Oudh Awadh
1572–1856
Flag Coat of arms
The Kingdom of Oudh in 1856 (red)
Capital	Ayodhya (1722–1740) Faizabad (1740–1775) Lucknow (1775–1858)
Common languages	Hindustani,Persian (official),Awadhi (regional),English,Sanskrit,Marathi
Religion	Shia Islam (official),Hinduism (majority),Sunni Islam,Jainism,Buddhism,Sikhism,Christianity
Government	Mughalsubah (1572–1722) Feudalabsolute monarchy (1722–1816) Feudalabsolute monarchy as aBritish protectorate (1816–1856)
Nawab/Padshah
• 1722–1739	Saadat Ali Khan I (first)
• 1847–1856	Wajid Ali Shah (last)
Subedar
• 1722	Girdhar Bahadur (last)
History
• Independence fromMughal Empire	26 January 1722
• Annexation of Oudh	1856
• Siege of Cawnpore	5 – 25 June 1857
• Oudh campaign	3 March 1858
• Merger of Oudh toNorth-Western Provinces	1859
Area
62,072 km2 (23,966 sq mi)
Currency	Indian Rupee
Preceded by Succeeded by Mughal Empire Chero dynasty North-Western Provinces and Oudh Benares State

TheKingdom of Awadh (Hindustani:/ˈaʊd/,^[1] alsoOudh State,Kingdom of Oudh,Awadh Subah, orAwadh State) was aMughalsubah, then an independent kingdom, and lastly aBritish protectorate in theAwadh region ofNorth India until its annexation by theBritish Indians in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name of the state, also written historically asOudhe.

As theMughal 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 LowerDoab.

The capital of Oudh was inFaizabad, but the Company's Political Agents, officially known as "Residents", had their seat inLucknow. At par existed a Maratha embassy, in the Oudh court, led by theVakil of thePeshwa, until theSecond Anglo-Maratha War. The Nawab of Oudh, one of the richest princes, paid for and erected aResidency in Lucknow as a part of a wider programme of civic improvements.^[2]

Oudh joined other Indian states in an upheaval against British rule in 1858 during one of the last series of actions in theFirst Indian Revolution. In the course of this uprising, detachments of theBombay 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 theOudh campaign.^[3]

After the British Indianannexation of Oudh by theDoctrine of Lapse, theNorth Western Provinces became the North Western Provinces and Oudh.^[4]

Oudh Subah was one of the initial 12 subahs (later expanded to 15subahs by the end of Akbar's reign) established byAkbar during his administrative reforms of 1572–1580. A MughalSubah was divided intoSarkars, or districts.Sarkars were further divided intoParganas orMahals.Saadat Ali Khan I was appointedSubahdar of Oudh Subah on 9 September 1722, succeedingGirdhar Bahadur. He immediately subdued the autonomous Shaikhzadas ofLucknow and Raja Mohan Singh ofTiloi, consolidating Oudh as a state. In 1728, Oudh further acquiredVaranasi,Jaunpur and surrounding lands from the Mughal noble Rustam Ali Khan and established stable revenue collection in that province after quelling the chief ofAzamgarh,Mahabat Khan.^[5]: 44 In 1739 Saadat Khan mobilized Oudh to defend againstNader Shah'sinvasion of India, ultimately being captured in theBattle of Karnal. He attempted to negotiate with Nader Shah but died in Delhi.

In 1740, his successorSafdar Jang moved the capital of the state fromAyodhya toFaizabad.^[6] 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 atRohtasgarh andChunar, and annexing portions ofFarrukhabad with Mughal military aid which was ruled byMuhammad Khan Bangash.

As theMughal empire began to dissolve in the early 18th century, manysubahs became effectively independent.^[7] As regional officials asserted their autonomy inBengal and theDeccan as well as with the rise of theMaratha Empire, the rulers of Oudh gradually affirmed their own sovereignty.Safdar Jang went as far as to control the ruler of Delhi, puttingAhmad Shah Bahadur on the Mughal throne with the cooperation of other Mughal nobility. In 1748 he gained thesubah ofAllahabad with Ahmad Shah's official support. This was arguably the zenith of Oudh's territorial span.^{[8]: 132 [9]: 193}

The next nawab,Shuja-ud-Daula, extended Oudh's control of the Mughal emperor. He was appointedvazir toShah Alam II in 1762 and offered him asylum after his failed campaigns against the British in theBengal War.^[9]

Since Oudh was located in a prosperous region, theBritish 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.

