Ira Mukhoty

Through the turbulent eighteenth century, Awadh grew to become one of the richest and most coveted regions in all of Hindustan. Although it was nominally ruled by the Mughal emperor in Delhi, the Mughal Empire itself, under Muhammad Shah ‘Rangeeley’ and later under Shah Alam II, was in terminal decline. The British and French East India Companies were vying for control of the subcontinent. As the Seven Years’ War between these European powers came to an end, and the British lost territory in other parts of the world, they became more determined to seize power in India. Meanwhile, France began a ‘war of revenge’ against its old enemy to restore its prestige. The French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1799) and the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) would lead to even greater volatility in India. French players continued to intrigue in various Indian courts until the last quarter of the eighteenth century.

Awadh’s rise to prominence began when Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk (r. 1722–1739) was posted there by the Mughal emperor as a demotion for failing to quell a Jat rebellion. Undeterred, Saadat Khan and his successors worked relentlessly to bring stability and glory to the province. Shuja-ud-Daula (r. 1754–1775), the third nawab, was widely considered the most powerful and courageous ruler of the time. However, after the disastrous loss of the Mughal army at the Battle of Buxar (1764), Shuja was forced into an unsavory alliance with the British. Despite this unfortunate development, Shuja worked hard to develop Awadh, and Faizabad in particular.

Shuja’s son, Asaf-ud-Daula (r. 1775–1797), was a visionary and an exemplary diplomat, and his mother, Bahu Begum, was a formidable force of nature. Asaf created a Shia renaissance that challenged both Mughal Sunni power and the increasing parochialism of the East India Company. His adopted son, Wazir Ali (r. 1797–1798), was deposed by the British, who then crowned his uncle, Saadat Ali Khan (r. 1798–1814), as a puppet ruler. In the Treaty of 1801, Saadat Ali Khan ceded half of Awadh to the British East India Company and agreed to disband his troops in favor of an expensive British-run army. These and other developments would reduce Awadh to a shadow of its former glory within a couple of decades.

Using Persian, English, and previously untranslated French sources, as well as recent work by art historians, bestselling author Ira Mukhoty brings to focus the life and times of Awadh in the eighteenth century, along with some of the most important figures of the period—the nawabs, East India Company officials such as Robert Clive, Warren Hastings, and Richard Wellesley, as well as powerful begums, elite eunuchs, soldiers, and adventurers like René Madec, Jean Baptiste Gentil, Claude Martin, Antoine Polier, artists both Indian and European, and others. The Lion and the Lily is a nuanced, detailed, and richly told account of the rise and fall of Awadh in the eighteenth century, set against the backdrop of the international struggle between Britain and France.