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{{short description|18th-century Indian nobleman}}
{{Short description|Nawab of Awadh from 1754 to 1775}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2012}}
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with Shuja-ud-Daula, son of an Afghan nawab and assassin of [[Shah Shujah Durrani]], or the Bangladeshi politician [[Md. Suzauddaulah|Mohammad Shujauddaulah]].}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Infobox noble
{{Infobox royalty
|name=Shuja-ud-Daulah
| name         = Shuja-ud-Daula
|native_name=شجاع الدولہ‬
| title       = [[Nawab]] of [[Oudh State|Oudh]]<br />Khan Bahadur<br />Asad Jang<br />Arsh Manzil
|title=[[Nawab]] [[Vizier|Wazir]] of [[Oudh State|Oudh]]<br />Nawab Wazir al-Mamalik<br />Wazir ul-Hindustan<br />Subedar of Kashmir, Agra & Oudh<br />Khan Bahadur<br />Asad Jang<br />Arsh Manzil
| image        = Shuja-ud-daula, Nawab of Oudh.tif
|succession=3rd [[Nawab of Awadh|Subedar Nawab of Oudh]]
| succession   = 3rd [[Nawab of Awadh]]
|reign=1754 – 26 January 1775
| reign       = 5 October 1754 – 26 January 1775
|birth_date=19 January 1732
| birth_date   = 19 January 1732
|predecessor=[[Safdar Jang]]
| birth_place  = Mansion of Dara Shikoh, [[Delhi]], [[Delhi Subah]], [[Mughal Empire]]
|successor=[[Asaf-ud-Daulah]]
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|1775|01|26|1732|01|19|df=y}}
|full name=Jalal-ud-din Haider Abul Mansur Khan Shuja-ud-Daulah
| death_place  = [[Faizabad]], [[Kingdom of Awadh]] (present-day [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[India]])
|burial_place=[[Gulab Bari]], [[Faizabad]]
| predecessor = [[Safdar Jang]]
|spouse=Begum Amanat-uz Zahra Bano "Bahu Begum"
| successor   = [[Asaf-ud-Daulah]]
|noble family=Nishapuri Branch of the [[Kara Koyunlu]]
| full name   = Jalal-ud-din Haider Abul Mansur Khan Shuja-ud-Daula
|mother= Sadh-ruh-nissa
| burial_place = [[Gulab Bari]], [[Faizabad]], [[Awadh]]
|father=[[Safdar Jang]]
| spouse       = Nawab Begum Ummat-uz-Zahra Bano "Bahu Begum" Saheba
|image=अवध_के_नवाब_शुजाउद्दौला.jpg
| mother       = Nawab Begum Sadar Jahan Ara Begum Saheba
|religion=[[Shia Islam]]
| father       = [[Safdar Jang]]
|birth_place=Mansion of Dara Shikoh, [[Delhi]], [[Mughal Empire]]
| issue       = [[Asaf-ud-Daulah]]
|death_date=26 January 1775 (aged 43)
|death_place=[[Faizabad]], [[Oudh State]] (present-day [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[India]])
|issue=[[Asaf-ud-Daulah]]
[[Saadat Ali Khan II]]
[[Saadat Ali Khan II]]
  | module          = {{Infobox military person
| royal house = Nishapuri Branch of the [[Kara Koyunlu]]
                      | embed        = yes
                      | allegiance  = [[File:Flag of the Mughal Empire (triangular).svg|24px]][[Mughal Empire]]<br />[[File:Flag of Awadh.svg|24px]][[Oudh State]]
                      | branch      = [[Nawab of Awadh|Nawab of Oudh]]
                      | rank        = [[Grand Vizier]], [[Subadar]], [[Nawab]]
                      | battles      = [[Mughal-Maratha Wars]]<br />[[Third Battle of Panipat]]<br />[[Bengal War]]<br />[[Battle of Buxar]]
}}
}}
}}
'''Shuja-ud-Daula''' (19 January 1732 – 26 January 1775) was the third [[Nawab of Awadh|Nawab of Oudh]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bhatia |first1=O. P. Singh |title=History of India, from 1707 to 1856 |date=1968 |publisher=Surjeet Book Depot |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=smdXAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Shuja-ud-Daula%22+-Bharatpedia |language=en}}</ref> and the Vizier of Delhi from 5 October 1754 until his death 26 January 1775.<ref>[http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_princes_A-J.html#Awadh Princely States of India]</ref>


'''Shuja-ud-Daulah''' (b. {{birth date|df=yes|1732|01|19}} – d. {{death date|df=yes|1775|01|26}}) was the [[Subedar]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bhatia |first1=O. P. Singh |title=History of India, from 1707 to 1856 |date=1968 |publisher=Surjeet Book Depot |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=smdXAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Shuja-ud-Daula%22+-wikipedia |language=en}}</ref> and [[Nawab of Oudh]] and the [[Vizier]] of [[Delhi]] from 5 October 1754 to 26 January 1775.<ref>[http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_princes_A-J.html#Awadh Princely States of India]</ref>
He was a key 18th-century [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] ally who despised the [[Maratha Confederacy|Maratha]]-backed grand vizier of the [[Mughal Empire]] [[Imad-ul-Mulk]]. He supported [[Shah Alam II|Prince Ali Gauhar]] (later Shah Alam II) against Mughal usurpers and became [[Mughal Grand Vizier|Grand Vizier]]. His army, backed by influential clans and Shi'a migrants from [[Kashmir]], was a major force in North India. Shuja joined [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] in the [[Third Battle of Panipat]], helping defeat the Marathas by cutting their supply lines. Later, he allied with Shah Alam II and [[Mir Qasim]] to fight the British in the [[Battle of Buxar]] but was defeated. In 1765, he signed the [[Treaty of Allahabad]], ceding territory and financial control to the [[East India Company]]. Though strategic, this marked the start of increasing British dominance in India.


==Early life==
==Early life==
Shuja-ud-Daulah was the son of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[Grand Vizier]] [[Safdarjung]] chosen by [[Ahmad Shah Bahadur]]. Unlike his father Shuja-ud-Daulah was known from an early age for his abilities to synthesize his subordinates, this skill would eventually cause him to emerge as the chosen [[Grand Vizier]] by [[Shah Alam II]].
Shuja-ud-Daula was the son of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[Grand Vizier]] [[Safdarjung]], who was chosen by Emperor [[Ahmad Shah Bahadur]]. Unlike his father Shuja-ud-Daula was known from an early age for his abilities to synthesize his subordinates;{{Clarification needed|date=September 2024}} this skill would eventually cause him to emerge as the chosen Grand Vizier of [[Shah Alam II]].[[File:Tilly Kettle painting a portrait of Shuja ud-Daula and his ten sons.jpg|Painting a portrait of Shuja ud-Daula and his ten sons|thumb|left]]Shuja-ud-Daula is also known to have assisted [[Alivardi Khan]], [[Nawab of Bengal]], on various occasions when the territories of the latter were being ravaged by [[Raghoji I Bhonsle]] and his [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]]. Thus, Shuja-ud-Daula is known to have been a very respected figure among the servicemen of Alivardi Khan.
 
