Augustine V. Williams at 05:42, 30 March 2026

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{{Short description|Mughal and British era nobleman, Wazir (Minister) of the Nawab of Awadh (1748–1797)}}
{{distinguish|Afzal-ud-Daulah{{!}}Afzal ud Daulah(the 5th Nizam of Hyderabad)}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2017}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Asaf-ud-Daula
| title = [[Mirza (noble)|Mirza]] (Royal title) [[Nawab]] [[Vizier|Wazir]] of [[Awadh]] Khan Bahadur ''Adan Muqaam''<ref group="nt">title after death</ref>
| image= Asifportrait2 - Asuf ud Daula.jpg
| caption = Water colour in style of [[Johann Zoffany|Zoffany]]
| succession = [[Nawab of Awadh]]
| reign = 26 January 1775 – 21 September 1797
| coronation = 26 January 1775
| full name = Muhammad Yahiya Meerza Amani Asaf-ud-Daula
| predecessor = [[Shuja-ud-Daula]]
| successor = [[Wazir Ali Khan]]
| spouse =
| issue = adopted son [[Wazir Ali Khan]]
| royal house =
| dynasty = Nishapuri
| father = [[Shuja-ud-Daula]]
| mother = Umat uz-Zohra Begum Sahiba
| religion = [[Shia Islam]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1748|09|23|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Faizabad]], [[Oudh State|Kingdom of Oudh]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1797|09|21|1748|09|23|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Lucknow]], [[Oudh State|Kingdom of Oudh]]
| burial_date =
| burial_place = [[Bara Imambara]], [[Lucknow]]
| module = {{Infobox military person
| embed = yes
| allegiance = [[Mughal Empire]]
| branch = [[Nawab of Oudh]]
| rank = [[Nawab]] [[Grand Vizier]] [[Subadar]]
| battles =
}}
|}}

'''Mirza Asaf-ud-Daula''' (23 September 1748 – 21 September 1797) was the [[Nawab wazir of Oudh]] ratified by the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal emperor]] [[Shah Alam II]], from 26 January 1775 to 21 September 1797,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_princes_A-J.html#Awadh|title=Indian Princely States A-J|access-date=22 October 2009|archive-date=20 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520133316/http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_princes_A-J.html#Awadh|url-status=live}}</ref> and the son of [[Shuja-ud-Dowlah]]. His mother and grandmother were the [[Begum]]s of [[Oudh]].<ref name="EB1911"/>

==Reign==

Asaf-ud-Dowlah became Nawab at the age of 26, on the death of his father, [[Shuja-ud-Daula]], on 28 January 1775.<ref name="arhive.org">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/oudhandtheeastin035275mbp/oudhandtheeastin035275mbp_djvu.txt|title=Full text of "Oudh And The East India Company"|publisher=Maxwell Company Lucknow}}</ref> He assumed the throne with the aid of the [[British East India Company]], outmanoeuvring his younger brother Saadat Ali who led a failed mutiny in the army. British Colonel [[John Parker (disambiguation)|John Parker]] defeated the mutineers decisively, securing Asaf-ud-Daula's succession. His first Chief Minister, [[Mukhtar-ud-Daula]], was assassinated in the revolt.<ref name="chancey">{{cite journal |last1=Chancey |first1=Karen |title=Rethinking the Reign of Asaf-ud-Daula, Nawab of Awadh, 1775-1797 |journal=Journal of Asian History |date=2007 |volume=1 |issue=41 |pages=1–56 |jstor=41925390}}</ref>

The other challenge to Asaf's rule was his mother [[Umat-ul-Zohra]] (better known as Bahu Begum), who had amassed considerable control over the treasury and her own ''jagirs'' and private armed forces. She, at one point, sought the Company's direct assistance in the appointment of anti-Asaf ministers. When Shuja-ud-Daula died, he left two million [[pounds sterling]] buried in the vaults of the [[zenana]]. The widow and mother of the deceased prince claimed the whole of this treasure under the terms of a will which was never produced. When [[Warren Hastings]] pressed the nawab for the payment of the debt due to the Company, he obtained from his mother a loan of 26 lakh (2.6 million) [[rupee]]s, for which he gave her a [[jagir]] (land) of four times the value; of subsequently obtained 30 lakh (3 million) more in return for a full acquittal, and the recognition of her jagirs without interference for life by the Company. These jagirs were afterwards confiscated on the ground of the begum's complicity in the rising of [[Chait Singh]], which was attested by documentary evidence.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Asaf-ud-Dowlah|volume=2|page=714|quote=ASAF-UD-DOWLAH ... was the son of Shuja-ud-Dowlah, his mother and grandmother being the begums of Oudh}}</ref> Ultimately this removed Umat-ul-Zohra as an obstacle to Asaf's reign.

