Nawabs of Bengal

{{Short description|Governors of Eastern India and Bengal in the 18th-century}}

{{About|the de-facto independent and puppet rulers of Bengal (1717–1882)|the titular aristocrat family of Murshidabad (1882–1969)|Nawabs of Murshidabad}}

{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}

{{Infobox former monarchy

| royal_title = Nawab

| realm = Bengal

| border =

| coatofarms = Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg

| coatofarmssize =

| coatofarmscaption = Coat of arms of the Nawabs of Bengal

| image = File:Murshid Quli Jafar Khan.jpg

| caption = First to reign
Murshid Quli Khan
1717{{spaced ndash}}30 June 1727

| first_monarch = Murshid Quli Khan

| last_monarch = Siraj ud-Daulah (Independent)
Mansur Ali Khan (Under British)

| style = His Majesty

| residence = Hazarduari Palace

| appointer = {{ubl|Hereditary (1717–1757) | British Empire (1757–1882)}}

| began = {{start date and age|1717}}

| ended = {{start date and age|1882}}

|

}}

{{History of Bengal}}

{{History of Bangladesh}}

The Nawab of Bengal{{cite book|author=Farooqui Salma Ahmed|title=A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sxhAtCflwOMC&pg=PA366|year=2011|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=978-81-317-3202-1|pages=366–}}{{cite book|author1=Kunal Chakrabarti|author2=Shubhra Chakrabarti|title=Historical Dictionary of the Bengalis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QVOFAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA237|date=22 August 2013|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-8024-5|pages=237–}}{{Cite ODNB|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-63552|title=Bengal, nawabs of (act. 1756–1793), rulers in India|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/63552}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ali-Vardi-Khan|title=ʿAlī Vardī Khān | nawab of Bengal|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2 July 2020|archive-date=28 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028181203/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ali-Vardi-Khan|url-status=live}} ({{langx|bn|বাংলার নবাব}}, {{transliteration|bn|ISO|bāṅglār nôbāb}}) was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the de facto independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa which constitute the modern-day Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha and the sovereign country of Bangladesh. The Bengal Subah reached its peak during the reign of Nawab Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan.{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bengal-region-Asia|title=Bengal | region, Asia|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2 July 2020|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019203114/https://www.britannica.com/place/Bengal-region-Asia|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Odisha|title=Odisha – History|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2 July 2020|archive-date=28 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928000459/https://www.britannica.com/place/Odisha|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/magazine/862281/murshidabad-can-teach-the-rest-of-india-a-lot-on-how-to-restore-heritage-and-market-the-past|title=Murshidabad can teach the rest of India how to restore heritage and market the past|first=Jael|last=Silliman|website=Scroll.in|date=28 December 2017 |access-date=2 July 2020|archive-date=3 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003012802/https://scroll.in/magazine/862281/murshidabad-can-teach-the-rest-of-india-a-lot-on-how-to-restore-heritage-and-market-the-past|url-status=live}} They are often referred to as the Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa ({{langx|bn|বাংলা, বিহার ও উড়িষ্যার নবাব}}).{{cite book|title=A Comprehensive History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RAON5AW4yUEC&pg=PA27|date=1 December 2003|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd|isbn=978-81-207-2506-5|page=27}} The Nawabs were based in Murshidabad which was centrally located within Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha. Their chief, a former prime minister, became the first Nawab. The Nawabs continued to issue coins in the name of the Mughal Emperor, but for all practical purposes, the Nawabs governed as independent monarchs. Bengal continued to contribute the largest share of funds to the imperial treasury in Delhi. The Nawabs, backed by bankers such as the Jagat Seth, became the financial backbone of the Mughal court.

The Nawabs, especially under the rule of Alivardi Khan of 16 years, were heavily engaged in various wars against the Marathas. Towards the end, he turned his attention to rebuilding and restoring Bengal.{{Cite book |last=Datta |first=Kalikinkar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p4wdAAAAMAAJ |title=The Dutch in Bengal and Bihar, 1740–1825 A.D. |date=1948 |publisher=University of Patna |pages=12 |language=en}}

The Nawabs of Bengal oversaw a period of proto-industrialization. The Bengal-Bihar-Orissa triangle was a major production center for cotton muslin cloth, silk cloth, shipbuilding, gunpowder, saltpetre, and metalworks. Factories were set up in Murshidabad, Dhaka, Patna, Sonargaon, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Cossimbazar, Balasore, Pipeli, and Hugli among other cities, towns, and ports. The region became a base for the British East India Company, the French East India Company, the Danish East India Company, the Austrian East India Company, the Ostend Company, and the Dutch East India Company.

The British company eventually rivaled the authority of the Nawabs. In the aftermath of the siege of Calcutta in 1756, in which the Nawab's forces overran the main British base, the East India Company dispatched a fleet led by Robert Clive who defeated the last independent Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah at the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Mir Jafar was installed as the puppet Nawab. His successor Mir Qasim attempted in vain to dislodge the British. The defeat of Nawab Mir Qasim of Bengal, Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula of Oudh, and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II at the Battle of Buxar in 1764 paved the way for British expansion across India. The South Indian Kingdom of Mysore led by Tipu Sultan overtook the Nawab of Bengal as the subcontinent's wealthiest monarchy; but this was short-lived and ended with the Anglo-Mysore War. The British then turned their sights on defeating the Marathas and Sikhs.

In 1772, Governor-General Warren Hastings shifted administrative and judicial offices from Murshidabad to Calcutta, the capital of the newly formed Bengal Presidency, and the de facto capital of British India.{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kolkata|title=Kolkata – Capital of British India|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=20 July 2020|archive-date=13 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813040212/https://www.britannica.com/place/Kolkata|url-status=live}} The Nawabs had lost all independent authority since 1757. In 1858, the British government abolished the symbolic authority of the Mughal court. After 1880, the descendants of the Nawabs of Bengal were recognised simply as Nawabs of Murshidabad with the mere status of a peerage.{{cite book|author=Sir George Watt|title=Indian Art at Delhi 1903: Being the Official Catalogue of the Delhi Exhibition 1902–1903|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oc_oAfZLKnoC&pg=RA4-PA421|year=1987|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0278-0|page=4}}

History

=Independent nawabs=

File:Map of the Nawabs of Bengal.jpg{{cite web | url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=091 | title=-- Schwartzberg Atlas -- Digital South Asia Library }}]]

