Nawab of Bengal
Former Monarchy
Coat of arms of the Nawab of Bengal.
120px
Siraj ud-Daulah
First monarch	Alivardi Khan
Last monarch	Mansur Ali Khan
Style	His Highness / Your Highness
Official residence	Murshidabad
Monarchy started	April 29, 1740
Monarchy ended	1881

Part of a series on the
History of Bengal
Ancient Bengal
Vedic Period
Ancient Bengali States Gangaridai Kingdom, Vanga Kingdom, Pundra Kingdom, Suhma Kingdom, Anga Kingdom, Harikela Kingdom
Mauryan Period
Classical Bengal
The Classical Age
Shashanka
Age of Empires Pala Empire, Sena Empire
Medieval Bengal
Arrival of Islam Sultanate of Bengal, Deva Kingdom Bakhtiyar Khilji, Raja Ganesha
Mughal Period Pratap Aditya, Raja Sitaram Ray Nawab of Bengal, Baro-Bhuyans
Modern Bengal
Company Raj Zamindari system, Bengal famine of 1770
British Indian Empire Bengal Renaissance Brahmo Samaj Swami Vivekananda, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Subhash Chandra Bose
Post-Colonial 1947 Partition of Bengal, Bangladesh Liberation War Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Jyoti Basu
See Also
Bangladesh, West Bengal

Location of modern Bengal (Bangladesh and West Bengal.)

The Nawabs of Bengal were the hereditary nazims or subadars (provincial governors) of the subah (province) of Bengal during the Mughal rule and the de-facto rulers of the province.

Bengal[link]

Today, Bengal is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh (previously East Bengal / East Pakistan) and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous kingdoms of Bengal (during local monarchical regimes, like the Nawabs' rule and British rule) are now part of the neighboring Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Tripura and Orissa. The majority of Bengal is inhabited by Bengali people (বাঙালি Bangali) who speak the Bengali language (বাংলা Bangla). So, sometimes the Nawabs are mentioned as "Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa" but they then were all a part of Bengal, so they may be called only - "Nawab of Bengal"

History Before the Nawabs' Rule[link]

The early Sultans of Bengal ruled until 1282 which was followed by the rule of several successive dynasties. Ilyas Shah founder of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty, took complete charge of the then Bengal and the capital was shifted to Sonargaon (near present day, Dhaka in Bangladesh). He was one of the independent rulers of Bengal. His son, Sikandar Shah, who succeeded him, built the Adina Mosque at Pandua, near Gour, which in the medieval times, was considered to be the largest in undivided Bengal, as well as the entire Indian subcontinent^[1]

History After and During The Nawabs' Rule[link]

From 1717 until 1880, three successive Islamic dynasties — Nasiri, Afshar and Najafi — ruled what was the known as Bengal:

The first dynasty, the Nasiri, ruled from 1717 until 1740. The founder of the Nasiri, Murshid Quli Jafar Khan, was born a poor Deccani Oriya Brahmin before being sold into slavery and bought by one Haji Shafi Isfahani, a Persian merchant from Isfahan who converted him to Islam. He entered the service of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and rose through the ranks before becoming the Nawab Nazim of Bengal in 1717, a post he held until his death in 1727. He in turn was succeeded by his son-in law, Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan. After Shuja-ud-Din's death in 1739 he was succeded by his son, Sarfaraz Khan, who hold the rank, until he was killed in the Battle of Giria in 1741, and was succeeded by Alivardi Khan, former ruler of Patna, of the Afshar Dynasty in 1740.

The second dynasty, the Afshar, ruled from 1740 to 1757. They were succeeded by the third and final dynasty to rule the whole Bengal, the Najafi, after Siraj ud-Daulah (Alivardi Khan's grandson), the last Afshar Nawab was killed in the Battle of Plassey in 1757.

Under the Mughals[link]

Bengal subah was one of the wealthiest parts of the Mughal empire. As the Mughal empire began to decline, the Nawabs grew in power, although nominally sub-ordinate to the Mughal emperor. They wielded great power in their own right and ruled the subah as independent rulers for all practical purposes by the early 1700s.

