Nawab
Sign in to saveAlso known as Nawwab, Nabob, Naybob, Na'ib, Naib, Nawaab
Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Emperor. In earlier times the title was ratified and bestowed by the reigning Mughal emperor to semi-autonomous Muslim rulers of subdivisions or princely states in the Indian subcontinent loyal to the Mughal Empire, and then it was became a Royal title like Sultan or Emperor for example the Nawabs of Bengal. Various Nawabs were permitted to maintain this title under the suzerainty of the Maratha Empire.
~13 min read
Encyclopedic overview
21 sectionsContents
- History
- Ruling nawab families
- Nawabi dynasties acceding to India
- Nawabi dynasties in India abolished before independence
- Nawabi dynasties acceding to Pakistan
- Nawabi dynasties acceding to Bangladesh
- Former dynasties which became political pensioners
- Rohilla Confederation
- Miscellaneous nawabs
- Personal nawabs
- Nawab as a court rank
- Related titles
- Nawabzada
- Naib (Ottoman, Iranian, Arabic title)
- "Nabob", derived colloquial term
- Gallery
- Princely states and Independent states ruled by Nawabs
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Emperor. In earlier times the title was ratified and bestowed by the reigning Mughal emperor to semi-autonomous Muslim rulers of subdivisions or princely states in the Indian subcontinent loyal to the Mughal Empire, and then it was became a Royal title like Sultan or Emperor for example the Nawabs of Bengal. Various Nawabs were permitted to maintain this title under the suzerainty of the Maratha Empire.
"Nawab" usually refers to males and literally means Independent ruler; the female equivalent is "Begum" or "Nawab Begum". The primary duty of a Nawab was to uphold the sovereignty.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Nawab” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.