The Bengal Subah was the wealthiest subah of the Mughal Empire.{{cite web |title=Bengal subah was one of the richest subahs of the Mughal empire |url= http://business.illinois.edu/doogar/www/other/jain/murshid.html |access-date=17 August 2012 |url-status= live |archive-url= http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20120819051449/http://business.illinois.edu/doogar/www/other/jain/murshid.html |archive-date=19 August 2012}} There were several posts under the Mughal administrative system of Bengal since Akbar's conquest in the 1500s. Nizamat (governornership) and diwani (premiership) were the two main branches of provincial government under the Mughals.{{cite web |publisher=Murshidabad.net |date=8 May 2012 |title=Murshidabad History - The Nawabs and Nazims |url=http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-nawab.htm |access-date=9 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903091902/http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-nawab.htm |archive-date=3 September 2012 }} The Subahdar was in-charge of the nizamat and had a chain of subordinate officials on the executive side, including diwans (prime ministers) responsible for revenue and legal affairs. The regional decentralization of the Mughal Empire led to the creation of numerous semi-independent strongholds in the Mughal provinces. As the Mughal Empire began to decline, the Nawabs rose in power.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ga-pmgxsWwoC&q=balaji+vishwanath+peshwa&pg=PA11 |title=History Modern India – S. N. Sen – Google Books |access-date=6 July 2012 |isbn=9788122417746 |last1=Sen |first1=S. N. |year=2006|publisher=New Age International }} By the early 1700s, the Nawabs were practically independent, despite a nominal tribute to the Mughal court.

The Mughal court heavily relied on Bengal for revenue. Azim-us-Shan, the Mughal viceroy of Bengal, had a bitter power struggle with his prime minister (diwan) Murshid Quli Khan. Emperor Aurangzeb transferred Azim-us-Shan out of Bengal and into Bihar in 1703 as a result of the disputes. After the viceroy's exit, the provincial premier Murshid Quli Khan emerged as the de facto ruler of Bengal. His administrative coup merged the offices of the diwan (prime minister) and subedar (viceroy). In 1716, Khan shifted Bengal's capital from Dhaka to a new city named after himself. In 1717, Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar recognized Khan as the hereditary Nawab Nazim. The Nawab's jurisdiction covered districts in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.{{Cite web |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Nawab |title=Nawab |website=Banglapedia |access-date=2 July 2020 |archive-date=1 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001213500/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Nawab |url-status=live}} The Nawab's territory stretched from the border with Oudh in the west to the border with Arakan in the east.

The chief deputy of the Nawab was the Naib Nazim of Dhaka, the mayor of the former provincial capital whose own wealth was considerable; the Naib Nazim of Dhaka also governed much of eastern Bengal. Other important officials were stationed in Patna, Cuttack, and Chittagong. The aristocracy was composed of the Zamindars of Bengal.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} The Nawab was backed up by the powerful Jagat Seth family of bankers and money lenders. The Jagat Seth controlled the flow of Bengali revenue into the imperial treasury in Delhi.{{cite book |last=Dalrymple |first=William |year=2019 |title=The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |page=34 |isbn=978-1-63557-395-4}} They served as financiers to both the Nawabs and European companies operating in the region.

File:Murshidabad.gif in Murshidabad]]

The Nawabs profited from the revenue generated by the worldwide demand of muslin trade in Bengal, which was centred in Dhaka and Sonargaon. Murshidabad was a major centre of silk production.{{cite web |url=https://asianartnewspaper.com/murshidabad-the-forgotten-capital-of-bengal/ |title=Murshidabad: The forgotten capital of Bengal - Asian Art Newspaper |date=5 June 2014 |access-date=20 July 2020 |archive-date=20 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720222239/https://asianartnewspaper.com/murshidabad-the-forgotten-capital-of-bengal/ |url-status=live}} Shipbuilding in Chittagong enjoyed Ottoman and European demand. Patna was a centre of metalworks and the military-industrial complex. The Bengal-Bihar region was a major exporter of gunpowder and saltpetre.{{cite web |url=http://archive.dhakatribune.com/heritage/2014/nov/01/gunpowder-plots |title=Gunpowder plots | Dhaka Tribune |website=archive.dhakatribune.com |access-date=11 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929135203/http://archive.dhakatribune.com/heritage/2014/nov/01/gunpowder-plots |archive-date=29 September 2017 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Saltpetre |title=Saltpetre |website=Banglapedia |access-date=20 July 2020 |archive-date=16 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916164059/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Saltpetre |url-status=live}} The Nawabs presided over an era of growing organization in banking, handicrafts, and other trades.

Bengal attracted traders from across Eurasia. Traders were lodged at caravanserais, including the Katra Masjid in Murshidabad; and the Bara Katra and Choto Katra in Dhaka. Dutch Bengali trading posts included the main Dutch port of Pipeli in Orissa; the Dutch settlement in Rajshahi; and the towns of Cossimbazar and Hugli. The Danes built trading posts in Bankipur and on islands of the Bay of Bengal. Balasore in Orissa was a prominent Austrian trading post. Bengali cities were full of brokers, workers, peons, naibs, wakils, and ordinary traders.{{Cite web |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Murshidabad |title=Murshidabad |website=Banglapedia |access-date=8 December 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200028/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Murshidabad |url-status=live }}

File:Dutch VOC ships in Chittagong or Arakan.jpg

The Nawabs were patrons of the arts, including the Murshidabad style of Mughal painting, Hindustani classical music, the Baul tradition, and local craftsmanship. The second Nawab Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan developed Murshidabad's royal palace, military base, city gates, revenue office, public audience hall (durbar), and mosques in an extensive compound called Farrabagh (Garden of Joy) which included canals, fountains, flowers, and fruit trees. The second Nawab's reign saw a period of economic and political consolidation.

The third Nawab Sarfaraz Khan was preoccupied with military engagements, including Nader Shah's invasion of India. Sarfaraz Khan was killed at the Battle of Giria by his deputy Alivardi Khan.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} The coup by Alivardi Khan led to the creation of a new dynasty. Nawab Murshid Quli Khan was notorious for his repressive tax collection tactics, including torture for non-payment. However he was also known as Shuja ul-Mulk (hero of the country) mostly due to him repelling all Maratha invasions of Bengal. {{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

= Afghan Insurrections =

{{Main article|Afghan insurrections in Bengal}}

The Afghan insurrections in Bengal, also known as the Afghan mutinies were a series of four revolts led by the Afghans living in the Bengal Subah between 1745-1750. They were led by ambitious individuals like Mustafa Khan, Sardar Khan and Shamshir Khan with the intent to carve out their own Afghan state in Bengal. The insurrections were ultimately suppressed.