Shuja-ud-Daulah was a giant man. Nearly seven feet tall, with oiled moustaches that projected from his face like a pair of outstretched eagle's wings, he was a man of immense physical strength. By 1763, he was past his prime, but still reputedly strong enough to cut off the head of a buffalo with a single swing of his sword, or lift up two of his officers, one in each hand.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dalrymple|first=William|title=The Anarchy|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|year=2019|isbn=978-1-5266-1850-4|location=United Kingdom}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |date=1879 |publisher=Bishop's College Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M7sIAAAAQAAJ&q=%22Shuja-ud-Daula%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA138 |language=en}}</ref>
 
Shuja-ud-Daulah is also known to have assisted the famous [[Alivardi Khan]] on various occasions when the territories of the [[Nawab of Bengal]], were being ravaged by [[Raghoji I Bhonsle]] and his [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]]. Thus Shuja-ud-Daulah is known to have been a very respected figure among the servicemen of [[Alivardi Khan]].


==Nawab of Awadh==
==Nawab of Awadh==
[[File:Bodleian Library Indian paintings MS. Douce Or. a.3 fol04r.jpg|thumbnail|right|Procession of Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula at Faizabad. From an album of 18th century Indian watercolours.]]
After the death of his father in the year 1753, Shuja-ud-Daula was recognized as the next [[Nawab]] by Ahmad Shah Bahadur.
After the death of his father the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[Grand Vizier]] [[Safdarjung]] in the year 1753, Shuja-ud-Daula was recognized as the next [[Nawab]] by the [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Ahmad Shah Bahadur]].


Shuja-ud-Daula despised [[Imad-ul-Mulk]], an ally of the [[Maratha]]s of the [[Maratha Empire]] whose regime emerged after the Battle of Sikandarabad with the support of the [[Sadashivrao Bhau]]. Imad-ul-Mulk blinded [[Ahmad Shah Bahadur]] and placed [[Alamgir II]] on the Mughal imperial throne. Alamgir II and his son Prince Ali Gauhar, were often persecuted by Imad-ul-Mulk because they refused to abandon their peaceful terms with [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]], they also demanded the resignation of Imad-ul-Mulk mainly due to his relations with the [[Maratha]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Srivastava |first1=Ashirbadi Lal |title=Shuja-ud-daulah |date=1945 |publisher=S.N. Sarkar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aT8NAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Shuja-ud-Daula%22+-wikipedia |access-date=2 August 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
Shuja-ud-Daula despised [[Imad-ul-Mulk]], an ally of the Marathas whose regime emerged after the Battle of Sikandarabad with the support of the [[Sadashivrao Bhau]]. Imad-ul-Mulk blinded Ahmad Shah Bahadur and placed [[Alamgir II]] on the Mughal throne. Alamgir II and his son Prince Ali Gauhar were often persecuted by Imad-ul-Mulk because they refused to abandon their peaceful terms with [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]]; they also demanded the resignation of Imad-ul-Mulk, mainly due to his relations with the Marathas.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Srivastava |first1=Ashirbadi Lal |title=Shuja-ud-daulah |date=1945 |publisher=S.N. Sarkar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aT8NAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Shuja-ud-Daula%22+-Bharatpedia |access-date=2 August 2020 |language=en}}</ref>


===Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire===
Shuja-ud-Daulah's household cavalry was composed of the Sheikhzadi,<ref>{{cite book |author=Barua |first=Pradeep P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FIIQhuAOGaIC&dq=sheikzadi&pg=PA73 |title=The State at War in South Asia |date=2005 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=0803213441 |location=Lincoln |page=73}}</ref> much of whom belonged to the [[Kidwai|Qidwai]] clan, who claimed descent from the [[Israelites|Bani Israil]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Misra |first=Amaresh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CG0wAQAAIAAJ&q=They+belonged+to+the+Qidwai+clan+whose+1700+warriors+preferred+to+lay+down+their+lives+at+Buxur+rather+than+retreat+and |title=Lucknow, Fire of Grace: The Story of Its Revolution, Renaissance and the Aftermath |date=1998 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers India |isbn=9788172232887}}</ref> Clan-groups such as the Sayyids of [[Bilgram]], [[Kara-Manikpur]], Sheikhs of [[Kakori]], and the [[Sadaat-e-Bara|Sayyids of Barha]] served as court officers and soldiers.<ref>{{cite book |author=Bayly |first=C. A. |author-link=Christopher Bayly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PIAyDwAAQBAJ&dq=sayyids+jansath+kakori&pg=PT257 |title=Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion: 1770–1870 |date=2012 |publisher=OUP India |edition=3rd |location=Delhi|isbn=978-0-19-908873-7 }}</ref> The troops of Naval Rai, the most vigilant of Shuja-ud-Daulah's commanders, were a contingent of his Barah Sayyids, while the Bilgramis were of the same stock.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofasiat4811879asia/page/62/mode/2up?q=barah |title=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |publisher=Asiatic Society (Calcutta, India); Asiatic Society (Calcutta, India)|date= 1832 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wXbiAAAAMAAJ&q=attacked+Bilgram+,+but+the+determined+attitude+of+the+Sayyids+of+that+town+,+of+the+same+stock+as+the+Sayyids+of+Barha |title=The Cambridge History of IndiaVolume 4 |author=Henry Dodwell, Sir Richard Burn, Sir Wolseley Haig|publisher=Pennsylvania State University|date=1957 }}</ref> These clans had not taken any profession other than soldiery.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=R8As_JziO2kC&dq=sheikhs+kakori+awadh&pg=PA9 |title= Surya Narain Singh |date=2003 |publisher=Mittal Publications|page=9 |isbn= 978-81-7099-908-9 }}</ref> Shuja-ud-Daulah's father had maintained a contingent of 20,000 "Mughal" cavalry, who were mainly Hindustanis, many of whom were chiefly from the Jadibal district in [[Kashmir]] and who imitated the [[Qizilbash]] in dress and spoke the Persian language.<ref>{{cite book |author=Sarkar |first=Jadunath |url= |title=Fall of the Mughal Empire |date=1964 |publisher=Orient Longman |edition=3rd |volume=1 |location=Bombay |page=254 |orig-date=1st ed. 1932}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.49871/page/n267/mode/2up |title= textsThe First Two Nawabs Of Oudh (a Critical Study Based On Original Sources) Approved For The Degree Of Ph. D. In The University Fo Lucknow In 1932 |author= Srivastava, Ashirbadi Lal |date= 1933 }}</ref> The state also saw a large migration of Kashmiri Shi'as to the Shi'a kingdom of Awadh, both to escape persecution and to secure courtly patronage.<ref>{{cite book |author=Hamdani |first=Hakim Sameer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4OGXEAAAQBAJ&dq=kashmiri+shiis+awadh&pg=PT52 |title=Shi'ism in Kashmir:A History of Sunni-Shia Rivalry and Reconciliation |date=2022|publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-0-7556-4396-7 }}</ref> This was especially the case with men from the district of Jadibal in Kashmir, who were all Shias, who looked to the state as the sword-arm of the Shi'as in India.


Prince Ali Gauhar fled from [[Delhi]] when he realized a conspiracy that would eventually lead to the murder of the [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Alamgir II]]. Shuja-ud-Daula welcomed and protected Prince Ali Gauhar, who then declared himself [[Shah Alam II]] and officially recognized Shuja-ud-Daulah as the [[Grand Vizier]] of the [[Mughal Empire]]. Together they challenged the usurper [[Shah Jahan III]], who was placed on the Mughal imperial throne by [[Sadashivrao Bhau]] and his forces, which plundered much of the [[Mughal Empire]].
==Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire==
[[File:The royal procession of Shah Alam II proceeding to Delhi along the banks of the channels of the river Jumna and crossing a bridge of boats.jpg|thumb|Escort of [[Shah Alam II]] returning from the Treaty of Allahabad|left]]Prince Ali Gauhar fled from [[Delhi]] when he realized a conspiracy that would eventually lead to the murder of the Mughal emperor [[Alamgir II]]. Shuja-ud-Daula welcomed and protected Prince Ali Gauhar, who then declared himself [[Shah Alam II]] and officially recognized Shuja-ud-Daula as the [[Grand Vizier]] of the [[Mughal Empire]]. Together they challenged the usurper [[Shah Jahan III]], who was placed on the Mughal imperial throne by [[Sadashivrao Bhau]] and his forces, which plundered much of the [[Mughal Empire]].


