flourished, and many monuments were erected. Of the monuments standing today, the Bara Imambara, the Chhota Imambara and the Rumi Darwaza are notable examples. One of the more lasting contributions by the Nawabs is the syncretic composite culture that has come to be known as the Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb.
Khan Zaman Khan Ali Asghar son of Qazi Ghulam Mustafa was appointed as Subahdar of Awadh during the reign of Farrukhsiyar. This appointment was made in place of 'Aziz Khan Chughtai'.Tazkirat us-Salatin Chaghta – A Mughal Chronicle of Post Aurangzeb Period (1707–1724) by Muhammad Hadi Kamwar Khan; edited Persian text and with an Introduction by Muzaffar Alam (1980), Centre of Advanced Study Department of History, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (U.P.) -202001, India(page 234) Later on, Mahabat Khan was appointed as Subahdar of Awadh in place of Khan Zaman Khan Ali Asghar, who was all over again transferred to Azimabad (Patna) as Subahdar in place of 'Sar Buland Khan'.Tazkirat us-Salatin Chaghta – A Mughal Chronicle of Post Aurangzeb Period (1707–1724) by Muhammad Hadi Kamwar Khan; edited Persian text and with an Introduction by Muzaffar Alam (1980), Centre of Advanced Study Department of History, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (U.P.) -202001, India(page 236)
It seems to have been of nearly the same extent as the Province of Oudh at the time of annexation to British India in 1858, and to have differed only in including Gorakhpur, Basti, and Azamgarh, and in excluding Tanda, Aldemau, Rajesultanpur and Manikpur, or the territory to the east and South of Faizabad, Sultanpur and Pratapgarh.
Shuja-ud-Daula, the third Nawab of Awadh, built a fort known as "Chhota Calcutta", now in ruins. In 1765 he built the Chowk and Tir-paulia and subsequently laid out the Angoori Bagh and Motibagh to the south of it, Asafbagh and Bulandbagh to the west of the city. During the reign of Shuja-Ud-Daula, Faizabad attained such a prosperity which it never saw again. The Nawabs graced Faizabad with several notable buildings, including the Gulab Bari, Moti Mahal and the tomb of Bahu Begum. Gulab Bari stands in a garden surrounded by a wall, approachable through two large gateways. These buildings are particularly interesting for their assimilative architectural styles.
Shuja-ud-Daula's wife was the well known Bahu Begum, who married the Nawab in 1743 and continued to reside in Faizabad, her residence being the Moti-Mahal. Close by at Jawaharbagh lies her Maqbara, where she was buried after her death in 1816. It is considered to be one of the finest buildings of its kind in Awadh, which was built at the cost of three lakh rupees by her chief advisor Darab Ali Khan. A fine view of the city is obtainable from top of the begum's tomb. Bahu Begum was a woman of great distinction and rank, bearing dignity. Most of the Muslim buildings of Faizabad are attributed to her. From the date of Bahu Begum's death in 1815 till the annexation of Avadh, the city of Faizabad gradually fell into decay. The glory of Faizabad finally eclipsed with the shifting of capital from Faizabad to Lucknow by Nawab Asaf-ud-daula.
The Nawabs of Awadh were a Persian people Shia Muslim dynasty from Nishapur, Sacred space and holy war: the politics, culture and history of Shi'ite Islam By Juan Ricardo Cole Art and culture: endeavours in interpretation By Ahsan Jan Qaisar, Som Prakash Verma, Mohammad Habib who not only encouraged the existing Persian-language belle-lettrist activity to shift from Delhi, but also invited, and received, a steady stream of scholars, poets, jurists, architects, and painters from Iran. Thus Persian was used in government, in academic instruction, in high culture, and in court. Encyclopædia Iranica "Avadh" , E. Yarshater
Saadat Khan Burhanul Mulk was appointed Nawab in 1722 and established his court in Faizabad "Faizabad, town, India" . The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Edition. 2001–07 near Lucknow. He took advantage of a weakening Mughal Empire in Delhi to lay the foundation of the Awadh dynasty. His successor was Safdarjung the very influential noble at the Mughal court in Delhi. Until 1819, Awadh was a province of the Mughal Empire administered by a Nawab.
Awadh was known as the granary of India and was important strategically for the control of the Doab, the fertile plain between the Ganges and the Yamuna rivers. It was a wealthy kingdom, able to maintain its independence against encroachment by the , the British and the Afghans.
The third Nawab, Shuja-ud-Daula, fell out with the British East India Company (EIC) after aiding Mir Qasim the fugitive Nawab of Bengal. He was comprehensively defeated in the Battle of Buxar by a British army, after which he was forced to pay heavy penalties and cede parts of his territory. The British appointed a resident at Lucknow in 1773, and over time gained control of more territory and authority in the state. They were disinclined to capture Awadh outright, because that would bring them face to face with the Marathas and the remnants of the Mughal Empire.