= Maratha invasions of Bengal =

{{Main article|Maratha invasions of Bengal}}

The resurgent Maratha Empire launched raids against Bengal in the 18th century, which further added to the decline of the Nawabs of Bengal. The Bengal Subah was met by a series of face to face confrontations by the Maratha Empire including the First Battle of Katwa, the Second Battle of Katwa, the Battle of Burdwan and the Battle of Rani Sarai, Battle of Birbhum, First and Second Battles of Midnapur where Nawab Alivardi Khan defeated the Marathas and repelled their attacks. The Maratha raids lasted a decade from 1741 to early 1751.

The Marathas committed many atrocities across Bengal causing many to flee from West Bengal to East Bengal.{{Cite book |last=Hussein |first=Aklam |title=History of Bangladesh, 1704-1971 |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |isbn=9789845123372 |pages=80}} 400,000 civilian Bengalis were massacred by the Bargis (Maratha warriors) including textile weavers, silk winders, and mulberry cultivators.{{Cite book |last=Chaudhuri |first=Kirti |title=The Trading World of Asia and the English East India Company: 1660-1760 |date=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521031592 |pages=253}}{{Cite book |last=Marshall |first=Peter |title=Bengal: The British Bridgehead: Eastern India 1740-1828 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2006 |isbn=9780521028226 |pages=73}} Many Bengalis were mutilated and contemporary accounts describe the scene of mass gang-rape against women.{{Cite book |last=Kishore |first=Gupta |title=Sirajuddaullah and the East India Company, 1756-1757: Background to the Foundation of British Power in India |publisher=Brill Archive |year=1962 |pages=23}} Alivardi Khan the Nawab of Bengal fearing even worse devastation and destruction agreed to pay Rs. 1.2 million of tribute annually as the chauth of Bengal and Bihar to the Marathas, and the Marathas agreed not to invade Bengal again.

The expeditions, led by Raghuji Bhonsle of Nagpur, also established de facto Maratha control over Orissa, which was formally incorporated in the Maratha Empire in 1752.{{cite news |url=http://scroll.in/article/776978/forgotten-indian-history-the-brutal-maratha-invasions-of-bengal |title=Forgotten Indian history: The brutal Maratha invasions of Bengal |work=Scroll.in |access-date=1 April 2017 |archive-date=3 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603000937/https://scroll.in/article/776978/forgotten-indian-history-the-brutal-maratha-invasions-of-bengal |url-status=live }}{{Cite book |author=Nitish K. Sengupta |author-link=Nitish Sengupta |year=2011 |title=Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kVSh_TyJ0YoC&q=marathas%20in%20bengal%20chauth%20mir%20habib&pg=PA162 |publisher=Penguin Books India |page= |isbn=978-0-14-341678-4}}

= British influence and succession =

Nawab Murshid Quli Khan was notorious for his repressive tax collection tactics, including torture for non-payment.{{cite book |last=Dalrymple |first=William |year=2019 |title=The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |pages=33–34 |isbn=978-1-63557-395-4}} Nawab Alivardi Khan's successor was Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah. Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah grew increasingly wary of the British presence in Bengal. He also feared invasions by the Durrani Empire from the north and Marathas from the west. On 20 June 1756, Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah launched the siege of Calcutta, in which he won a decisive victory. The British were briefly expelled from Fort William, which came under the occupation of the Nawab's forces. The East India Company dispatched a naval fleet led by Robert Clive to regain control of Fort William. By January 1757, the British retook Fort William. The stalemate with the Nawab continued into June. The Nawab also began cooperating with the French East India Company, raising the ire of the British further. Britain and France were at the time pitted against each other in the Seven Years' War.

File:Lord Clive meeting with Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey.jpg meets Mir Jafar at the Battle of Plassey in 1757]]

On 23 June 1757, the Battle of Plassey brought an end to the independence of the Nawabs of Bengal.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-plassey|title=Battle of Plassey | National Army Museum|website=nam.ac.uk}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/in-battle-for-bengal-a-plassey-redux-ians-exclusive/1526500|title=In battle for Bengal, a Plassey redux (IANS Exclusive)|website=outlookindia.com/|access-date=2 July 2020|archive-date=4 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704094351/https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/in-battle-for-bengal-a-plassey-redux-ians-exclusive/1526500|url-status=live}} Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah and his French allies were caught off guard by the defection of the Nawab's Commander-in-Chief Mir Jafar to the British side. The British, under the leadership of Robert Clive, gained enormous influence over Bengal Subah as a result of the battle. The last independent Nawab was arrested by his former officers and killed in revenge for the brutality against his courtiers.

Mir Jafar was installed as the puppet Nawab by the British. However, Jafar entered into a secret treaty with the Dutch East India Company. This caused the British to replace Mir Jafar with his son-in-law Mir Qasim in October 1760. In one of his first acts, Mir Qasim ceded Chittagong,{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Chittagong|title=Chittagong | History, Population, & Facts|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2 July 2020|archive-date=22 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322095155/https://www.britannica.com/place/Chittagong|url-status=live}} Burdwan and Midnapore to the East India Company. Mir Qasim also proved to be a popular ruler. But Mir Qasim's independent spirit eventually raised British suspicions. Mir Jafar was reinstalled as Nawab in 1763. Mir Qasim continued opposing the British and his father-in-law. He set up his capital in Munger and raised an independent army. Mir Qasim attacked British positions in Patna, overrunning the company's offices and killing its Resident. Mir Qasim also attacked the British-allied Gorkha Kingdom. Mir Qasim allied with Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. However, the Mughal allies were defeated at the Battle of Buxar in 1764, which was the last real chance of resisting British expansion across the northern Indian subcontinent.