[[Shah Alam II]] was then advised to lead an expedition that would attempt to retake the eastern regions of the [[Mughal Empire]] from [[Mir Jafar]] who was supported by the [[British East India Company]]. While Shuja-ud-Daula, [[Najib-ul-Daula]] and [[Mirza Jawan Bakht (born 1749)|Mirza Jawan Bakht]] allied themselves with [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] and assisted his forces during the [[Second Battle of Sikandarabad]] in the year 1760 and later led a [[Mughal Army]] of 43,000 during the [[Third Battle of Panipat]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mohan |first1=Surendra |title=Awadh Under the Nawabs: Politics, Culture, and Communal Relations, 1722-1856 |date=1997 |publisher=Manohar Publishers & Distributors |isbn=978-81-7304-203-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B29uAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Shuja-ud-Daula%22+-wikipedia |language=en}}</ref>
[[Shah Alam II]] was then advised to lead an expedition that would attempt to retake the eastern regions of the [[Mughal Empire]] from [[Mir Jafar]] who was supported by the [[British East India Company]]. While Shuja-ud-Daula, [[Najib ad-Dawlah|Najib-ud-Daula]] and [[Mirza Jawan Bakht (born 1749)|Mirza Jawan Bakht]] allied themselves with [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] and assisted his forces during the [[Second Battle of Sikandarabad]] in the year 1760 and later led a [[Mughal Army]] of 43,000 during the [[Third Battle of Panipat]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mohan |first1=Surendra |title=Awadh Under the Nawabs: Politics, Culture, and Communal Relations, 1722-1856 |date=1997 |publisher=Manohar Publishers & Distributors |isbn=978-81-7304-203-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B29uAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Shuja-ud-Daula%22+-Bharatpedia |language=en}}</ref>


===Third Battle of Panipat===
===Third Battle of Panipat===


[[File:Palace of Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula Lucknow Thomas and William Daniell late eighteenth century.jpg|thumb|right|Palace of [[Nawab of Awadh|Nawab]] Shuja-ud-Daula at [[Lucknow]]]]
After escaping from Delhi due to the murder of his father the Mughal Emperor [[Alamgir II]], the young Prince Ali Gauhar was well received by Shuja-ud-Daula. The [[Nawab of Awadh]] and the newly appointed [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[Grand Vizier]] Shuja-ud-Daula assured Prince Ali Gauhar that he and [[Najib ad-Dawlah|Najib-ud-Daula]] would initiate a struggle that would overthrow the [[Maratha Empire]] if Prince Ali Gauhar would lead what remained of the [[Mughal Army]] against the expanding [[British East India Company]] in [[Bengal]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/imperialgazettee24grea | quote=Shah Alam ii an shuja-ud-daula. |title = Imperial Gazetteer of India: Provincial Series| publisher=Superintendent of Government Printing |last1 = Cotton|first1 = James Sutherland|last2 = Burn|first2 = Sir Richard|last3 = Meyer|first3 = Sir William Stevenson|year = 1908}}</ref>


After escaping from [[Delhi]] due to the murder of his father the [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Alamgir II]], the young Prince Ali Gauhar was well received by Shuja-ud-Daula. The [[Nawab of Awadh]] and the newly appointed [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[Grand Vizier]] Shuja-ud-Daula assured Prince Ali Gauhar that he and [[Najib-ud-Daula]] would initiate a struggle that would overthrow the [[Maratha]] if Prince Ali Gauhar would lead what remained of the [[Mughal Army]] against the expanding [[British East India Company]] in [[Bengal]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/imperialgazettee24grea | quote=Shah Alam ii an shuja-ud-daula. |title = Imperial Gazetteer of India: Provincial Series| publisher=Superintendent of Government Printing |last1 = Cotton|first1 = James Sutherland|last2 = Burn|first2 = Sir Richard|last3 = Meyer|first3 = Sir William Stevenson|year = 1908}}</ref>
Shuja's decision about whom to join as an ally in the [[Third Battle of Panipat]] was one of the decisive factors that determined the outcome of the war as lack of food due to the [[Pashtun people|Afghans]] cutting the supply lines of Marathas was one of the reasons that the Marathas could not sustain the day-long battle. Their forces were weak due to starvation and were also fighting facing the sun.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}[[File:Shuja army.png|Shuja-ud-Daulah's camp, meeting with Colonel [[John Carnac]] who would go on to defeat the former in 1761<ref name="odnb">{{cite ODNB|id=4711|first=D. L.|last=Prior|title=Carnac, John|date=23 September 2004}}</ref>|thumb]]Shuja was not very sure about whose side should he take before the Third Battle of Panipat. The Marathas were still further south then and it would have taken them considerable time to reach Shuja's province. In spite of this, his mother was of the opinion that he should join the Marathas as they had helped his father previously on numerous occasions. However, in the end, Shuja decided to join [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]].


Shuja's decision about whom to join as an ally in the [[Third Battle of Panipat]] was one of the decisive factors that determined the outcome of the war as lack of food due to the [[Pashtun people|Afghans]] cutting the supply lines of Marathas was one of the reasons that Marathas could not sustain the day-long battle. Their forces were weak due to starvation and also fighting facing the sun.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
As the chosen [[Grand Vizier]] of the [[Mughal Empire]], Shuja-ud-Daula commanded a sizeable army of Mughal [[Sepoy]], who cut off the supplies of the [[Maratha]]s and even defeated them in pitched confrontations during the [[Third Battle of Panipat]] and dispatched the Maratha leader [[Sadashivrao Bhau]].{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}


Shuja was earlier not very sure about whose side should he take before the Third Battle of Panipat. Marathas were still further south then and it would have taken them considerable time to reach Shuja's province. In spite of His mother was of the opinion that he should join the Marathas as they had helped his father previously on numerous occasions he Joined Abdali.
Abdali wrote to Shuja-ud-Daulah:
 
<blockquote>
As the chosen [[Grand Vizier]] of the [[Mughal Empire]], Shuja-ud-Daula commanded a sizeable army of [[Mughal Army|Mughal troopers]], who cut off the supplies of the [[Maratha]]s and even defeated them in pitched confrontations during the [[Third Battle of Panipat]] and dispatched the Maratha leader [[Sadashivrao Bhau]].{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
"It is now incontestably known that the addressee is a native of those parts, but that forsaking the conversation and manners of his native land, he has incorporated himself with the inhabitants of Hindustan. Whatever has come to pass, is altogether right. Whatever has been has been; the future will, by the favour of God, be fortunate.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=PeslAQAAIAAJ&dq=northern+race+incorporated+inhabitants+hindustan&pg=PA73 |title=Calendar of Persian Correspondence: Being Letters, Referring Mainly to Affairs in Bengal, which Passed Between Some of the Company's Servants and Indian Rulers and Notables |publisher=By India. Imperial Record Department|date=1914 }}</ref>
</blockquote>


===Battle of Buxar===
===Battle of Buxar===
Line 71: Line 60:


=== Allahabad Treaty ===
=== Allahabad Treaty ===
[[File:Shujah ud-Daulah and his sons shoberl.jpg|thumb|Shuja-ud-Daula with his sons and relatives.]]
He again fought the British with the help of Marathas at Kara Jahanabad and was defeated. On 16 August 1765 AD he signed the Treaty of Allahabad, which said that Kora and Allahabad district would go to Company and the Company would get 5&nbsp;million rupees from Awadh.<ref>[[s:Treaty of Allahabad|Wikisource: Text of Allahabad Treaty]]</ref> The British would be allowed free trade in Awadh and would help each other in case of war with other powers, which was a very shrewd political move by the Company.<ref name="HoA">[https://web.archive.org/web/20010901224326/http://www.indiancoins.8m.com/awadh/AwadhHist.html#Shujauddaula HISTORY OF AWADH (Oudh) a princely State of India by Hameed Akhtar Siddiqui]</ref>
He again fought British with the help of Marathas at Kara Jahanabad and was defeated. On 16 August 1765 AD he signed the Treaty of Allahabad, which said that Kora and Allahabad district will go to Company and the Company will get 5&nbsp;million rupees from Awadh.<ref>[[s:Treaty of Allahabad|Wikisource: Text of Allahabad Treaty]]</ref> British will be allowed free trade in Awadh and will help each other in case of war with other powers, which was a very shrewd politics of the Company.<ref name="HoA">[https://web.archive.org/web/20010901224326/http://www.indiancoins.8m.com/awadh/AwadhHist.html#Shujauddaula HISTORY OF AWADH (Oudh) a princely State of India by Hameed Akhtar Siddiqui]</ref>


To pay for the protection of British forces and assistance in war, Awadh gave up first the fort of [[Chunar]], then districts of [[Benaras]], [[Ghazipur]] and finally [[Allahabad]].<ref name="nic">[http://www.lucknow.nic.in/Shuja.htm Shuja-ud-daula (1754–1775)]</ref>
To pay for the protection of British forces and assistance in war, Awadh gave up first the fort of [[Chunar]], then districts of [[Benaras]], [[Ghazipur]] and finally [[Allahabad]].<ref name="nic">[https://web.archive.org/web/20020323000341/http://lucknow.nic.in/Shuja.htm Shuja-ud-daula (1754–1775)]</ref>
 
===Reemergence of Shah Alam II===
[[File:अवध के नवाब शुजाउद्दौला.jpg|thumb|left|Shuja-ud-Daula served as the leading [[Grand Vizier]] of the [[Mughal Empire]] during the [[Third Battle of Panipat]], he was also the [[Nawab of Awadh]], and a loyal ally of [[Shah Alam II]] throughout his lifetime.]] After the defeat in the Battle of Buxar Shah Alam II realised that he needed the help of the East India Company to retain his throne with respect rather than becoming a puppet emperor dominated by Maratha's and he did so.


==Death and burial==
==Death and burial==
[[File:Gulab Bari.jpg|thumb|right|[[Gulab Bari]], the tomb of '''Shuja-ud-Daula''', in [[Faizabad]].]]
[[File:Gulab Bari.jpg|thumb|right|[[Gulab Bari]], the tomb of Shuja-ud-Daula, in [[Faizabad]]]]


Shuja-ud-Daula died on 26 January 1775 in [[Faizabad]], the then capital of [[Awadh]], and was buried in the same city. His burial place is a tomb and known as [[Gulab Bari]] (Rose Garden).
Shuja-ud-Daula died on 26 January 1775 in [[Faizabad]], the then capital of [[Awadh]], and was buried in the same city. His burial place is a tomb and known as [[Gulab Bari]] (Rose Garden).


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Shuja-ud-Daula's [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] and [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] [[Persians|Persian]] [[Twelver Shia]] [[Muslim]] royal family ruling the [[Oudh]] (Awadh) state in India obtained their eunuchs (khwajasarais) through subduing Hindu kings rebellions. Jawahir Ali was a eunuch of Oudh state who was born a Hindu. The rulers of Oudh (Awadh) state were Twelver Shia while [[Rajput]] Hindus made up most of the local cultivator landholding rajas. The Hindu Rajas of [[Khairabad, Sitapur|Khairabad]] rebelled since they refused to pay taxes to the Twelver Shia district administrator Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan so Nawab Muhammad Ali defeated the Hindus in battle and the Muslim historian Muhammad Faiz Bakhsh recorded in his book Tarikh Farahbakhsh that Muhammad Ali sent "hundreds of unbelievers (Hindus) to hell", enslaving their children and women and castrated the Hindu boys among the children. Adult Hindu women, Hindu girls, and Hindu boys like Jawahir Ali were enslaved by their Twelver Shia ruler. One Hindu boy died from being castrated but the rest of the Hindu boys including Jawahir Ali survived the castration and entered Muhammad Ali's service as eunuchs. The castrated Hindu boys were converted to Twelver Shia Islam and given Muslim names after being enslaved and then educated. The Twelver Shia Turkic [[Nawab]] of Oudh Shuja-ud-Daula (a descendant of the Turkic Twelver Shia [[Qara Qoyunlu]] dynasty through his father [[Safdar Jang]]) made Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan give his eunuchs including Jawahir Ali to him.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hinchy |first1=Jessica |title=Enslaved childhoods in eighteenth-century Awadh |journal=South Asian History and Culture |date=2015 |volume=6 |issue=3: Childhoods in India: Contemporary and Historical Perspectives |pages=380–400 |doi=10.1080/19472498.2015.1030874|s2cid=145412277 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Bowen |editor1-first=Zazie |editor2-last=Hinchy |editor2-first=Jessica |title=Children and Knowledge: Contemporary and Historical Perspectives from India |date=2020 |publisher=Routledge |series=Routledge South Asian History and Culture Series |isbn=978-1000740417 |edition=reprint |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5NXpDwAAQBAJ&q=Hundreds+of+unbelievers+went+to+hell%2C+and+most+of+their+women+and+children+were+captured.+When+the+Naw%C3%A1b&pg=PT105}}</ref> Jawahir Ali (Joahir Ali) served as nazir eunuch to Bahu Begum (Bahu Begam, Bahoo Begum or Buhoo Begum) (Begum Amanat-uz Zahra Bano), the Iranian Persian wife of the Turkic Twelver Shia ruler of Oudh, Shuja-ud-Daula.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Chatterjee |first=Indrani |date=July 1996 |title=Slavery and the Household in Bengal, 1770 - 1880 |degree=PhD |publisher=University of London |page=63 |url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/29751/1/10752723.pdf}}</ref> Bahu Begum owned multiple eunuchs, all of them of Indian Hindu background. One of them was born a eunuch with defective genital and sold to the Nawab by his family, Darab Ali Khan and he was a general agent of Bahu Begam after Jawahir Ali. Another was a [[Brahmin]] Hindu boy who was kidnaped by castrators, enslaved and castrated when he was 14 after his famine stricken parents sold him to a woman of [[Sayyid]] background and he was the treasurer of Bahu Begam, Bahar Ali.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bakhsh |first1=Muhammad Faiz |last2=Hoey |first2=William |editor1-last=Qureshi |editor1-first=Hamid Afaq |title=Memoirs of Faizabad, Being a Translation of the "Tarikh-i-Farahbakhsh" of Muhammad Faiz Bakhsh: 1782-1818 |date=2005 |publisher=New Royal Book Company |isbn=8185936927 |page=218 |series=Part 2 of Memoirs of Faizabad, Being a Translation of the "Tarikh-i-Farahbakhsh" of Muhammad Faiz Bakhsh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xQhWAAAAYAAJ&q=Bahar+Ali+brahmin+eunuch+castrated+nawab|quote=Out of regard for Zainu'labdin and in remembrance of Bahar Ali Khan's kindness to me , I went to Jawahir Ali Khan and interceded and pleaded until I ... She bought a Brahman boy from his father and mother in year of famine and brought him up as her son . ... The castrators lifted him , carried him off , castrated him and sold him to the Nawab , who made him over to Shuja'u'ddaulah . The latter entrusted him for education and board to Khushnazr Ali Khan , who was a very old eunuch .}}</ref> Jawahir Ali was the first general agent of Bahu Begam.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Hinchy |first=Jessica Bridgette |date=January 2013 |title=Power, Perversion and Panic: Eunuchs, Colonialism and Modernity in North India |degree=}hD |publisher=The Australian National University |url=https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/156178/2/b31265091-Hinchy_J.pdf |pages=63, 64, 65}}</ref>
[[File:Shuja ud-Daulah.jpg|thumb|A portrait of Shuja ud-Daulah]]According to historians, Shuja-ud-Daulah was nearly seven feet tall, with oiled moustaches that projected from his face like a pair of outstretched eagle’s wings, he was a man of immense physical strength. By 1763, he was past his prime, but still reputedly strong enough to cut off the head of a buffalo with a single swing of his sword, or lift up two of his officers, one in each hand. This was something that immediately struck the 18th-century, historian [[Ghulam Hussain Khan]] who regarded him as a slight liability, every bit as foolish as he was bold. Shuja, he wrote, ‘was equally proud and ignorant’.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dalrymple |first=William |title=The Anarchy |date=10 September 2019 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1526618504 |publication-date=10 September 2019 |pages=16}}</ref>
 