Under the Marathas[link]

Marathas undertook six expeditions in Bengal from 1741-1748. Maratha general Raghunathrao was able to annex Orissa to his kingdom permanently as he successfully exploited the chaotic conditions prevailing in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa after the death of their Governor Murshid Quli Khan in 1727. Constantly harassed by the Bhonsles, Orissa or Katak, Bengal and parts of Bihar were economically ruined. Alivardi Khan, Nawab of Bengal made peace with Raghuji in 1751 ceding in perpetuity Katak up to the river Suvarnarekha, and agreeing to pay Rs. 12 lacs annually in lieu of the Chauth of Bengal and Bihar.^[2]

The treaty includes 20 lacs as chauth for Bengal (includes both west Bengal and Bangladesh) and 12 lacs for Bihar(including Jharkhand) after this Maratha promised never to cross the Boundary of Nawab of Bengal territory.^[3] Baji Rao thus is hailed as the greatest Maratha chief after Shivaji because of his success in subjecting Muslim rulers of east India in states such as Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the Maratha rule.^[4]

Under British Rule[link]

After the Nawab Siraj Ud Daulah (the last independent ruler of Bengal) was defeated by the British forces of Sir Robert Clive at Palashi in 1757, the Nawabs became puppet rulers dependent on the British. The Nawab who replaced Siraj-ud-daula was Mir Jafar. He was personally led to the throne by Robert Clive after triumph of the British in battle. He briefly tried to re-assert his power by allying with the Dutch, but this plan was ended by the Battle of Chinsurah. After the grant of the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa by the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II to the British East India Company in 1765 and the appointment of Hastings by the East India Company as their first Governor General of Bengal in 1771, the Nawabs were deprived of any real power, and finally in 1793, when the nizamat (governorship) was also taken away from them, they remained as the mere pensioners of the British East India Company. In 1880, Mansur Ali Khan, the last Nawab of Bengal was forced to relinquish his title. His son, Nawab Sayyid Hassan Ali Mirza Khan Bahadur, who succeeded him, was given the lesser title of Nawab of Murshidabad by the British. Hassan's descendants continued the title until 1969 when the last Nawab of the dynasty died; since then the title has been in dispute.

The Nawabs of Bengal (chronologically)[link]

Portrait	Titular Name	Personal Name	Birth	Reign	Death
Nasiri Dynasty
	Ala ud-Daulah	Murshid Quli Jafar Khan	1665	1717– 1727	June 30, 1727
90px	Mirza Asadullah	Sarfaraz Khan Bahadur	?	1727-1727	April 1740
90px	Shuja ud-Daula	Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan	Around 1670 (date not available)	July, 1727 – August 26, 1739	August 26, 1739
90px	Mirza Asadullah	Sarfaraz Khan Bahadur	?	March 13, 1739–April 1740	April 1740
Afshar Dynasty
	Husam ud-Daula	Muhammad Alivardi Khan Bahadur	May 10, 1671	April 29, 1740 – April 16, 1756	16 April 1756
90px	Siraj ud-Daulah	Mîrzâ Muhammad Sirâj-ud-Daulah	1733	April 1756 – June 2, 1757	July 2, 1757
Najafi Dynasty
	Ja'afar 'Ali Khan Bahadur	Mir Muhammed Jafar Ali Khan	1691	June 1757–October 1760	January 17, 1765
90px	Itimad ud-Daulah	Mir Kasim Ali Khan Bahadur	?	1760 - 1763	1764
	Ja'afar 'Ali Khan Bahadur	Mir Muhammed Jafar Ali Khan	1691	July 25, 1763–January 17, 1765	January 17, 1765
	Nazam-ud-Daulah	Najimuddin Ali Khan	1750	February 5, 1765 –May 8, 1766	May 8, 1766
	Saif ud-Daulah	Najabut Ali Khan	1749	May 22, 1766–March 10, 1770	March 10, 1770
	Mubarak ud-Daulah	Ashraf Ali Khan	1759	March 21, 1770–September 6, 1793	September 6, 1793
	Azud ud-Daulah	Babar Ali Khan Bahadur	?	1793–April 28, 1810	April 28, 1810
	Ali Jah	Zain-ud-Din Ali Khan	?	June 5, 1810–August 6, 1821	August 6, 1821
	Walla Jah	Ahmad Ali Khan	?	1810–October 30, 1824	October 30, 1824
	Humayun Jah	Mubarak Ali Khan	29 September, 1810	1824–October 3, 1838	October 3, 1838
	Feradun Jah	Mansur Ali Khan	29 October 1830	October 29, 1838 –1881 (abdicated)	November 5, 1884

Nawabs of Murshidabad (chronologically)[link]

Picture	Titular Name	Personal Name	Birth	Reign	Death
Najafi Dynasty
	Ali Kadir	Hassan Ali Mirza Khan Bahadur	25 August, 1846	February 17, 1882 - 25 December, 1906	25 December 1906
	Amir ul-Omrah	Wasif Ali Mirza Khan Bahadur	7 January, 1875	December 1906-23 October 1959	23 October, 1959
	Raes ud-Daulah	Waris Ali Mirza Khan Bahadur	14 November, 1901	1959 – 20 November, 1969 ( no clear successor-post/title in dispute)	20 November, 1969