In the aftermath of Saadat's revolt, Asaf sought to restructure the government, particularly by appointing nobles favourable to his cause and British officers to his military. Asaf appointed [[Hasan Riza Khan]] as his chief minister. Although he had little experience in administration, his assistant [[Haydar Beg Khan]] turned out to be a valuable support. [[Tikayt Ray]] was appointed as the finance minister.<ref name="chancey"/>

Asaf was known for his generosity, particularly the offering of food and public employment in times of famine. Notably, the [[Bara Imambara]] in Lucknow, was constructed during his reign by destitute workers seeking employment. A popular saying of his time spoke of his benevolence: ''"Jisko na de Maulā, usko de Asaf-ud-daulā"'' which translates to "to whom even God does not give, Asaf-ud-Daula gives."<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Basu |first1=P. |title=The relations between Oudh and the East India Company from 1785 to 1801 |date=1938 |type=Ph.D. |publisher=University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies}}</ref>

He was painted several times by [[Johann Zoffany]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/search#/51/collection/913286/asaf-ud-daula-nawab-of-oudh|title=RCT - Zoffany, Portrait Drawing of Asaf-ud-Daula|access-date=16 July 2018|archive-date=17 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160117132415/https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/search#/51/collection/913286/asaf-ud-daula-nawab-of-oudh|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Shifting the capital==

In 1775 he moved the capital of Awadh from [[Faizabad]] to [[Lucknow]] and built various monuments in and around Lucknow, including the [[Bara Imambara]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}

==Architectural and other contribution==
<gallery>
File:Asfi masjid.jpg|Asfi mosque, named after the [[Nawab]], Asaf-ud-Daula.
File:Bara Imambara Lucknow.jpg|[[Bara Imambara]] (Asafi Imambara), an [[imambara]], was built by Asaf-ud-Daula, in 1784 at [[Lucknow]].
</gallery>

Nawab Asaf-ud-Dowlah is considered the architect general of [[Lucknow]]. With the ambition to outshine the splendour of [[Mughal architecture]], he built a number of monuments and developed the city of Lucknow into an architectural marvel. Several of the buildings surviving today, include the famed [[Asafi Imambara]], which attracts tourists even today, and the [[Qaisar Bagh]] area of the downtown [[Lucknow]] where thousands live in resurrected buildings.

The [[Asafi Imambara]] is a famed vaulted structure surrounded by beautiful gardens, which the Nawab started as a charitable project to generate employment during the famine of 1784. In that famine even the nobles were reduced to penury. It is said that Nawab Asaf employed over 20,000 people for the project (including commoners and noblemen), which was neither a masjid nor a mausoleum (contrary to the popular contemporary norms of buildings). The Nawab's sensitivity towards preserving the reputation of the upper class is demonstrated in the story of the construction of Imambara. During daytime, common citizens employed on the project would construct the building. On the night of every fourth day, the noble and upper-class people were employed in secret to demolish the structure built, an effort for which they received payment. Thus, their dignity was preserved.

The Nawab became so famous for his generosity that it is still a well-known saying in Lucknow that "he who does not receive (livelihood) from the Ali-Moula, will receive it from Asaf-ud-Doula" (''Jisko na de Moula, usko de Asaf-ud-Doula'').