Bahu Begam's estates were managed by Javahir 'Ali Khan. The Twelver Shia cleric Mawlavi Muhammad Munir who came to Faizabad and was there during a riot in 1779 between Sufi pirs and physicians against Twelver Shia clerics. Muhammad Munir was paid a stipend and backed up by Javahir Ali. Javahir Ali sent soldiers to support the Twelver scholars against the physicians. The Twelver Shia Usuli ulama were also supported by Javahir Ali when they implemented Friday prayers 7 years after the riots. Javahir paid 20 people to make people attend the 5 mandatory prayers and Friday prayer during the winter and rainy season.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cole |first1=J. R. I. |title=Roots of North Indian Shi'ism in Iran and Iraq : Religion and State in Awadh, 1722-1859 |date=1988 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |pages=57, 58 |url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft0f59n6r9;chunk.id=0;doc.view=print}}</ref> Bahu Begum was of Persian Iranian descent. The British East India Company under [[Warren Hastings]] tortured the eunuchs Bahar Ali and Jawahir Ali after they arrested Bahu Begum in 1781 in order to force them to give their treasure over.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Khan |first=Vijaya |date=August 1983 |title=Glimpses into the life and times of the Begums of Avadh |url=https://oudh.tripod.com/oudhbegam/vnawab.htm |magazine=the India Magazine of her people and culture |location= |publisher= |volume=3 |number=9 |access-date=}}</ref>
 
Jawahir Ali Khan ordered 2 fellow eunuchs belonging to Bahu Begum, Sa'adat and Basharat to assist the Qadi (Qazi) at Ali Beg Khan mosque.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bakhsh |first1=Muhammad Faiz |last2=Hoey |first2=William |editor1-last=Qureshi |editor1-first=Hamid Afaq |title=Memoirs of Faizabad, Being a Translation of the "Tarikh-i-Farahbakhsh" of Muhammad Faiz Bakhsh: 1722-1781 |series=Part 1 of Memoirs of Faizabad, Being a Translation of the "Tarikh-i-Farahbakhsh" of Muhammad Faiz Bakhsh |date=2004 |publisher=New Royal Book Company |isbn=8189267019 |page=65 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vWNuAAAAMAAJ&q=jawahir+ali+eunuch+bahu+begum |quote=The Qazi came and took his seat at Ali Beg Khan's mosque . Basharat and Sa'adat , two of the Bahu Begum's eunuchs , attended at the mosque by Jawahir Ali Khan's order to support the Qazi . The Qazi sent a verbal order to Bani Khanam ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Qidwai |first1=Ikramuddin |title=Nawwab Bani Khanam |journal=Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society |date=April 1, 1994 |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=115–119 |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/5d9c18f732dfd2472f5c28085cec56cd/1?cbl=1819375&pq-origsite=gscholar |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Due to cold weather, the eunuch minister Darab Ali Khan tried to stop Bahu Begam from reciting Fatiha at Imam Husain's tazia during Muharram but she went regardless and got a fever and cold.<ref>{{cite book |title=Indian Culture, Volume 1 |date=1934 |publisher=Indian Research Institute |page=633 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SRh2zs132xsC&q=jawahir+ali+eunuch+bahu+begum|quote=In this connection an account of the death of his royal consort Bahu Begam who outlived him by 41 years may , in fitness of things , be recorded here . ... This year she prepared to go as usual but Darab Ali Khan , her eunuch minister , tried to prevent her on account of the fear of a ... She was borne with great respect and ceremony to the Jawahir Bagh on the shoulders of the nobles of Faizabad ; around ...}}</ref>
 
Bahu Begum only allowed Jawahir to enter when she was on her Sedan Chair speaking before British East India Company representative Mr. Lumsden in Lucknow. Darab Ali Khan came from the Salone district, Rusulabad.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Abdul Ali |first1=A. F. M |title=The last will and testament of Bahu Begum |pages=6, 7, 8 |url=https://archive.org/stream/McGillLibrary-rbsc_isl_last-will-bahu-begum_DS470B3A641920z-5270/rbsc_isl_last-will-bahu-begum_DS470B3A641920z_djvu.txt}}</ref> Jawahir was interred in an [[imambarah]] made out of wood after he died in 1799 in Faizabad.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Keshani |first=Hussein |title=The Architecture of Ritual: Eighteenth-century Lucknow and the Making of the Great Imambarah Complex, a Forgotten World Monument |degree=PhD |url=http://dspace.library.uvic.ca/bitstream/handle/1828/7939/Keshani_Hussein_PhD_2003.pdf}}</ref> Bahu Begum had another favourite eunuch, Tehsin Ali Khan who died on 27 August 1818. He constructed a mosque and owned a Serai.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tehsin ki Masjid |url=https://lucknow.me/Tehsin-ki-Masjid.html |website=LUCKNOW Society}}</ref> Bahu Begum's name was Amanat-uz Zahra and her eunuch Jawahar Ali Khan built an Imambara in Faizabad.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Trivedi |first=Madhu K |date=1977 |title=Cultural history of the kingdom of awadh |degree=PhD |publisher=Aligarh Muslim University |url=http://ir.amu.ac.in/5952/1/T%201784.pdf}}</ref> Bahu Begam was the younger sister of Mirza Muhammad<ref>{{cite thesis |last=SRIVASTAVA |first=ASHIRBADI LAL |title=SHUJA-UD-DAULAH |degree=D.Litt |volume=I (1754 - 1765) |edition=2nd Revised and corrected |date=1961 |page=5 |url=http://srivastavahistorian.com/img/Books/Shuja-Ud%20Daulah%20%20V-I.pdf}}</ref>
 