References[link]

1. ^ Adina Mosque, from Banglapedia.
2. ^ "Maratha invasion of Bengal". http://books.google.co.in/books?id=1BY9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA555&dq=MARATHA+INVASION+ON+BENGAL&hl=en&ei=nsRITuGPHMvjrAeRvulY&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFYQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=MARATHA%20INVASION%20ON%20BENGAL&f=false. 
3. ^ "Maratha Chauth from Bihar". http://books.google.co.in/books?id=gKOqA9lgtbwC&pg=PA64&dq=MARATHA+chauth+from+bihar&hl=en&ei=qMdITqPwJcP4rQePn5HYCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=MARATHA%20chauth%20from%20bihar&f=false. 
4. ^ "Maratha raids in Bihar". http://books.google.co.in/books?id=aHcfv6zkJgQC&pg=PA21&dq=MARATHA+raids+in+bihar&hl=en&ei=FcpITubrJ4XtrQedwrTXAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEwQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=MARATHA%20raids%20in%20bihar&f=false. 

External links[link]

• "Site dedicated to the arrival of the Nawabs of Bengal and their decline". http://murshidabad.net/history/history.php. 
• Nawab Nazims of Bengal
• Posts under the Nawabs

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Mir Jafar Ali Khan
Shuja ul-Mulk, Hashim ud-Daula, Nawab Ja'afar 'Ali Khan Bahadur, Mahabat Jang, Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa
Mir Jafar (left) and one of his sons, Mir Miran (right).
Reign	1757–1765
Full name	Mir Muhammed Jafar Ali Khan
Born	1691
Died	February 5, 1765
Predecessor	Siraj-ud-Daulah
Successor	Mir Qasim, Najimuddin Ali Khan
Consort to	Munny Begum (d. January 10, 1813) and Babbu Begum (d. 1809)
Wives	Shah Khanam Muni Begum
Offspring	Najimuddin Ali Khan Najabut Ali Khan Ashraf Ali Khan Mubaraq Ali Khan
Dynasty	Najafi
Father	Sayyid Ahmad Najafi
Religious beliefs	Islam

Mir Muhammed Jafar Ali Khan, formal title Shuja-ul-Mulk, Hashim ud-Daula, Nawab Ja'afar Ali Khan Bahadur, Mahabat Jang commonly known as Mir Jafar, second son of Sayyid Ahmad Najafi, (1691–February 5, 1765) was Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. He is also known by Indians as Gaddar-e-Abrar (which translates in English as 'The Traitor of Faith').^{[citation needed]} He succeeded Siraj-Ud-Daulah as the eighth Nawab of Bengal, and the first of the Najafi dynasty after deceiving Nawab Siraj-Ud-Daulah and surrendering his army in battle field against Robert Clive. His rule is widely considered the start of British rule in India and was a key step in eventual British domination of the country. His lust to become Nawab of Bengal, led him to make a secret pact with Robert Clive and surrender & slaughter the Army of Bengal in the Battle of Plassey, without fighting, which led to foundation of British rule in India. For this act of treachery, he has been infamously called Gaddar-e-Abrar ("Betrayer of the true Faith").

[edit] Faujdar of the Nawab of Bengal

In the year 1747, the Marathas led by Raghoji I Bhonsle, began to raid, pillage and annex the territories of the Alivardi Khan. During the Maratha invasion of Orissa, its Subedar Mir Jafar and Ataullah Faujdar of Rajmahal completely withdrew all forces until the arrival of Alivardi Khan and the Mughal Army at the Battle of Burdwan where Raghoji I Bhonsle and his Maratha forces were completely routed. The enraged Alivardi Khan then dismissed the shamed Mir Jafar.^[1]

Nawab of Bengal[link]

Mir Jafar and his son Miran delivering the Treaty of 1757 to William Watts

After Siraj Ud Daulah’s defeat and subsequent execution, Mir Jafar achieved his long-pursued dream of gaining the throne, and was propped up by the British as puppet Nawab. Mir Jafar paid a sum of Rs. 17,700,000 as compensation for the attack on Calcutta to the company and the traders of the city. In addition, he paid large sums as gifts or bribes to the officials of the company. Clive, for example received over two million rupees, Watts over one million^[2] Soon, however, he realised that British expectations were boundless and tried to wriggle out from under them; this time with the help of the Dutch. However, the British defeated the Dutch at the Battle of Chinsurah in November 1759 and retaliated by forcing him to abdicate in favor of his son-in-law Mir Qasim. However, Mir Qasim proved to be both able and independent, willing to live with but not bow to the British. The Company soon went to war with him, and he was eventually overthrown. Mir Jafar managed to regain the good graces of the British; he was again appointed Nawab in 1763 and held the position until his death in 1765.