The South Indian Kingdom of Mysore under Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan briefly eclipsed the dominant position of Bengal in the subcontinent. Tipu Sultan pursued aggressive military modernization; and set up a company to trade with communities around the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. Mysore's military technology at one point rivaled European technology. However, the Anglo-Mysore War ended Tipu Sultan's ascendancy.Parthasarathi, Prasannan (2011), Why Europe Grew Rich and Asia Did Not: Global Economic Divergence, 1600–1850, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-1-139-49889-0}}{{cite book |last=Dalrymple |first=William |year=2019 |title=The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |page=321 |isbn=978-1-63557-395-4}}

In 1765, Robert Clive, as the representative of the East India Company, was given the Diwani of Bengal by the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II.{{cite book |last1=Chaudhury |first1=Sushil |last2=Mohsin |first2=KM |year=2012 |chapter=Sirajuddaula |chapter-url= http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Sirajuddaula |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150614191817/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Sirajuddaula |archive-date=14 June 2015}} With this a system of dual governance was established, with the Nawabs responsible for the Nizamat of Bengal and the Company responsible for the Diwani of Bengal. In 1772, this arrangement came to be abolished and Bengal was brought under direct control of the British. In 1793, the Mughal emperor also ceded the Nizamat of Bengal to the Company and the Nawab of Bengal was reduced to a mere titular position and pensioners of the Company. After the Revolt of 1857, Company rule in India ended, and the British Crown, in 1858, took over the territories which were under direct rule of the company. This marked the beginning of Crown rule in India, and the Nawabs had no political or any other kind of control over the territory.{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Vipul |title=Longman History & Civics (Dual Government in Bengal) |date=1 September 2009 |publisher=Pearson Education India |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=75avUTXB11AC&pg=PA29 |isbn=9788131728888 |access-date=13 February 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171004112457/https://books.google.com/books?id=75avUTXB11AC&pg=PA29 |archive-date=4 October 2017 |url-status= live}}{{cite book |title=Madhya Pradesh National Means-Cum-Merit Scholarship Exam (Warren Hasting's system of Dual Government) |date=1 January 2009 |publisher=Upkar Prakashan |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QnyaLNskRfEC&pg=PA11 |isbn=9788174827449}} Mir Jafar's descendants continued to live in Murshidabad. The Hazarduari Palace (Palace of a Thousand Doors) was built as the residence of the Nawabs in the 1830s. The palace was also used by British colonial officials.{{cite web|url= http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-feradun-jah.htm |title=Murshidabad History - Feradun Jah |date=8 May 2012 |website=Murshidabad.net |access-date=10 August 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120902005536/http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-feradun-jah.htm |archive-date=2 September 2012}}

File:Hazarduari1 debaditya chatterjee.jpg

Nawab Mansur Ali Khan was the last titular Nawab Nazim of Bengal. During his reign the nizamat at Murshidabad came to be debt-ridden. The Nawab left Murshidabad in February 1869, and had started living in England. The title of the Nawab of Bengal stood abolished in 1880. He returned to Bombay in October 1880 and pleaded his case against the orders of the government, but as it stood unresolved the Nawab renounced his styles and titles, abdicating in favour of his eldest son on 1 November 1880.

The Nawabs of Murshidabad succeeded the Nawab Nazims following Nawab Mansur Ali Khan's abdication, The Nawab Bahadurs had ceased to exercise any significant power. but were relegated to the status of a zamindar and continued to be a wealthy family, producing bureaucrats and army officers.{{cite web |url=http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-hassan-ali.htm |title=Hassan Ali Mirza's succession |date=8 May 2012 |website=Murshidabad.net |access-date=10 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120802033722/http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-hassan-ali.htm |archive-date=2 August 2012 }}

=Relations with the Zamindars of Bihar=

The Zamindars of Bihar maintained a tenuous loyalty to the Nawabs of Bengal.{{cite book |author=P. J. Marshall |author-link=P. J. Marshall |year=2006 |orig-year=First published 1987 |title=Bengal: The British Bridgehead: Eastern India, 1740-1828 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lIZrfokYSY8C&pg=PA82 |series=New Cambridge History of India |volume=II, 2 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=82 |isbn=978-0-521-02822-6}} Rebellion and the withholding of revenue was a common feature of the Nawab period in Bihar.{{cite book|author=Kumkum Chatterjee|title=Merchants, Politics, and Society in Early Modern India: Bihar, 1733-1820|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wUeqQ2buQ80C&pg=PA35|year=1996|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-10303-1|pages=35–36|access-date=9 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302202540/https://books.google.com/books?id=wUeqQ2buQ80C&pg=PA35|archive-date=2 March 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite book|author=J. Albert Rorabacher|title=Bihar and Mithila: The Historical Roots of Backwardness|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HjElDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA265|date=13 September 2016|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-351-99758-4|pages=265–266}} Although Bihar had the potential to provide a large amount of revenue and tax, records show that the Nawabs were unable to extract any money from the chiefs of Bihar until 1748. And even following this, the amount gained was very low. This was again due to the rebellious nature of the zamindars who were "continually in arms".{{cite book|author=P. J. Marshall|title=Bengal: The British Bridgehead: Eastern India 1740-1828|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lIZrfokYSY8C|date=2 November 2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-02822-6|pages=58–60}}

= Military campaigns =

{{For|Military campaigns of the Bengal Subah prior to the Nawabs of Bengal (Before 1717)|Bengal Subah#Military campaigns}}

According to João de Barros, Bengal enjoyed military supremacy over Arakan and Tripura due to good artillery.{{cite book |author1=Momtazur Rahman Tarafdar |author-link=Momtazur Rahman Tarafdar |url=https://archive.org/details/husainshahibenga0000tara/page/105/mode/1up |title=Husain Shahi Bengal, 1494–1538 A.D.: A Socio-Political Study |publisher=Asiatic Society of Pakistan |year=1965 |page=105 |oclc=43324741 |url-access=registration}} Its forces possessed notable large cannons. It was also a major exporter of gunpowder and saltpeter to Europe.{{cite news |author=Tim Steel |date=31 October 2014 |title=Gunpowder plots |url=http://archive.dhakatribune.com/heritage/2014/nov/01/gunpowder-plots |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929135203/http://archive.dhakatribune.com/heritage/2014/nov/01/gunpowder-plots |archive-date=29 September 2017 |access-date=25 December 2017 |work=Dhaka Tribune}}{{cite web |title=Saltpetre |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Saltpetre |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916164059/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Saltpetre |archive-date=16 September 2018 |access-date=5 April 2018 |website=Banglapedia}} The Mughal Army built fortifications across the region, including Idrakpur Fort, Sonakanda Fort, Hajiganj Fort, Lalbagh Fort and Jangalbari Fort. The Mughals expelled Arakanese and Portuguese pirates from the northeastern coastline of the Bay of Bengal. Throughout the late medieval and early modern periods, Bengal was notable for its navy and shipbuilding. The following table covers a list of notable military engagements by Mughal Bengal:

class="wikitable"