''As there is a full account given of Jawahir 'Ali Ķbán in connection with Faizábád, there is no need to speak of him here. Having filled the office of the Nazárat on earth for thirty-four years after the death of Nusrat 'Ali ķhán, he was summoned in 1214 A.H. [1799 A.D.), to superintend the huris of Firdaus, and hastened. to Paradise. Then the lucrative appointments which he had vacated were conferred on Muhammad Dáráb. Ali Ķbán. Although Jawahir . 'Ali Khán had thrice the dignity and opulence of his father,* for his authority extended from the mountain of Butwal on the north to the banks of the Ganges on the south, and he had more than 10,000 horse and foot, and had personal property greater than all the other eunuchs of Faizábád had been able to collect in their whole lives, yet he was never known to utter an arrogant or haughty word, and never assumed any manner or a form of speech which savoured of pride or arrogance. As he had evinced from his early boyhood a taste for literature, he was constantly engaged in reading, and when any literary discussion took place, he used to leave the most urgent business to go and share its advantages. In his early years he was fond of Arabic, and becoming proficient in etymology, syntax, and logic, he entered on the study of Şadra; but owing to his tours and journeys, which he had to make to Lucknow each year and sometimes to the mountain of Butwal, he was unable to make further progress.''
 
''He was an able expositor of the ambiguities of Persian poetry. Enigmas and riddles were solved in gatherings around him. Above all, he was especially fond of historical works. He read from beginning to end the Sháhnáma, Hamla-i-Haidarí, the Masnavís of Jalálu'ddín Rúmi, Ma'ariju'nnabuwat, Rauzatu'ssafa, Habibu'ssiyar, Shahjabánnáma, Akbarnáma, Taimúrnáma, Táriķh Farishta, and every other book on which he could lay his hands. The duty of reading these aloud to him was imposed on me. He used to listen to them from sunset until midnight. I heard many narratives and tales while thus privileged with the enjoyment of his society. He always sought the company of scholars, poets, and men of science. He is dead and gone.''
 
''* The relation of an old eunuch to a younger one as guru and chelá (priest and novice) is often referred to in this work. When a eunuch adopted another they were spoken of as father and son. This is the relation here alluded to, Jawábir 'Ali being looked on as the adopted son of Nusrat 'Ali, whom he succeeded.'' [[Muhammad Faiz Bakhsh]], "Memoirs of Delhi and Faizábád: Being a Translation of the Táríḳh Farahbaḳhsh of Muhammad Faiz Baḳhsh from the Original Persian, Volume 1", pages iv-v.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bakhsh |first1=Muhammad Faiz |last2=Hoey |first2=William |title=Memoirs of Delhi and Faizábád: Being a Translation of the Táríḳh Farahbaḳhsh of Muhammad Faiz Baḳhsh from the Original Persian, Volume 1 |date=1888 |publisher=Government Press, North-western Provinces and Oudh |pages=iv, v |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jus2AQAAMAAJ&q=jawahir+ali+eunuch&pg=PR6-IA4}}</ref>
 
Yusuf Ali Khan and Ambar Ali Khan were 2 other eunuch boys who were raised with Jawahir Ali Khan.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Bowen |editor1-first=Zazie |editor2-last=Hinchy |editor2-first=Jessica |title=Children and Knowledge: Contemporary and Historical Perspectives from India |date=2020 |publisher=Routledge |series=Routledge South Asian History and Culture Series |isbn=978-1000740417 |edition=reprint |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5NXpDwAAQBAJ&q=jawahir+ali+eunuch&pg=PT110}}</ref> Ambar Ali Khan was taken prisoner in the same battle as Jawahir Ali Khan when the Twelver Shia Commissioner Muhammad Ali Khan defeated the Hindu Rajputs of Khairabad (Sitapur) and castrated the Hindu boys.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bhasin |first1=Rakesh |title=Dastan-e-Awadh: A Momentous Journey from Faizabad to Lucknow |date=2018 |publisher=Notion Press |isbn=978-1642498820 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1lhbDwAAQBAJ&q=jawahir+ali+eunuch&pg=PT184}}</ref> Jawahir Ali Khan used white clothing for Mewatis, black clothing for irregulars and livery in mango green for household troops (Sahib Khanis) when he ordered his servants and soldiers to parade in Lucknow while he was administrator.<ref>{{cite book |last1=BAYLY |first1=C. A. |editor1-last=Appadurai |editor1-first=Arjun |title=The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective |date=1988 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0521357268 |page=304 |edition=illustrated, reprint |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6JqTcziwKTYC&q=jawahir+ali+eunuch&pg=PA304 |series=ACLS Humanities E-Book, Cambridge studies in social and cultural anthropology |chapter=CHAPTER 10 The origins of swadeshi (home industry): cloth and Indian society, 1700-1930}}</ref> Jawahir Ali patronized intellectuals and culture as well as engaging in horsemanship and archery practice every day. He did not wear ornate, expensive or elaborate clothing and did not do extravagant grooming, since as a high ranking eunuch (khwajasarai) his mistress did not need to flaunt her wealth through him.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hinchy |first1=Jessica |last2=Miescher |first2=Stephan F. |last3=Mitchell |first3=Michele |last4=Shibusawa |first4=Naoko |title=Gender, Imperialism and Global Exchanges |date=2015 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |series=Gender and History Special Issues |isbn=978-1119052197 |page=30 |edition=reprint |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JEkZBwAAQBAJ&q=jawahir+ali+eunuch&pg=PA30 |chapter=PART I Labour 1 The Sexual Politics of Imperial Expansion: Eunuchs and Indirect Colonial Rule in Mid-Nineteenth-Century North India}}</ref> Jawahir Ali Khan cone had 1,000 servants shout "Din, Din" while raising banners and wearing white robes after taking off their black robes. One of his officials was Akhund Ahmad. Jawahir Ali had a dispute with his mistress Bahu Begum when he was blocking a road once and she sent a eunuch to tell him to stop it.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Pakistan Historical Society |title=Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society, Volume 42 |date=1994 |publisher=Pakistan Historical Society. |pages=116, 117, 118 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w_htAAAAMAAJ&q=jawahir+ali+eunuch |quote=Salih , leaving the service of Jawahir ' Ali Khan joined the service of Bani Khānam . He entreated that his wife Nūrjahān ... and it was not expedient to stay in . She again spoke to the Bahū Begum who sent a eunuch to Jawāhir ' Ali Khān saying ... Jawahir ' Ali Khān was so much in the heat of passion that he became reckless , and forgetting the relations of master and servant , he returned no answer ...}}</ref>


==In popular culture==
==In popular culture==
* In the 1994 [[Hindi]] TV series ''[[The Great Maratha]]'', Shuja's character was portrayed by [[Benjamin Gilani]].
* In the 1994 [[Hindi]] TV series ''[[The Great Maratha]]'', Shuja's character was portrayed by [[Benjamin Gilani]].
* In the 2019 Bollywood film ''[[Panipat (film)|Panipat]]'', Shuja-ud-Daula is portrayed by [[Kunal Kapoor (actor, born 1959)|Kunal Kapoor]].
* In the 2019 Bollywood film ''[[Panipat (film)|Panipat]]'', Shuja-ud-Daula is portrayed by [[Kunal Kapoor (actor, born 1959)|Kunal Kapoor]].
== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Mahout Shuja-ud-Daulah.png|Mahout of Shuja-ud-Daulah, 1772
File:Muharram Procession, Faizabad, 1772.png|Muharram Procession, Faizabad, 1722
File:Palace of Nawaub Suja Dowla at Lucnow - British Library X432 3 16 951 (complete).jpg|Palace of [[Nawab of Awadh|Nawab]] Shuja-ud-Daula at [[Lucknow]]
</gallery>