===Rumi Darwaza (''Turkish Gate'')===
The [[Rumi Darwaza]], which stands sixty feet tall,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lucknow.org.uk/tourist-attractions/rumi-darwaza.html|title=Rumi Darwaza|access-date=16 September 2015|archive-date=23 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223182818/http://www.lucknow.org.uk/tourist-attractions/rumi-darwaza.html|url-status=live}}</ref> modeled (1784) after the [[Ottoman Porte|Sublime Porte]] (Bab-iHümayun) in [[Istanbul]], is one of the most important examples of the exchange between the two cultures.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica-Rumi Darwaza">{{cite web|url = http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9049254/Lucknow#32610.hook|title = Lucknow|publisher = Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date = 2008-05-20|archive-date = 22 June 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080622020313/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9049254/Lucknow#32610.hook|url-status = live}}</ref>

<gallery>
Image:Roomi_Darwaza_03.JPG|
Image:Roomi_Darwaza_04.JPG|
Image:Roomi_Darwaza_05.JPG|
</gallery>

==Death==
[[File:The simple grave of Asaf al-Daula under a canopy inside the Imambara - British Library Add.or.4758.jpg|right|240px|thumb|The simple grave of Asaf ud-Daula under a canopy inside the Bara Imambara; a watercolor by Seeta Ram, c.1814–15 (note:Flag of the Mughal Empire raised higher than the Awadh flag)]]
He died on 21 September 1797 in Lucknow and is buried at [[Bara Imambara]], Lucknow.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Bara Imambara Lucknow.jpg|[[Bara Imambara]], [[Lucknow]], built by Asaf-ud-Daula
File:asif_palace_lucknow.jpg|A view of the Palace of the Asaf-ud-Daula at Lucknow, c.1793
File:asif_muharram_1795_2.jpg|Asaf-ud-Daula, conducting the Muharram rituals at Lucknow, c.1812
File:asif_coin_1a.jpg|A silver ashrafi issued by Asaf-ud-Daula from the Najibabad mint in AH 1211 (1796/7), regnal year 38
File:asif_coin_1b.jpg|A silver ashrafi issued by Asaf-ud-Daula from the Najibabad mint in AH 1211 (1796/7), regnal year 38
File:asif_musicians_1812.jpg|Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula seated on a rug smoking a hookah and listening to a party of male musicians, c.1812
File:asif_cockfight.jpg|Asaf-ud-Daula at a cock-fight with Europeans; this painting most likely depicts the famous cockfight between Asaf al-Daula and Colonel Mordaunt which took place at Lucknow in 1786, c.1830-35
</gallery>

==Timeline==
{{S-start}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Shuja-ud-Daula|Jalal ad-Din Shoja` ad-Dowla Haydar]]|
title= [[Nawab of Oudh|Wazir al-Mamalik of Oudh]]|
years=1775{{snd}}1797|
after=[[Wazir Ali Khan|Mirza Wazir `Ali Khan]]
}}
{{S-end}}

==See also==
* [[Bahu Begum ka Maqbara]], the monument to his mother, Bahu Begum (also known as Umat uz-Zohra Begum)
* [[Safdar Jang]], grandfather of Asaf-ud-Daula
* [[Tomb of Safdar Jang]], his grandfather's memorial
* [[Claude Martin]], French army officer who later served in India for the British East India company
* [[Mir Taqi Mir]], Urdu poet at the Lucknow court of Asaf-ud-Daula
* [[Antoine Polier]], Swiss adventurer and soldier who made his fortune in India, and designed a royal residence at Lucknow
* [[Dum pukht]]

==Notes==
<references group="nt" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{EI3|last=Barnett|first=Richard B.|title=Āṣaf al-Dawla|year=2007|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/asaf-al-dawla-SIM_0253?s.num=9&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-of-islam-3&s.q=dynasty+india}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070809170810/http://lucknow.nic.in/Asaf.htm NIC Website]
* Refer to mapsofindia.com [https://web.archive.org/web/20080512040609/http://www.india.mapsofindia.com/culture/monuments/bada-imambada.html Bara Imambara] for details of the Imambara
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20010901224326/http://www.indiancoins.8m.com/awadh/AwadhHist.html#Asaf-ud-Daula HISTORY OF AWADH (Oudh) a princely State of India by Hameed Akhtar Siddiqui]
* [http://rulers.org/indstat1.html States before 1947 A–J]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asaf-Ud-Dowlah}}
[[Category:Nobility from the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:People from Lucknow]]
[[Category:Nawabs of Oudh State]]
[[Category:1748 births]]
[[Category:1797 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian Shia Muslims]]
[[Category:Indian people of Iranian descent]]
[[Category:18th-century Iranian people]]
[[Category:Deaths from edema]]
[[Category:Grand viziers of the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:18th-century Mughal Empire people]]
[[Category:18th-century nobility]]

Asaf-ud-Daula - Revision history

Augustine V. Williams at 05:42, 30 March 2026