Lucknow

Lucknow became the courtly capital of Awadh, renowned for its monuments, poetry, music and dance. Its nawabs left a city of palaces and religious buildings, including the great Bara Imambara and the Rumi Darwaza. Their patronage made the city a leading cultural centre of northern India. Hindu and Muslim traditions mingled in a culture remembered as Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb.

Awadh belonged to the Sharqi sultans of Jaunpur before Humayun brought it into the Mughal Empire. Jahangir granted an estate to Sheikh Abdul Rahim, who built Machchi Bhawan; his descendants, the Sheikhzadas, ruled from the stronghold. As Mughal power weakened, Saadat Khan became governor of Awadh in 1722 and established his court at Faizabad. His successor Shuja-ud-Daula suffered a costly defeat by the East India Company at Buxar.

In 1775 Asaf-ud-Daula moved the court to Lucknow. He commissioned the Bara Imambara during a devastating famine, providing work for the people of the region; the great building was completed in 1784. A mint moved to Lucknow in 1776, though its coins continued to bear the Mughal emperor's name and the old mint designation of Banaras. The court's splendour grew alongside British influence. In 1801 Saadat Ali Khan ceded extensive territory to the Company and replaced his own troops with an expensive British-controlled force. In 1819 Ghaziuddin Haidar began striking coins in his own name.