! rowspan="1" |Conflict

! rowspan="1" width="150px" |Bengal and allied forces

! rowspan="1" width="150px" |Opposition forces

! rowspan="1" width="320px" |Results

Conquest of Tripura

(1729)

Location: Tripura

|

  • {{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|Dharma Manikya (Manikya dynasty)

|Victory{{Cite book |url=https://ia902904.us.archive.org/26/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.502192/2015.502192.Bengal-Nawabs.pdf |title=Bengal Nawābs, Containing Āzād-āl-Husaini's Naubahār-i-Murshid Quli Khāni, Karam ʻAli's Muzaffarnamah, and Yusuf ʻAli's Āhwāl-i-Mahābat Jang |publisher=Asiatic Society |year=1952 |pages=4-9 |translator-last=Jadunath |translator-first=Sarkar}}

  • Bengali backed Jagat Manikya invades and successfully defeats Tripura (Dharma Manikya) in Udaipur
  • Jagat Manikya rules as a vassal of the Nawabs of Bengal
Annexation of Bihar

(1733) Location: Bihar

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|Bihar Subah

|Victory

  • Annexation of the Bihar Subah into the territory of the Nawabs of Bengal.{{cite book |last1=Chatterjee |first1=Kumkum |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VuP7EAAAQBAJ&q=merchants+politics+bihar |title=Merchants, Politics and Society in Early Modern India: Bihar: 1733-1820 |date=1996 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004644748 |pages=13–16}}
Subduing of the Banjara

(c.1733 - c.1740) Location: Bihar

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|Banjaras

|Victory{{Cite book |last=Thakur |first=Upendra Thakur |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44145227 |title=ALIVARDI AND THE AFGHANS OF TIRHUT |publisher=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |year=1958 |pages=376-392}}

Subduing of the Bettiah Raj

(c.1733 - c.1740) Location: Bihar

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|Bettiah Raj

|Victory

  • Raja Dhrub Singh fled from Bhettiah
Subduing of the Tekari Raj

(c.1733 - c.1740) Location: Bihar

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|Tekari Raj

|VictoryMuzaffarnama, Trans by Sarkar in Bengal Past Present, vol. LXVI, 1946-47. pp. 68-69

  • Mustafa Khan of the Tekari raj employed as a General of Alivardi KhanMuzaffarnama, 70
Subduing of the Chakwars tribe

(c.1733 - c.1740) Location: Bihar

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|Bettiah Raj

|Victory

  • Chakwars pay an annual tribute
First Battle of Giria

(1740) Location: Giria, Bengal

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

  • Nasiri Dynasty

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

  • Afshar Dynasty

|Dynasty Change

Battle of Phulwarion

(1741) Location: Phulbari, Bengal

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|Governer of Orissa

  • Rustam Jang

|Victory

  • Alivardi Khan defeated Rustam Jang, deputy governor of Orissa and a relative of Sarfaraz Khan{{cite book |last=Shah |first=Mohammad |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |year=2012 |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |edition=Second |chapter=Alivardi Khan |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Alivardi_Khan}}
First Battle of Katwa

(1742) Location: Katwa, Bengal

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|{{flagcountry|Maratha Empire|size=22px}}

|Victory

  • The entire Maratha Army was evacuated out of Bengal
  • The Maratha commander Bhaskar Pant was killed.{{cite book |author=Jacques, Tony |url=http://m.friendfeed-media.com/6e9ec7f58014456d2d5fd015cc8af9d2974509c0 |title=Dictionary of Battles and Sieges |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-313-33536-5 |page=516 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626120848/http://m.friendfeed-media.com/6e9ec7f58014456d2d5fd015cc8af9d2974509c0 |archive-date=2015-06-26 |url-status=dead}}
First Battle of Midnapur

(1742) Location: Midnapur, Bengal

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|{{flagcountry|Maratha Empire|size=22px}}

|Victory

  • The Bengal forces defeated the Maratha forces and they were driven from Orissa beyond the Chilka lake.{{Cite book |last=Haque |first=Mohammed Anwarul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Co8eAAAAMAAJ |title=Muslim Administration in Orissa, 1568-1751 A.D. |date=1980 |publisher=Punthi Pustak |pages=212 |language=en}}
Battle of Birbhum

(1743) Location: Birbhum, Bengal

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|{{flagcountry|Maratha Empire|size=22px}}

|Victory

  • The Maratha forces evacuated out of Bengal{{Cite book |last=Ivermee |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6eMJEAAAQBAJ |title=Hooghly: The Global History of a River |date=2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-1-78738-325-8 |pages=56 |language=en}}
Second Battle of Katwa

(1745) Location: Katwa, Bengal

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|{{flagcountry|Maratha Empire|size=22px}}

|Victory

  • Raghuji Bhonsle was defeated by the Bengali army of Alivardi Khan.{{cite book |author=Jacques, Tony |url=http://m.friendfeed-media.com/6e9ec7f58014456d2d5fd015cc8af9d2974509c0 |title=Dictionary of Battles and Sieges |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-313-33536-5 |page=516 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626120848/http://m.friendfeed-media.com/6e9ec7f58014456d2d5fd015cc8af9d2974509c0 |archive-date=2015-06-26 |url-status=dead}}
Battle at Bhagalpur

(1745) Location: Bihar

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|{{flagcountry|Maratha Empire|size=22px}}

|Victory{{Cite book |last=Mishra |first=Shree Govind |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ks4BAAAAMAAJ |title=History of Bihar, 1740-1772 |date=1970 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |isbn=978-81-215-0382-2 |pages=46 |language=en}}-Bhagalpur on the stream of Champanala , a battle was fought between the Nawab and Raghuji . Raghuji was defeated .

