CH 10 EIGHTEENTH -CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS

nawab, English nabob, deputy ruler, or viceroy, under the Mughal rule of India. The title was later adopted by the independent rulers of Bengal, Oudh (Ayodhya), and Arcot.

Mir Bakshi was the head of the Military Administration in the Mughal Empire. The responsibility of Mir Baksh was to gather intelligence and make recommendations regarding military appointments and promotions.

A Subah was the term for a province (State) in the Mughal Empire. The word is derived from Arabic and Persian. The governor/ruler of a Subah was known as a subahdar (sometimes also referred to as a “Subeh”), which later became subedar to refer to an officer in the Indian Army and Pakistan Army.

The Mughal provincial administration had two main branches – nizamat and diwani. Broadly speaking, nizamat meant civil administration and diwani, revenue administration. The provincial subahdar was in charge of nizamat (he was also called nazim) and the diwan was in charge of revenue administration.

The chief of the pargana was named parganait, and also called parganadar.

Awadh is situated in the heavily populated heart of the Indo-Gangetic Plain and is known for its rich alluvial soils. It received its name from Ayodhya, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kosala, which was nearly coextensive with present-day Awadh.

LaxmanAs the legends run, the city of Lucknow was founded by Laxman, the younger brother of Lord Rama and accordingly named Lakshmanpuri which through passage of time became Lakhanpur and finally Lucknow. According to historians it was occupied by Mahmud Ghazni and later by Humayun in 1526.

Murshid Quli KhanMurshid Quli Khan was founder of the independent state of Bengal. Murshid Quli Khan, also known as Mohammad Hadi and born as Surya Narayan Mishra , was the first Nawab of Bengal, serving from 1717 to 1727. Murshid Quli Khan was bought by Mughal noble Haji Shafi.

With the decline of the Mughals in the eighteenth century, there were rebellions of the provincial governors and a few annexed states declared their independence. As a result new regional king- doms arose, for instance, Punjab, Bengal, Awadh, Hyderabad, Mysore and the Marathas.

Answer. Answer: India in the 18th century had to endure one of the most chaotic periods in its entire history. The Mughal Empire, which had dominated the Indian subcontinent for two centuries, began to decline with internal and external pressures.