Nawab of Awadh
The Nawab of Awadh or the Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers who governed the state of Awadh in north India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to a dynasty of Persian origin from Nishapur, Iran. In 1724, Nawab Sa'adat Khan established the Oudh State with their capital in Faizabad and Lucknow.
History
The Nawabs of Awadh were semi-autonomous rulers within the fragmented polities of Mughal India after the death of Aurangzeb. They fought wars with the Peshwa, the Battle of Bhopal against the Maratha Confederacy which was opposed to the Mughal Empire, and the Battle of Karnal as courtiers of the "Great Moghul".The Nawab of Awadh, along with many other Nawab were regarded as members of the nobility of the greater Mughal Empire. They joined Ahmad Shah Durrani during the Third Battle of Panipat and restored the imperial throne Shah Alam II. The Nawab of Awadh also fought the Battle of Buxar in the aftermath of the Battle of Plassey, preserving the interests of the Moghul. Oudh State eventually declared itself independent from the rule of the "Great Moghul" in 1818.
List of rulers
All of these rulers used the title of Nawab from 1722 to 1856:| Portrait | Titular Name | Personal Name | Birth | Reign | Death |
| Burhan ul Mulk Sa'adat Khan | Saadat Ali Khan I | 1680 Nishapur, Khurasan, Safavid dynasty, Persia | 1722 – 19 March 1739 | 1739 | |
| Abul-Mansur Khan Safdar Jung | Muhammad Muqim | 1708 | 1739 – 5 October 1754 | 1754 | |
| Shuja-ud-Daula | Jalal-ud-din Haider Abul-Mansur Khan | 1732 | 1754 – 26 January 1775 | 1775 | |
| Asaf-ud-Daula | Muhammad Yahya Mirza Amani | 1748 | 26 January 1775 – 21 September 1797 | 1797 | |
| Asif Jah Mirza | Wazir Ali Khan | 1780 | 21 September 1797 – 21 January 1798 | 1817 | |
| Yamin-ud-Daula | Saadat Ali Khan II | 1752 | 21 January 1798 – 11 July 1814 | 1814 | |
| Rafa'at-ud-Daula Padshah-i-Awadh | Abul-Muzaffar Ghazi-ud-din Haydar Khan | 1769 | 11 July 1814 – 19 October 1827 | 1827 | |
| Nasir-ud-din Haidar Shah Jahan | Abul-Mansur Qutb-ud-din Sulaiman Jah | 1827 | 19 October 1827 – 7 July 1837 | 1837 | |
| Abul Fateh Moin-ud-din | Muhammad Ali Shah | 1777 | 7 July 1837 – 7 May 1842 | 1842 | |
| Najm-ud-Daula Abul-Muzaffar Musleh-ud-din | Amjad Ali Shah | 1801 | 7 May 1842 – 13 February 1847 | 1847 | |
| Abul-Mansur Mirza | Wajid Ali Shah | 1822 | 13 February 1847 – 11 February 1856 | 1 September 1887 | |
| Begum Hazrat Mahal | Muhammadi Khanum | 1820 | May 1856 – 1858 Wife of Wajid Ali Shah and mother of Birjis Qadra | 7 April 1879 | |
| Birjis Qadr | Ramzan Ali | 1845 | 1858–1859 | 14 August 1893 |