Awadh
Awadh (Awadhi, Hindi: अवध, Urdu: اودھ pronunciation (help·info)), is a region in the centre of the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the
United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. Also known in British historical texts as
Oudh or
Oude derived from Ayodhya, it was established around 1722 AD with Faizabad as its capital and Sadat Ali Khan as its first Nawab and progenitor of Nawabs of Awadh. The traditional capital of Awadh had originally been Faizabad, but it was later moved to Lucknow, which serves as the present-day capital of Uttar Pradesh. The modern definition of Awadh geographically includes the districts of Ambedkar Nagar, Bahraich, Balrampur, Barabanki, Faizabad, Gonda, Hardoi, Lakhimpur Kheri, Lucknow, Pratapgarh, Raebareli, Shravasti, Sitapur, Sultanpur and Unnao from Awadh and Kanpur, Kanpur Dehat, Fatehpur, Kaushambi and Allahabad from Lower Doab. A strip of the northern areas of the region, i.e., parts of Terai area (Inner Terai and Outer Terai), now lies within Nepal (Tulsipur Dang) and main parts of Gorakhpur district.