Nawabs of Awadh :-
Shuja-ud-Daula :-
The third Nawab, Shuja-ud-Daula fell out with the British after aiding Mir Qasim the fugitiveNawab of Bengal. He was comprehensively defeated in the Battle of Buxar by the British East India Company, after which he was forced to pay heavy penalties and cede parts of his territory. The British appointed a resident at Lucknow in 1773, and over time gained control of more territory and authority in the state. They were disinclined in not capturing Awadh outright, because that would bring them face to face with the Marathas and the remnants of the Mughal Empire.
Asaf-ud-Daula :-
Asaf-ud-Daula, the fourth Nawab and son of Shuja-ud-Daula, moved the capital from Faizabad to Lucknow in 1775 and laid the foundation of a great city. His rule saw the building of the Asafi Imambara and Rumi Darwaza, built by Raja Tikait Rai Nawab Wazir (Diwan) of Awadh, which till date are the biggest architectural marvels in the city.Asaf-ud-Daula, made Lucknow one of the most prosperous and glittering cities in all India. It is said, he moved because he wanted to get away from the control of a dominant mother. On such a thread did the fate of the great city of Lucknow depend.
Wazir Ali Khan :-
In 1798, the fifth Nawab Wazir Ali Khan alienated both his people and the British, and was forced to abdicate. The British then helped Saadat Ali Khan to the throne. Saadat Ali Khan was a puppet king, who in the treaty of 1801 ceded half of Awadh to the British East India Company and also agreed to disband his troops in favour of a hugely expensive, British-run army. This treaty effectively made part of the state of Awadh a vassal to the British East India Company, though they continued to be part of the Mughal Empire in name till 1819.
In 1856 the East India Company annexed the state under the Doctrine of Lapse, which was placed under a Chief Commissioner. Wajid ali Shah, the then Nawab, was imprisoned, and then exiled by the Company to Calcutta (Bengal). In the subsequent Revolt of 1857, his 14-year-old son Birjis Qadra son of Begum Hazrat Mahal was crowned ruler, and Sir Henry Lawrence killed in the hostilities.
In the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (also known as the First War of Indian Indepandence and the Indian Mutiny), the rebels took control of Awadh, and it took the British 18 months to reconquer the region, months which included the famous Siege of Lucknow.