1st Afghan Insurrection

(1745) Location: Bihar

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|Afghans of Bihar

  • Mustafa Khan

|Victory

  • Retreat of Afghan troops
  • Mustafa regroups and forms a stronger army and attacking Patna
  • Zainuddin shot Mustafa Khan killing him instantaneously, thus crushing the Afghan army.
2nd Afghan Insurrection

(1746) Location: Bihar

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|Afghans of Bihar

|Victory

  • Afghans along with their 6000 men retired to Dharbhanga (Tirhut).
Second Battle of Midnapur

(1746) Location: Midnapur, Bengal

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|{{flagcountry|Maratha Empire|size=22px}}

|Victory

  • Mir Jafar won a decisive battle against Mir Habib.{{Cite book |last=Ramesh |first=Majumdar |title=The History of Bengal vol 2 |publisher=University of Dacca |year=1948 |isbn= |location=Dhaka |pages=464}}
Battle of Burdwan

(1747) Location: Burdwan, Bengal

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|{{flagcountry|Maratha Empire|size=22px}}

|Victory

  • Alivardi Khan heavily repulsed and defeated the Marathas.{{cite book |author=Jacques, Tony |url=http://m.friendfeed-media.com/6e9ec7f58014456d2d5fd015cc8af9d2974509c0 |title=Dictionary of Battles and Sieges |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-33536-5 |page=175 |quote=When Marathas under Janoji Bhonsle invaded Orissa, Governor Mir Ja’far retreated before being reinforced to check the Marathas at Burdwan, northwest of Calcutta. Mughal Nawab Ali Vardi Khan dismissed Mir Ja’far and, with a much larger force, heavily defeated Janoji at Burdwan. However, four more years of war finally persuaded the Emperor to cede Orissa to the Marathas (January 1747). |access-date=2015-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626120848/http://m.friendfeed-media.com/6e9ec7f58014456d2d5fd015cc8af9d2974509c0 |archive-date=2015-06-26 |url-status=dead}}
Battle of Rani Sarai

(1748) Location, Bihar, Bengal Subah

(Part of the third Afghan Insurrection And Maratha invasions of Bengal)

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|

  • {{flagcountry|Maratha Empire|size=22px}}

|Victory

  • Alivardi Khan defeated the allied Afghan and Maratha forces.{{Cite book |last=Rāẏa |first=Bhabānī Caraṇa |url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=FgUeAAAAMAAJ |title=Orissa Under the Mughals: From Akbar to Alivardi : a Fascinating Study of the Socio-economic and Cultural History of Orissa |date=1981 |publisher=Punthi Pustak |p=80 |language=en}}
Third Battle of Midnapur

(1749) Location: Midnapur, Bengal

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|{{flagcountry|Maratha Empire|size=22px}}

|Victory{{Cite book |last=Ray |first=Bhabani Charan |url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=37A9AAAAMAAJ |title=Orissa Under Marathas, 1751-1803 |date=1960 |publisher=Kitab Mahal |pages=16-20 |language=en}}

Battle of Cuttack

(1749) Location: Cuttack, Bengal Subah

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|{{flagcountry|Maratha Empire|size=22px}}

|Victory{{Cite book |last=Ray |first=Bhabani Charan |url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=37A9AAAAMAAJ |title=Orissa Under Marathas, 1751-1803 |date=1960 |publisher=Kitab Mahal |pages=16-20 |language=en}}

Seige of Barabati Fort

(1749) Location:Barabati fort

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|{{flagcountry|Maratha Empire|size=22px}}

|Victory

  • Orissa recovered
  • Fort surrendered to the Nawab
Fourth Battle of Midnapur

(1750) Location: Midnapur, Bengal

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|{{flagcountry|Maratha Empire|size=22px}}

|Victory

4th Afghan Insurrection

(1750)

Location: Bihar, Bengal

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|Afghans of Bihar

|Victory{{cite book |last=Shah |first=Mohammad |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |year=2012 |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |edition=Second |chapter=Alivardi Khan |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Alivardi_Khan}}

  • Alivardi subdued the revolt of the Afghans who were trying to separate Bihar from his administration.
End of Maratha invasions of Bengal

(1751)

Location: Bengal

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|{{flagcountry|Maratha Empire|size=22px}}

|Stalemate

  • Military Victory, Political Defeat
Battle of Kandarpi Ghat

(1753) Location: Kandarpi Ghat, Mithila

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|25x25px Khandwala dynasty

|Defeat

  • Maharaja Narendra Singh clashed against forces of the Nawabs of Bengal led by Bhikhari Mahtha, an official of Alivardi Khan and emerged victorious.{{Cite book |last=Chaudhary |first=Radha Krishna |url=https://archive.org/stream/HistoryOfMuslimRuleInTirhut/History%20of%20Muslim%20Rule%20in%20Tirhut_djvu.txt |title=History of Muslim Rule in Tirhut (1206-1756 AD) |publisher=Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series office |year=1970 |edition=1st |volume=LXXII |location=Varanasi |pages=184–186 |language=en}}
Battle of Manihari

(1756) Location: Manihari, Bengal Subah

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|Shaukat Jang

|Victory

  • Siraj-ud-Daulah's rebellious cousin, Shakuat Jang is killed{{Cite book |last=Sengupta |first=Nitish |title=Land of Two Rivers A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib |publisher=Penguin Books India |year=2011 |isbn=9780143416784 |pages=17}}
Seige of Calcutta (First Anglo-Bengal War)

(1756–1757)

Location: Kolkata, Bengal

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|{{flagcountry|United Kingdom|size=22px}}

|Victory

Battle of Makwanpur (1763)

(1763) Location: Nepal

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|{{flagicon image|Flag of Nepal.svg}} Nepal

|Defeat

Sack of Delhi

(1757) Location: Delhi, Mughal Empire

|{{tree list}}

  • {{flagicon image|Flag of the Mughal Empire.png}} Mughal Empire
  • {{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}} Bengal
    {{flag|Maratha Confederacy}}

{{tree list/end}}

|23x23px Durrani Empire

|Defeat

Battle of Plassey (Second Anglo-Bengal War)

(1757)

