Nawabs of Bengal
Nawab of Bengal | |
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Style | Hereditary (1717–1757) (1757–1884) |
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The Nawab of Bengal
The Nawabs, especially under the rule of Alivardi Khan of 16 years, were heavily engaged in various wars against the Marathas. Towards the end, he turned his attention to rebuilding and restoring Bengal.[9]
The Nawabs of Bengal oversaw a period of
The British company eventually rivaled the authority of the Nawabs. In the aftermath of the
.In 1772, Governor-General Warren Hastings shifted administrative and judicial offices from Murshidabad to
History
Independent nawabs
The Bengal Subah was the wealthiest subah of the Mughal Empire.[12] There were several posts under the Mughal administrative system of Bengal since Akbar's conquest in the 1500s. Nizamat (governornership) and diwani (premiership) were the two main branches of provincial government under the Mughals.[13] The Subahdar was in-charge of the nizamat and had a chain of subordinate officials on the executive side, including diwans (prime ministers) responsible for revenue and legal affairs.[13] The regional decentralization of the Mughal Empire led to the creation of numerous semi-independent strongholds in the Mughal provinces. As the Mughal Empire began to decline, the Nawabs rose in power.[13][14] By the early 1700s, the Nawabs were practically independent, despite a nominal tribute to the Mughal court.[14]
The Mughal court heavily relied on Bengal for revenue.
The chief deputy of the Nawab was the Naib Nazim of Dhaka, the mayor of the former provincial capital whose own wealth was considerable; the Naib Nazim of Dhaka also governed much of eastern Bengal. Other important officials were stationed in Patna, Cuttack, and Chittagong. The aristocracy was composed of the Zamindars of Bengal.[citation needed] The Nawab was backed up by the powerful Jagat Seth family of bankers and money lenders. The Jagat Seth controlled the flow of Bengali revenue into the imperial treasury in Delhi.[16] They served as financiers to both the Nawabs and European companies operating in the region.
The Nawabs profited from the revenue generated by the worldwide demand of
Bengal attracted traders from across
The Nawabs were patrons of the arts, including the Murshidabad style of Mughal painting, Hindustani classical music, the Baul tradition, and local craftsmanship. The second Nawab Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan developed Murshidabad's royal palace, military base, city gates, revenue office, public audience hall (durbar), and mosques in an extensive compound called Farrabagh (Garden of Joy) which included canals, fountains, flowers, and fruit trees. The second Nawab's reign saw a period of economic and political consolidation.[20]
The third Nawab
Nawab Murshid Quli Khan was notorious for his repressive tax collection tactics, including torture for non-payment.
On 23 June 1757, the Battle of Plassey brought an end to the independence of the Nawabs of Bengal.[26][27] Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah and his French allies were caught off guard by the defection of the Nawab's Commander-in-Chief Mir Jafar to the British side. The British, under the leadership of Robert Clive, gained enormous influence over Bengal Subah as a result of the battle. The last independent Nawab was arrested by his former officers and killed in revenge for the brutality against his courtiers.
British influence and succession
Mir Jafar was installed as the puppet Nawab by the British. However, Jafar entered into a secret treaty with the Dutch East India Company. This caused the British to replace Mir Jafar with his son-in-law
The South Indian
In 1765,
Nawab Mansur Ali Khan was the last titular Nawab Nazim of Bengal. During his reign the nizamat at Murshidabad came to be debt-ridden. The Nawab left Murshidabad in February 1869, and had started living in England. The title of the Nawab of Bengal stood abolished in 1880.[34] He returned to Bombay in October 1880 and pleaded his case against the orders of the government, but as it stood unresolved the Nawab renounced his styles and titles, abdicating in favour of his eldest son on 1 November 1880.[34]
The Nawabs of Murshidabad succeeded the Nawab Nazims following Nawab Mansur Ali Khan's abdication, The Nawab Bahadurs had ceased to exercise any significant power.[13] but were relegated to the status of a zamindar and continued to be a wealthy family, producing bureaucrats and army officers.[13][34][35]
List of Nawabs
The following is a list of the Nawabs of Bengal. Sarfaraz Khan and Mir Jafar were the only two to become Nawab Nazim twice.[36] The chronology started in 1717 with Murshid Quli Khan and ended in 1880 with Mansur Ali Khan.[13][34][36]
Nawabs of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty
Portrait | Titular Name | Personal Name | Birth | Reign | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasiri dynasty | |||||
Jaafar Khan Bahadur Nasiri | Murshid Quli Khan | 1665 | 1717–1727 | June 1727[37][38][39] | |
Ala-ud-Din Haidar Jung | Sarfaraz Khan | After 1700 | 1727–1727 (for few days) | 29 April 1740[40] | |
Shuja ud-Daula | Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan | circa 1670 | 1 July 1727 – 26 August 1739 | 26 August 1739[41][42] | |
Ala-ud-Din Haidar Jung | Sarfaraz Khan | After 1700 | 13 March 1739 – 29 April 1740 | 29 April 1740[40] | |
Afshar dynasty | |||||
Hashim ud-Daula | Alivardi Khan | Before 10 May 1671 | 29 April 1740 – 9 April 1756 | 9 April 1756[43][44] | |
Siraj ud-Daulah | Siraj ud-Daulah | 1733 | 9 April 1756 – 23 June 1757 | 2 July 1757[45][46] |
Nawabs of Bengal under British rule
Portrait | Titular Name | Personal Name | Birth | Reign | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Najafi dynasty | |||||
Ja'afar 'Ali Khan Bahadur | Mir Jafar | 1691 | 2 June 1757 – 20 October 1760 | 17 January 1765[47][48][49] | |
Itimad ud-Daulah | Mir Qasim | ? | 20 October 1760 – 7 July 1763 | 8 May 1777[50] | |
Ja'afar 'Ali Khan Bahadur | Mir Jafar | 1691 | 25 July 1763 – 17 January 1765 | 17 January 1765[50][51] | |
Najm ud-Daulah | Najmuddin Ali Khan | 1750 | 5 February 1765 – 8 May 1766 | 8 May 1766[52] | |
Saif ud-Daulah | Najabut Ali Khan
|
1749 | 22 May 1766 – 10 March 1770 | 10 March 1770[53] | |
Ashraf Ali Khan | Before 1759 | 10 March 1770 – 24 March 1770 | 24 March 1770 | ||
Mubarak ud-Daulah | Mubarak Ali Khan | 1759 | 21 March 1770 – 6 September 1793 | 6 September 1793[54] | |
Azud ud-Daulah | Baber Ali Khan
|
? | 1793 – 28 April 1810 | 28 April 1810[55] | |
Ali Jah | Zain-ud-Din Ali Khan
|
? | 5 June 1810 – 6 August 1821 | 6 August 1821[56][57] | |
Walla Jah | Ahmad Ali Khan
|
? | 1821 – 30 October 1824 | 30 October 1824[58][59] | |
Humayun Jah | Mubarak Ali Khan II | 29 September 1810 | 1824 – 3 October 1838 | 3 October 1838[60][61][62] | |
Feradun Jah | Mansur Ali Khan | 29 October 1830 | 29 October 1838 – 1 November 1880 (abdicated) | 5 November 1884[34] |
See also
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