British dominance was established at theBattle of Buxar of 1764, when the East India Company defeated the alliance between the nawab of OudhShuja-ud-Daula and the deposed nawab of BengalMir Kasim.^[10]: 25 The battle was a turning point for the once rising star of Oudh. The immediate effect was the British occupation of the fort atChunar and the cession of the provinces of Kora andAllahabad to Mughal rulerShah 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.^{[11]: 158 [9]: 252} The long-term result would be direct British interference in the internal state matters of Oudh, useful as a buffer state against theMarathas. 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 heldde facto control over the area) for 50 lakh rupees, increased the cost of Company mercenaries, and military aid in theFirst Rohilla War to expand Oudh as a buffer state against Maratha interests.^{[10]: 65 [11]: 75} Done byWarren 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 residentNathaniel Middleton in Lucknow that year as well. At the conclusion of the First Rohilla War in 1774, Oudh gained the entirety ofRohilkhand and the MiddleDoab region, only leaving the independentRampur State as a Rohilla enclave.

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 thesarkars ofBenares,Ghazipur,Chunar, andJaunpur. From this time onwards, Oudh consistently complied with the Company's demands, which continued to demand more land and economic control over the state.^[12]

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.^[13]

Saadat Ali Khan II acceded to the throne of Oudh in 1798, owing his seat to British intervention including Governor-General of BengalSir 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.^[12]

In light of theNapoleonic Wars and British demands for greater revenue from the Company, in 1801,Saadat Ali Khan II ceded the entireRohilkhand andLower Doab as well as thesarkar ofGorakhpur under the pressure ofLord Wellesley to the British in lieu of the annual tribute.^[14] The cession halved the size of the polity, reducing it to the original Mughalsubah 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 andRampur was not annexed by the British yet; instead, they served as separate princely states for the moment.^[12]

The kingdom became a Britishprotectorate in May 1816. Three years later, in 1819, theGhazi-ud-Din Haidar Shah took the title ofBadshah (king), signaling formal independence from the Mughal Empire under the advice of theMarquis of Hastings.

Throughout the early 1800s until annexation, several areas were gradually ceded to the British.

On 7 February 1856, by order ofGovernor-GeneralLord Dalhousie, theNawab of Oudh,Wajid Ali Shah, was deposed, and Oudh State was annexed to the territories of theBritish East India Company under the terms of theDoctrine of lapse on the grounds of alleged internal misrule.^[15]

Between 5 July 1857 and 3 March 1858, during theIndian Rebellion of 1857,Begum Hazrat Mahal, the wife of Wajid Ali Shah proclaimed their sonBirjis Qadr theWali 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 theSiege of Cawnpore.^[16][17]

After the rebellion, Oudh's territory was merged with theNorth Western Provinces, forming the larger province ofNorth-Western Provinces and Oudh. In 1902, the latter was renamed theUnited Provinces of Agra and Oudh. In 1921, it became theUnited Provinces of British India. In 1937, it became theUnited Provinces and continued as a province in independentIndia until finally becoming the state ofUttar Pradesh in 1950.^[15]

The following were feudatory estates —taluqdaris^[18] orparganas— of Oudh:

• Balrampur Estate^[19]
• Benares State until 1740^[20]
• Bhadri Estate^[21]
• Itaunja Estate^[22]
• Kohra Estate^[23]
• Nanpara Taluqdari^[24]
• Pratapgarh Estate^[25]
• Tulsipur State

The first ruler of Oudh State belonged to theShia Muslim Sayyid Family and descended ofMusa al-Kadhim originated fromNishapur. But the dynasty also belonged from the paternal line to theKara Koyunlu throughQara Yusuf. They were renowned for theirsecularism and broad outlook.^[26]

All rulers used the title of 'Nawab'.^[27]

In the early eighteenth century, the population of Oudh was estimated to be 3 million. Oudh underwent a demographic shift in whichLucknow andVaranasi expanded to become metropolises of over 200,000 people over the course of the 18th century at the expense ofAgra andDelhi. During this period the land on the banks of theYamuna suffered frequent dry spells, while theBaiswara did not.^[28]: 38

Although it was ruled by Muslims, a majority, roughly four fifths, of Oudh's population wereHindus.^{[8]: 155 [29]}

The Nawabs of Oudh were descended from aSayyid line fromNishapur in Persia. They wereShia Muslims, and promoted Shia as the state religion.^[13]Ghazi-ud-Din Haidar Shah instituted theOudh Bequest, a system of fixed payments by the British paid to the Shia holy cities ofNajaf andKarbala. These payments, along with lifelong stipends to the wives and mother of Ghazi-ud-Din served as interest on theThird Oudh Loan taken in 1825.^[30]

The cities ofAllahabad,Varanasi, andAyodhya were important pilgrimage sites for followers ofHinduism and other Dharmicreligions. The town ofBahraich was also revered by someMuslims.^[31]

• Media related toOudh State at Wikimedia Commons
• Heraldry of Oudh State

26°47′N82°08′E / 26.78°N 82.13°E /26.78; 82.13

• Princely states of India
• History of Awadh
• History of Uttar Pradesh
• Mughal subahs
• British administration in Uttar Pradesh
• Shia dynasties
• 1816 establishments in British India

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