==References==
==References==
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==Further reading==
==Further reading==
*Shuja-ud-Daulah – Vol. I, II (1754–1765) by Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava
*''Shuja-ud-Daulah'' – Vol. I, II (1754–1765) by Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava
 
==External links==
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{{s-start}}
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{{succession box
  before= [[Safdarjung|Abu´l Mansur Mohammad Moqim Khan]]|
|before= [[Safdarjung|Abu´l Mansur Mohammad Moqim Khan]]
  title=[[Nawab of Oudh|Subadar Nawab of Oudh]]|
|title=[[Nawab of Oudh|Subadar Nawab of Oudh]]
  years=1754–1762|
|years=1754–1762
  after= post abolished
|after= post abolished
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{{succession box|
{{succession box
  before=new creation|
|before=new creation
  title=[[Nawab of Oudh|Nawab Wazir al-Mamalik of Oudh]]|
|title=[[Nawab of Oudh|Nawab Wazir al-Mamalik of Oudh]]
  years=1762–1775|
|years=1762–1775
  after=[[Asaf-Ud-Dowlah|Asaf ad-Dowla Amani]]
|after=[[Asaf-Ud-Dowlah|Asaf ad-Dowla Amani]]
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[[Category:1732 births]]
[[Category:1732 births]]
[[Category:People from Lucknow]]
[[Category:People from Lucknow]]
[[Category:Nawabs of Awadh]]
[[Category:Nawabs of Oudh State]]
[[Category:1775 deaths]]
[[Category:1775 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian Shia Muslims]]
[[Category:Indian Shia Muslims]]
[[Category:Indian people of Iranian descent]]
[[Category:Indian people of Iranian descent]]
[[Category:18th-century Iranian people]]
[[Category:18th-century Iranian people]]
[[Category:18th-century Indian royalty]]

Latest revision as of 06:24, 8 February 2026


Not to be confused with Shuja-ud-Daula, son of an Afghan nawab and assassin of Shah Shujah Durrani, or the Bangladeshi politician Mohammad Shujauddaulah.

Shuja-ud-Daula
Nawab of Oudh
Khan Bahadur
Asad Jang
Arsh Manzil
File:Shuja-ud-daula, Nawab of Oudh.tif
3rd Nawab of Awadh
Reign5 October 1754 – 26 January 1775
PredecessorSafdar Jang
SuccessorAsaf-ud-Daulah
Born19 January 1732
Mansion of Dara Shikoh, Delhi, Delhi Subah, Mughal Empire
Died26 January 1775(1775-01-26) (aged 43)
Faizabad, Kingdom of Awadh (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India)
Burial
Gulab Bari, Faizabad, Awadh
SpouseNawab Begum Ummat-uz-Zahra Bano "Bahu Begum" Saheba
IssueAsaf-ud-Daulah Saadat Ali Khan II
Names
Jalal-ud-din Haider Abul Mansur Khan Shuja-ud-Daula
HouseNishapuri Branch of the Kara Koyunlu
FatherSafdar Jang
MotherNawab Begum Sadar Jahan Ara Begum Saheba

Shuja-ud-Daula (19 January 1732 – 26 January 1775) was the third Nawab of Oudh[1] and the Vizier of Delhi from 5 October 1754 until his death 26 January 1775.[2]

He was a key 18th-century Mughal ally who despised the Maratha-backed grand vizier of the Mughal Empire Imad-ul-Mulk. He supported Prince Ali Gauhar (later Shah Alam II) against Mughal usurpers and became Grand Vizier. His army, backed by influential clans and Shi'a migrants from Kashmir, was a major force in North India. Shuja joined Ahmad Shah Durrani in the Third Battle of Panipat, helping defeat the Marathas by cutting their supply lines. Later, he allied with Shah Alam II and Mir Qasim to fight the British in the Battle of Buxar but was defeated. In 1765, he signed the Treaty of Allahabad, ceding territory and financial control to the East India Company. Though strategic, this marked the start of increasing British dominance in India.

Early life[edit | edit source]

Shuja-ud-Daula was the son of the Mughal Grand Vizier Safdarjung, who was chosen by Emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur. Unlike his father Shuja-ud-Daula was known from an early age for his abilities to synthesize his subordinates;[clarification needed] this skill would eventually cause him to emerge as the chosen Grand Vizier of Shah Alam II.

Painting a portrait of Shuja ud-Daula and his ten sons

Shuja-ud-Daula is also known to have assisted Alivardi Khan, Nawab of Bengal, on various occasions when the territories of the latter were being ravaged by Raghoji I Bhonsle and his Marathas. Thus, Shuja-ud-Daula is known to have been a very respected figure among the servicemen of Alivardi Khan.

Nawab of Awadh[edit | edit source]

After the death of his father in the year 1753, Shuja-ud-Daula was recognized as the next Nawab by Ahmad Shah Bahadur.

Shuja-ud-Daula despised Imad-ul-Mulk, an ally of the Marathas whose regime emerged after the Battle of Sikandarabad with the support of the Sadashivrao Bhau. Imad-ul-Mulk blinded Ahmad Shah Bahadur and placed Alamgir II on the Mughal throne. Alamgir II and his son Prince Ali Gauhar were often persecuted by Imad-ul-Mulk because they refused to abandon their peaceful terms with Ahmad Shah Durrani; they also demanded the resignation of Imad-ul-Mulk, mainly due to his relations with the Marathas.[3]

Shuja-ud-Daulah's household cavalry was composed of the Sheikhzadi,[4] much of whom belonged to the Qidwai clan, who claimed descent from the Bani Israil.[5] Clan-groups such as the Sayyids of Bilgram, Kara-Manikpur, Sheikhs of Kakori, and the Sayyids of Barha served as court officers and soldiers.[6] The troops of Naval Rai, the most vigilant of Shuja-ud-Daulah's commanders, were a contingent of his Barah Sayyids, while the Bilgramis were of the same stock.[7][8] These clans had not taken any profession other than soldiery.[9] Shuja-ud-Daulah's father had maintained a contingent of 20,000 "Mughal" cavalry, who were mainly Hindustanis, many of whom were chiefly from the Jadibal district in Kashmir and who imitated the Qizilbash in dress and spoke the Persian language.[10][11] The state also saw a large migration of Kashmiri Shi'as to the Shi'a kingdom of Awadh, both to escape persecution and to secure courtly patronage.[12] This was especially the case with men from the district of Jadibal in Kashmir, who were all Shias, who looked to the state as the sword-arm of the Shi'as in India.

Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire[edit | edit source]

Escort of Shah Alam II returning from the Treaty of Allahabad

Prince Ali Gauhar fled from Delhi when he realized a conspiracy that would eventually lead to the murder of the Mughal emperor Alamgir II. Shuja-ud-Daula welcomed and protected Prince Ali Gauhar, who then declared himself Shah Alam II and officially recognized Shuja-ud-Daula as the Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire. Together they challenged the usurper Shah Jahan III, who was placed on the Mughal imperial throne by Sadashivrao Bhau and his forces, which plundered much of the Mughal Empire.

