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Faizabad

City in Uttar Pradesh, India

  • 10 min read
  • 8 chapters

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History

According to The Imperial Gazetteer of India, "[w]hen Saadat Khan was appointed governor of Oudh he built a hunting lodge 4 miles west of Ayodhya [in 1730], then the head-quarters of the province. Gardens were laid out and shops sprang up in the neighbourhood, and during the time of his successor Safdar Jang the name Faizabad was first applied. Shuja-ud-daula, the third Nawab, lived chiefly at Lucknow during the early part of his reign; but after his defeat at Buxar in 1764 he made Faizabad his residence, and during the remainder of his life added largely to its defences and also laid a large town. Shuja-ud-daula died early in 1775, and before the close of the year Asaf-ud-daula moved permanently to Lucknow. The importance of Faizabad declined, but it remained the home of Asaf-ud-daula's grandmother and mother, the Nawab Begam and Bahu Begam, whose treatment was the subject of charges against Warren Hastings. After the death of Bahu Begam in 1816 Faizabad decayed still farther". Oudh State was annexed by the British in 1856. Local self-government for Ayodhya and Faizabad was introduced in 1865. The two cities were administered jointly as a municipality.

Establishment of Princely state of Awadh

Gulab Bari stands in a garden surrounded by a wall, approachable through two large gateways. These buildings are particularly interesting for their assimilative architectural styles. Shuja-ud-daula's wife was the well known Bahu Begum, who married the Nawab in 1743 and continued to reside in Faizabad, her residence being the Moti-Mahal. Close by at Jawaharbagh lies her Maqbara, where she was buried after her death in 1816. It is considered to be one of the finest buildings of its kind in Avadh, which was built at the cost of three lakh rupees by her chief advisor Darab Ali Khan. A fine view of the city is obtainable from top of the begum's tomb. Bahu Begum was a woman of great distinction and rank, bearing dignity. Most of the Muslim buildings of Faizabad are attributed to her. From the date of Bahu Begum's death in 1815 until the annexation of Avadh, the city of Faizabad gradually fell into decay. The glory of Faizabad finally eclipsed with the shifting of capital from Faizabad to Lucknow by Nawab Asaf-ud-daula.

Faizabad was also a centre of one of many battles of the Mutiny of 1857. A detailed history of Faizabad can be read in 'Tareekh-e-Farahbaksh', written by Munshi Mohd. Faiz Baksh, (after whom Faizabad is named) a courtier in the Shuja-ud-Daula's court. This book has been translated into English by Hamid Afaq Qureshi as 'Memoirs of Faizabad'. Faizabad also finds a prominent and detailed mention in Guzashta Lucknow written by Abdul Halim Sharar. The fourth nawab of Awadh, Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula, shifted the Capital of Avadh to Lucknow in 1775 after his terms with his mother became sour.

Hanging of Ashfaqulla Khan

Ashfaqulla Khan was hanged in Faizabad jail on 19 December 1927 for his role in the Kakori Train robbery on 9 August 1925.

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