Location: Palashi, Bengal

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

{{flagcountry|Kingdom of France|22px}}

|{{flagcountry|United Kingdom|size=22px}}

|Defeat

  • Significant expansion of British influence over Bengal
1st Battle of Patna

(1763) Location: Patna, Bengal Subah

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|{{flagcountry|United Kingdom|size=22px}}

|Victory{{cite book |last=Jaques |first=Tony |title=Dictionary of Battles and Sieges [3 Volumes] |date=2006-11-30 |publisher=Greenwood |isbn=978-0-313-33536-5 |publication-place=Westport, Conn |pages=780 |oclc=ocm68786744}}

  • British driven out of Patna
2nd Battle of Giria

(1763) Location: Giria, Bengal

|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal

|{{flagcountry|United Kingdom|size=22px}}

|Defeat

Third Anglo–Bengal War (Bengal War)

(1763–1764)

Location: Buxar, Bengal Subah

|

  • {{flagicon image|Flag of the Principality of Bengal (15th-18th century).svg}}Nawabs of Bengal
  • {{flagicon image|Alam of the Mughal Empire.svg|size=22px}} Mughal Empire
  • {{flagicon image|Flag of Awadh.svg|22px}} Oudh

|{{flagcountry|United Kingdom|size=22px}}

{{flagicon image|Flag of the Royal House of Benares.svg}} Kashi Kingdom

|Defeat

List of Nawabs

The following is a list of the Nawabs of Bengal. Sarfaraz Khan and Mir Jafar were the only two to become Nawab Nazim twice.{{cite web|url= http://murshidabad.nic.in/history1.htm |title=The Nawabs of Bengal (chronologically) |access-date=28 July 2012 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120106125513/http://murshidabad.nic.in/history1.htm |archive-date=6 January 2012}} The chronology started in 1717 with Murshid Quli Khan and ended in 1880 with Mansur Ali Khan.

class="wikitable" style="width:100%; text-align:center;"
style="width:10%;"| Portrait

! Titular Name

! style="width:22%;"| Personal Name

! style="width:9%;"| Birth

! style="width:9%;"| Reign

! style="width:9%;"| Death

scope="row" colspan="6"| Nasiri dynasty
90px

| Jaafar Khan Bahadur Nasiri

| Murshid Quli Khan

| 1665

| 1717–1727

| June 1727{{cite web |url= http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-murshid-quli-khan.htm |website=Murshidabad.net |title=Murshidabad History - Murshid Quli Khan |access-date=17 August 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120705195445/http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-murshid-quli-khan.htm |archive-date=5 July 2012}}{{Cite web|url= https://www.britannica.com/biography/Murshid-Quli-Khan |title=Murshid Quli Khan {{!}} Indian nawab|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=7 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160801142917/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Murshid-Quli-Khan|archive-date=1 August 2016}}{{cite book |last=Karim |first=Abdul |year=2012 |chapter=Murshid Quli Khan |chapter-url= http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Murshid_Quli_Khan |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170404111435/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Murshid_Quli_Khan |archive-date=4 April 2017}}

90px

| Ala-ud-Din Haidar Jung

| Sarfaraz Khan

| After 1700

| 1727–1727 (for few days)

| 29 April 1740{{cite web |website=Murshidabad.net |date=8 May 2012 |title=Murshidabad History - Sarfaraz Khan |url= http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-sarfaraz-khan.htm |access-date=9 August 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120623115607/http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-sarfaraz-khan.htm |archive-date=23 June 2012}}

90px

| Shuja ud-Daula

| Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan

| circa 1670

| 1 July 1727 – 26 August 1739

| 26 August 1739{{cite book |last=Karim |first=KM |year=2012 |chapter=Shujauddin Muhammad Khan |chapter-url= http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Shujauddin_Muhammad_Khan |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150710002332/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Shujauddin_Muhammad_Khan |archive-date=10 July 2015}}{{Cite web|url= http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-suja-ud-daulla.htm |title=Murshidabad History - Suja-ud-Daulla|last=Paul|first=Gautam|website=murshidabad.net|access-date=7 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160421195518/http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-suja-ud-daulla.htm |archive-date=21 April 2016}}

90px

| Ala-ud-Din Haidar Jung

| Sarfaraz Khan

| After 1700

| 13 March 1739 – 29 April 1740

| 29 April 1740

scope="row" colspan="6"| Afshar dynasty
90px

| Hashim ud-Daula

| Alivardi Khan

| Before 10 May 1671

| 29 April 1740 – 9 April 1756

| 9 April 1756{{Cite web|url=http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-alivardi-khan.htm|title=Murshidabad History - Alivardi Khan|last=Paul|first=Gautam|website=murshidabad.net|access-date=7 May 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309144640/http://www.murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-alivardi-khan.htm|archive-date=9 March 2016}}{{Cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1eMhAQAAIAAJ |title=Bengal, Past & Present: Journal of the Calcutta Historical Society|date=1962|publisher=The Society|pages=34–36|language=en|access-date=7 May 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170706104029/https://books.google.com/books?id=1eMhAQAAIAAJ |archive-date=6 July 2017|url-status=live}}

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| Siraj ud-Daulah

| Siraj ud-Daulah

| 1733

| 9 April 1756 – 23 June 1757

| 2 July 1757{{Cite web|url= http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-siraj-ud-daulla.htm |title=Murshidabad History - Siraj-ud-Daulla|last=Paul|first=Gautam|website=murshidabad.net|access-date=7 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160507023706/http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-siraj-ud-daulla.htm |archive-date=7 May 2016}}{{Cite web |url= http://storyofpakistan.com/nawab-siraj-ud-daulah |title=Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah |date=3 January 2005 |website=Story of Pakistan |access-date=7 May 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160804104049/http://storyofpakistan.com/nawab-siraj-ud-daulah |archive-date=4 August 2016}}

= Puppet rulers under British influence =

class="wikitable" style="width:100%; text-align:center;"
style="width:10%;"| Portrait