Asaf-ud-Daula, the fourth Nawab and son of Shuja-ud-Daula, moved the capital from Faizabad to Lucknow in 1775 and laid the foundation of a great city. His rule saw the building of the Asafi Imambara and Rumi Darwaza, built by Raja Tikait Rai Nawab Wazir (Diwan) of Awadh, which till date are the biggest architectural marvels in the city. Asaf-ud-Daula made Lucknow 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 city of Lucknow depend.
In 1798, the fifth Nawab Wazir Ali Khan alienated both his people and the British, and was forced to abdicate. The EIC then helped Saadat Ali Khan to the throne. Saadat Ali Khan was a puppet king, who in the treaty of 1801 ceded half of Awadh to the East India Company and also agreed to disband his army in favour of a more expensive one run by British officers. This treaty effectively made part of the state of Awadh a vassal to the EIC, though they continued to be part of the Mughal Empire in name till 1819.
Coins were struck under the nawab's control for the first time in 1737, at a new mint opened in Varanasi, although the coins named the Mughal emperor, not the Nawab.P.L. Gupta: Coins, 4th ed., New Delhi: National Book Trust, p. 178. After the Battle of Buxar, Baranas fell under British rule, and so the mint was moved in 1776 to Lucknow. From there, coins in the name of the Mughal emperor continued to be struck, and they continued to name Muhammadabad Banaras as the mint. It was only in 1819 that Nawab Ghaziuddin Haidar finally started to strike coins in his own name. Soon thereafter, Awadhi coins started to feature the kingdom's European style coat of arms.
The wars and transactions in which Shuja-ud-Daula was engaged, both with and against the British, led to the addition of Kara-Manikpur, Allahabad, Fatehgarh, Kanpur, Etawah, Mainpuri, Farrukhabad and Rohilkhand, to the Oudh dimensions, and thus they remained until the treaty of 1801 with Saadat Ali Khan, by which province was reduced considerably as half of Oudh was ceded to the EIC. Khairigarh, Kanchanpur, and what is now the Nepal Terai, were ceded in 1816, in liquidation of Ghazi ud din Haider's loan of a million sterling towards the expense of Nepal War; and at the same time pargana of Nawabganj was added to Gonda district in exchange for Handia, or Kawai, which was transferred from Pratapgarh to Allahabad.
In 1856 the East India Company invaded and annexed the state under the Doctrine of Lapse, which was placed under a Chief Commissioner. Wajid Ali Shah, the then Nawab, was imprisoned, and then exiled by the company to Calcutta (Bengal). In the subsequent Revolt of 1857, his 14-year-old son Birjis Qadra son of Begum Hazrat Mahal was crowned ruler, and Sir Henry Lawrence killed in the hostilities.
In the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (also known as the First War of Indian Independence and the Indian Mutiny), the rebels took control of Awadh, and it took the British 18 months to reconquer the region, months which included the famous Siege of Lucknow.
The Tarai to the north of Bahraich including large quantity of valuable forest and grazing ground, was made over to the Nepal Darbar in 1860, in recognition of their services during the Revolt of 1857, and in 1874 some further cessions, on a much smaller scale, but without any apparent reason, were made in favour of the same Government. In 1877 the offices of lieutenant-governor of the North-Western Provinces and chief commissioner of Oudh were combined in the same person; and in 1902, when the new name of United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was introduced, the title of chief commissioner was dropped, though Oudh still retained some marks of its former independence.
Awadh was established in 1722. with Faizabad as its capital. Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula's son Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula, the fourth Nawab of Awadh, shifted the capital from Faizabad to Lucknow; this led to the decline of Faizabad and rise of Lucknow.
Just as Banares (Varanasi) is known for its mornings, so Lucknow is for its evenings. Many of its well-known buildings were erected on the banks of the Gomti River in the time of Nawabs. The Nawabs used to take in a view of the river Gomti and its architecture in the evening hours, giving rise to Sham-e-Awadh's romantic reputation.
There is a saying:'Subah-e-Benares', 'Sham-e-Awadh', 'Shab-e-Malwa' meaning mornings of the Benares, evenings of the Awadh and nights of Malwa.
The and of Awadh gave birth to the Dum Pukht or the art of cooking over a slow fire, which has become synonymous with Lucknow today. The Sunday Tribune – Spectrum – Lead Article . Tribuneindia.com (13 July 2003). Retrieved on 18 July 2013. Their spread would consist of elaborate dishes like kebabs, , biryani, kaliya, Kulcha, zarda, sheermal, Taftan, and . The richness of Awadh cuisine lies not only in the variety of cuisine but also in the ingredients used like mutton, paneer, and rich spices including cardamom and saffron.
The 1961 film Gunga Jumna is portrayed in Awadh and was noted for its use of the Awadhi language dialect in Bollywood.
The novel Umrao Jaan Ada as well as the subsequent films are based on two cultural cities of Awadh, Lucknow and Faizabad.
The region has been in the center of various period films of Bollywood and modern films like Main, Meri Patni Aur Woh and Paa to name a few. It has also been shot in various songs of Bollywood.
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