Shah Alam II's attempts to overthrow Mir Jafar[link]

The Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, as a pensioner of the British East India Company, 1781

In the year 1760 after gaining control over Bihar, Orissa and some parts of the Bengal, the Mughal Crown Prince Ali Gauhar and his Mughal Army of 30,000 intended to overthrow Mir Jafar, Imad-ul-Mulk after they tried to capture or kill him by advancing towards Awadh and Patna in 1759. But the conflict soon involved the assertive British East India Company. The Mughals were led by Prince Ali Gauhar, who was accompanied by Muhammad Quli Khan, Hidayat Ali, Mir Afzal and Ghulam Husain Tabatabai. Their forces were reinforced by the forces of Shuja-ud-Daula and Najib-ud-Daula. The Mughals were also joined by Jean Law and 200 Frenchmen and waged a campaign against the British during the Seven Years' War.^[4]

Although the French were eventually defeated, the conflict between the British East India Company and the Mughal Empire would continue to linger and ended in a draw, which eventually culminated during the Battle of Buxar.

Legacy[link]

Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, meeting with Mir Jafar after Plassey, by Francis Hayman.

Lord Clive receiving from the Nawab of Bengal a grant of money for disabled officers and soldiers

Mir Jafar probably was the last truly independent ruler of Bengal. After him the British ruled Bengal for next 200 years. Mir Jafar is widely reviled by the people of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.^{[citation needed]} The word "mirjafar" in Bengali and the phrase "meer jafar" in Urdu, are used much as quisling is used in English, and Jaichand of Kannauj in Indian history. Allama Iqbal had written poetry on him, "Mir Jafar o bengal Mir sadiq o deccan nange deen, nange adam, nange watan" which mean Mir Jafar of Bengal and Mir Sadiq of Deccan are disgrace to the faith, disgrace to humanity, disgrace to the nation. Mir Jafar had set an example that an individuals greed can bring an entire nation to slavery and hardship. British with the help of Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq were able to conquer Bengal and kingdom of Mysore (Sultanat-e-Khuda daad).

• Nevertheless, after 200 years, when the British left the region, Mir Jafar's great-grandson Iskandar Mirza, was appointed and served as the first President of Pakistan.^[5][6]

See also[link]

• Battle of Plassey
• List of rulers of Bengal
• History of Bengal
• History of Bangladesh
• History of India
• Siraj Ud Daulah
• Bengal
• Robert Clive
• Mir Jafar Awards
• Great Britain in the Seven Years War
• Benedict Arnold
• Malinche

References[link]

• "Riyazu-s-salatin", A History of Bengal, Ghulam Husain Salim (translated from the Persian): viewable online at the Packard Humanities Institute
• The Banglapedia article on Mir Jafar

• Humayun, Mirza (2002). From Plassey to Pakistan. Washington D.C.: University Press of America; Revised edition (July 28, 2002). ISBN 0-7618-2349-2. 

Notes[link]

1. ^ "Riyazu-s-salatin", Ghulam Husain Salim - a reference to the appointment of Mohanlal can be found here
2. ^ "Seir Muaqherin", Ghulam Husain Tabatabai - a reference to the conspiracy can be found here

1. ^ http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=3amnMPTPP5MC&pg=PA137&dq=mughal+maratha+war&hl=en&sa=X&ei=f6rFT8H5B6XT4QSA08DzBQ&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=maratha&f=false
2. ^ Modern India by Dr.Bipin Chendra,a publication of National council of Educational Research and Training
3. ^ http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=hehJAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA123&dq=shah+alam+and+miran&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qNwRT8rjJ8P_-gbkk-GwAg&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=ill-designing&f=false
4. ^ http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=a-QaOP5nK-MC&pg=PA29&dq=jean+law+invited&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hcD5TteyKpGbOojsldcI&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAg#v=snippet&q=jean%20law&f=false
5. ^ Iskandar Mirza, Ayub Khan, and October 1958, by Syed Badrul Ahsan, The New Age, Bangladesh, October 31, 2005.^{[dead link]}
6. ^ Murshidabad family information, Christopher Buyers, July 2005 - May 2006.^{[dead link]}