! style="width:12%;"| Titular Name

! style="width:22%;"| Personal Name

! style="width:9%;"| Birth

! style="width:9%;"| Reign

! style="width:9%;"| Death

scope="row" colspan="6"| Najafi dynasty
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| Ja'afar 'Ali Khan Bahadur

| Mir Jafar

| 1691

| 2 June 1757 – 20 October 1760

| 17 January 1765{{Cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4gg9Zvqs7mwC |title=The Riyaz̤u-s-salāt̤īn: A History of Bengal|last=Zaidpūrī|first=Ghulām Ḥusain (called Salīm)|date=1902|publisher=Asiatic Society|page=384|language=en|access-date=7 May 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170827231546/https://books.google.com/books?id=4gg9Zvqs7mwC |archive-date=27 August 2017|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url= http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-mir-jafar.htm |title=Murshidabad History - Mir Muhammed Jafar Ali Khan|last=Paul|first=Gautam|website=murshidabad.net|access-date=7 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160408160557/http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-mir-jafar.htm |archive-date=8 April 2016}}{{Cite news |title=Portrait of an accidental Nawab |url= http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Portrait-of-an-accidental-Nawab/articleshow/40618038.cms |newspaper=The Times of India |access-date=7 May 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160822062815/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Portrait-of-an-accidental-Nawab/articleshow/40618038.cms |archive-date=22 August 2016}}

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| Itimad ud-Daulah

| Mir Qasim

| 1720

| 20 October 1760 – 7 July 1763

| 8 May 1777{{cite book |last=Shah |first=Mohammad |year=2012 |chapter=Mir Jafar Ali Khan |chapter-url= http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Mir_Jafar_Ali_Khan |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150703143931/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Mir_Jafar_Ali_Khan |archive-date=3 July 2015}}

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| Ja'afar 'Ali Khan Bahadur

| Mir Jafar

| 1691

| 25 July 1763 – 17 January 1765

| 17 January 1765{{Cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/bibliothecaindi02indigoog |title=Bibliotheca Indica|date=1902|publisher=Baptist Mission Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/bibliothecaindi02indigoog/page/n426 397]|language=en|access-date=7 May 2016}}

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| Najm ud-Daulah

| Najmuddin Ali Khan

| 1750

| 5 February 1765 – 8 May 1766

| 8 May 1766{{Cite web|url=http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-najam-ud-daulla.htm|title=Murshidabad History - Najam-ud-Daulla|last=Paul|first=Gautam|website=murshidabad.net|access-date=16 May 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421182816/http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-najam-ud-daulla.htm|archive-date=21 April 2016}}

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| Saif ud-Daulah

| Najabut Ali Khan

| 1749

| 22 May 1766 – 10 March 1770

| 10 March 1770{{Cite web|url=http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-saif-ud-daulla.htm|title=Murshidabad History - Saif-ud-Daulla|last=Paul|first=Gautam|website=murshidabad.net|access-date=16 May 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421183156/http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-saif-ud-daulla.htm|archive-date=21 April 2016}}

|

|Ashraf Ali Khan

|1740

| 10 March 1770 – 24 March 1770

| 24 March 1770

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| Mubarak ud-Daulah

| Mubarak Ali Khan

| 1759

| 21 March 1770 – 6 September 1793

| 6 September 1793{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZL38wll43-MC&q=Mubarak%2520ud-Daulah&pg=PA224|title=The Transition in Bengal, 1756-75: A Study of Saiyid Muhammad Reza Khan|last=Khan|first=Abdul Majed|date=3 December 2007|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521049825|language=en|access-date=18 November 2020|archive-date=31 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331053326/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZL38wll43-MC&q=Mubarak%2520ud-Daulah&pg=PA224|url-status=live}}

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| Azud ud-Daulah

|Baber Ali Khan

|1760

| 1793 – 28 April 1810

| 28 April 1810{{Cite web|url= http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-babar-ali.htm |title=Murshidabad History - Babar Ali Delair Jang|last=Paul|first=Gautam|website=murshidabad.net|access-date=9 October 2016|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161021203935/http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-babar-ali.htm |archive-date=21 October 2016}}

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| Ali Jah

| Zain-ud-Din Ali Khan

|1785

| 5 June 1810 – 6 August 1821

| 6 August 1821{{Cite web|url=http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-ali-jah.htm|title=Murshidabad History - Ali Jah|last=Paul|first=Gautam|website=murshidabad.net|access-date=9 October 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406052017/http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-ali-jah.htm|archive-date=6 April 2016}}{{Cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/musnudofmurshida00maju |quote= Ali Jah Murshidabad. |title=The Musnud of Murshidabad (1704-1904): being a synopsis of the history of Murshidabad for the last two centuries, to which are appended notes of places and objects of interest at Murshidabad|last=Majumdar|first=Purna Chundra|date=1905|publisher=Saroda Ray|pages=[https://archive.org/details/musnudofmurshida00maju/page/49 49]|language=en}}

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| Walla Jah

| Ahmad Ali Khan

|1760

| 1821 – 30 October 1824

| 30 October 1824{{Cite web|url= http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-wala-jah.htm |title=Murshidabad History - Wala Jah|last=Paul|first=Gautam|website=murshidabad.net|access-date=9 October 2016|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161021204215/http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-wala-jah.htm|archive-date=21 October 2016}}{{Cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/indianrecordswi00recogoog |title=Indian Records: With a Commercial View of the Relations Between the British Government and the Nawabs Nazim of Bengal, Behar and Orissa|date=1870|publisher=G. Bubb|pages=[https://archive.org/details/indianrecordswi00recogoog/page/n114 75]|language=en|access-date=9 October 2016}}

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| Humayun Jah

| Mubarak Ali Khan II

| 29 September 1810

| 1824 – 3 October 1838

| 3 October 1838{{Cite web|url=http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-humayun-jah.htm|title=Murshidabad History - Humayun Jah|last=Paul|first=Gautam|website=murshidabad.net|access-date=9 October 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610063712/http://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-humayun-jah.htm|archive-date=10 June 2016}}{{Cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/musnudofmurshida00maju |quote= Humayun Jah. |title=The Musnud of Murshidabad (1704-1904): being a synopsis of the history of Murshidabad for the last two centuries, to which are appended notes of places and objects of interest at Murshidabad|last=Majumdar|first=Purna Chundra|date=1905|publisher=Saroda Ray|pages=[https://archive.org/details/musnudofmurshida00maju/page/50 50]|language=en}}{{Cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=12IPDQAAQBAJ&q=Humayun+Jah&pg=PT570 |title=Towns and Cities of Medieval India: A Brief Survey|last=Ray|first=Aniruddha|date=13 September 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781351997300|language=en}}

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| Feradun Jah

| Mansur Ali Khan

| 29 October 1830

| 29 October 1838 – 1 November 1880 (abdicated)

| 5 November 1884

See also

References

{{Reflist|30em}}