Shah Alam II was then advised to lead an expedition that would attempt to retake the eastern regions of the Mughal Empire from Mir Jafar who was supported by the British East India Company. While Shuja-ud-Daula, Najib-ud-Daula and Mirza Jawan Bakht allied themselves with Ahmad Shah Durrani and assisted his forces during the Second Battle of Sikandarabad in the year 1760 and later led a Mughal Army of 43,000 during the Third Battle of Panipat.[13]

Third Battle of Panipat[edit | edit source]

After escaping from Delhi due to the murder of his father the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II, the young Prince Ali Gauhar was well received by Shuja-ud-Daula. The Nawab of Awadh and the newly appointed Mughal Grand Vizier Shuja-ud-Daula assured Prince Ali Gauhar that he and Najib-ud-Daula would initiate a struggle that would overthrow the Maratha Empire if Prince Ali Gauhar would lead what remained of the Mughal Army against the expanding British East India Company in Bengal.[14]

Shuja's decision about whom to join as an ally in the Third Battle of Panipat was one of the decisive factors that determined the outcome of the war as lack of food due to the Afghans cutting the supply lines of Marathas was one of the reasons that the Marathas could not sustain the day-long battle. Their forces were weak due to starvation and were also fighting facing the sun.[citation needed]

Shuja-ud-Daulah's camp, meeting with Colonel John Carnac who would go on to defeat the former in 1761[15]

Shuja was not very sure about whose side should he take before the Third Battle of Panipat. The Marathas were still further south then and it would have taken them considerable time to reach Shuja's province. In spite of this, his mother was of the opinion that he should join the Marathas as they had helped his father previously on numerous occasions. However, in the end, Shuja decided to join Ahmad Shah Durrani.

As the chosen Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire, Shuja-ud-Daula commanded a sizeable army of Mughal Sepoy, who cut off the supplies of the Marathas and even defeated them in pitched confrontations during the Third Battle of Panipat and dispatched the Maratha leader Sadashivrao Bhau.[citation needed]

Abdali wrote to Shuja-ud-Daulah:

"It is now incontestably known that the addressee is a native of those parts, but that forsaking the conversation and manners of his native land, he has incorporated himself with the inhabitants of Hindustan. Whatever has come to pass, is altogether right. Whatever has been has been; the future will, by the favour of God, be fortunate.[16]

Battle of Buxar[edit | edit source]

Shuja is also known for his role in the Battle of Buxar, a battle that was no less definite in Indian history. He along with the forces of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II & Mir Qasim ruler of Bengal were defeated by the British forces in one of the key battles in the history of British East India company.

Allahabad Treaty[edit | edit source]

He again fought the British with the help of Marathas at Kara Jahanabad and was defeated. On 16 August 1765 AD he signed the Treaty of Allahabad, which said that Kora and Allahabad district would go to Company and the Company would get 5 million rupees from Awadh.[17] The British would be allowed free trade in Awadh and would help each other in case of war with other powers, which was a very shrewd political move by the Company.[18]

To pay for the protection of British forces and assistance in war, Awadh gave up first the fort of Chunar, then districts of Benaras, Ghazipur and finally Allahabad.[19]

Death and burial[edit | edit source]

Gulab Bari, the tomb of Shuja-ud-Daula, in Faizabad

Shuja-ud-Daula died on 26 January 1775 in Faizabad, the then capital of Awadh, and was buried in the same city. His burial place is a tomb and known as Gulab Bari (Rose Garden).

Personal life[edit | edit source]

A portrait of Shuja ud-Daulah

According to historians, Shuja-ud-Daulah was nearly seven feet tall, with oiled moustaches that projected from his face like a pair of outstretched eagle’s wings, he was a man of immense physical strength. By 1763, he was past his prime, but still reputedly strong enough to cut off the head of a buffalo with a single swing of his sword, or lift up two of his officers, one in each hand. This was something that immediately struck the 18th-century, historian Ghulam Hussain Khan who regarded him as a slight liability, every bit as foolish as he was bold. Shuja, he wrote, ‘was equally proud and ignorant’.[20]

In popular culture[edit | edit source]

Gallery[edit | edit source]

  • Mahout of Shuja-ud-Daulah, 1772
    Mahout of Shuja-ud-Daulah, 1772
  • Muharram Procession, Faizabad, 1722
    Muharram Procession, Faizabad, 1722
  • Palace of Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula at Lucknow
    Palace of Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula at Lucknow

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Bhatia, O. P. Singh (1968). History of India, from 1707 to 1856. Surjeet Book Depot.
  2. ↑ Princely States of India
  3. ↑ Srivastava, Ashirbadi Lal (1945). Shuja-ud-daulah. S.N. Sarkar. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  4. ↑ Barua, Pradeep P. (2005). The State at War in South Asia. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. p. 73. ISBN 0803213441.
  5. ↑ Misra, Amaresh (1998). Lucknow, Fire of Grace: The Story of Its Revolution, Renaissance and the Aftermath. HarperCollins Publishers India. ISBN 9788172232887.
  6. ↑ Bayly, C. A. (2012). Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion: 1770–1870 (3rd ed.). Delhi: OUP India. ISBN 978-0-19-908873-7.
  7. ↑ Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Asiatic Society (Calcutta, India); Asiatic Society (Calcutta, India). 1832.
  8. ↑ Henry Dodwell, Sir Richard Burn, Sir Wolseley Haig (1957). The Cambridge History of IndiaVolume 4. Pennsylvania State University.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ Surya Narain Singh. Mittal Publications. 2003. p. 9. ISBN 978-81-7099-908-9.
  10. ↑ Sarkar, Jadunath (1964) [1st ed. 1932]. Fall of the Mughal Empire. Vol. 1 (3rd ed.). Bombay: Orient Longman. p. 254.
  11. ↑ Srivastava, Ashirbadi Lal (1933). textsThe First Two Nawabs Of Oudh (a Critical Study Based On Original Sources) Approved For The Degree Of Ph. D. In The University Fo Lucknow In 1932.
  12. ↑ Hamdani, Hakim Sameer (2022). Shi'ism in Kashmir:A History of Sunni-Shia Rivalry and Reconciliation. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-7556-4396-7.
  13. ↑ Mohan, Surendra (1997). Awadh Under the Nawabs: Politics, Culture, and Communal Relations, 1722-1856. Manohar Publishers & Distributors. ISBN 978-81-7304-203-4.
  14. ↑ Cotton, James Sutherland; Burn, Sir Richard; Meyer, Sir William Stevenson (1908). Imperial Gazetteer of India: Provincial Series. Superintendent of Government Printing. Shah Alam ii an shuja-ud-daula.
  15. ↑ Prior, D. L. (23 September 2004). "Carnac, John". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/4711. Template:ODNBsub
  16. ↑ Calendar of Persian Correspondence: Being Letters, Referring Mainly to Affairs in Bengal, which Passed Between Some of the Company's Servants and Indian Rulers and Notables. By India. Imperial Record Department. 1914.
  17. ↑ Wikisource: Text of Allahabad Treaty
  18. ↑ HISTORY OF AWADH (Oudh) a princely State of India by Hameed Akhtar Siddiqui
  19. ↑ Shuja-ud-daula (1754–1775)
  20. ↑ Dalrymple, William (10 September 2019). The Anarchy. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 16. ISBN 978-1526618504.

Further reading[edit | edit source]

  • Shuja-ud-Daulah – Vol. I, II (1754–1765) by Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava
Preceded by
Abu´l Mansur Mohammad Moqim Khan 		Subadar Nawab of Oudh
1754–1762 		Succeeded by
post abolished
Preceded by
new creation 		Nawab Wazir al-Mamalik of Oudh
1762–1775 		Succeeded by
Asaf ad-Dowla Amani


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