Principality of Bengal

Principality of Bengal
Former Nation
← 1717–1757 →
Coat of arms
Capital		Murshidabad
Languages		Persian (official), Bengali, Oriya, Arabic
Religion		Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity
Government		Monarchy
Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa
-	1717-1727	Murshid Quli Khan (first)
-	1756-1757	Siraj-ud-Daulah (last)
Historical era		Early Modern
-	Established	1717
-	Disestablished	23 June 1757

The Principality of Bengal was an independent Mughal dominion ruled by the Nawabs of Bengal.^[1] From their capital at Murshidabad, the Nawabs of presided over a large territory in the eastern Indian subcontinent, including Bengal, Northern Bihar and North-Eastern Orissa. The heartland of the state was in Bengal, which was India's most fertile and prosperous region.

History

Nawab Alivardi Khan

Murshidabad

Ruins of the Katra Masjid

Bengal is a region located in the low lying Ganges Delta. It was once ruled by a series of Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic kingdoms before falling under the rule of growing Mughal Empire. A chain of subordinate officials, consisting of governors and Diwans, ruled Bengal till 1716. In 1717, Murshid Quli Khan emerged as the governor of Bengal. With his considerable influence over the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb, Khan had the Nazim, Azim-ush-Shan, moved to Bihar. With this, Murshid Quli Khan became the first Nawab Nazim of Bengal. He moved the capital to Murshidabad, a town named after him, and established the Principality of Bengal.

The Principality was ruled under 3 dynasties: Nasiri, Afshar, and Najafi. Murshid Quli Khan ruled from 1717 to 1727, when he was succeeded by his son in law, Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan. After his death, in 1739, his son, Sarfaraz Khan, became the new Nawab. Sarfaraz, however, was killed during the Battle of Giria and was succeeded by Alivardi Khan, founder of the Afshar Dynasty. Alivardi Khan was considered to be a brilliant general and was able to establish peace with the Maratha Empire. After Khan, Siraj-ud-Daulah, his grandson, took power. The young and inexperienced Nawab was able to anger most people in his court and the British East India Company in Calcutta. In 1757, the forces of the Nawab and the Company confronted each other in the Battle of Plassey. Though the former's forces were much more powerful than those of the latter, the Nawab's head general, Mir Jafar, betrayed him and helped the British win. With this, the Principality was dissolved and the British took over control of Bengal while establishing Mir Jafar and the Najafi Dynasty as the puppet rulers of the region.

Nawabs of the Principality of Bengal The following is a list of all the Nawabs of Bengal while it was independent. Sarfaraz Khan and Mir Muhammed Jafar Ali Khan Bahadur (Mir Jafar) were the only Nawabs to become the Nawab twice (thought the latter was a puppet ruler).^[2] The chronology started in 1717 with Murshid Quli Khan and ended in 1760 with the removal of Mir Jafar ^[3][4][2]

Portrait	Titular Name	Personal Name	Birth	Reign	Death
Nasiri Dynasty
	Jaafar Khan Bahadur Nasiri	Murshid Quli Khan	1665	1717– 1727	30 June 1727
	Ala-ud-Din Haidar Jang	Sarfaraz Khan Bahadur	?	1727-1727	29 April 1740
	Shuja ud-Daula	Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan	Around 1670 (date not available)	July, 1727 – 26 August 1739	26 August 1739
	Ala-ud-Din Haidar Jang	Sarfaraz Khan Bahadur	?	13 March 1739 – April 1740	29 April 1740
Afsar Dynasty
	Hashim ud-Daula	Muhammad Alivardi Khan Bahadur	Before 10 May 1671	29 April 1740 – 9 April 1756	9 April 1756
	Siraj ud-Daulah	Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah	1733	April 1756 – 2 June 1757	2 July 1757
Najafi Dynasty
	Ja'afar 'Ali Khan Bahadur	Mir Muhammed Jafar Ali Khan Bahadur	1691	June 1757 – October 1760	17 January 1765

Economy

Art and culture

Ivory replica of the royal peacock barge

Woman playing the sitar

References