Faizabad

Faizabad (Hindustani pronunciation: [fɛːzaːbaːd]) is a city located in Ayodhya district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated on southern the bank of the River Saryu about 130 km east of state capital Lucknow. Faizabad was the first capital of the Nawabs of Awadh and has monuments built by the Nawabs, like the Tomb of Bahu Begum, Gulab Bari. It was also the headquarters of Faizabad district (now Ayodhya district) and Faizabad division (now Ayodhya division) before November 2018. Faizabad is a twin city of Ayodhya and it is administered by Ayodhya Municipal Corporation. Awadh and Nawab of Awadh Oudh State According to The Imperial Gazetteer of India, "[w]hen Saadat Khan was appointed governor of Oudh he built a hunting lodge 4 miles west of Ayodhya [in 1730], then the head-quarters of the province. Gardens were laid out and shops sprang up in the neighbourhood, and during the time of his successor Safdar Jang the name Faizabad was first applied. Shuja-ud-daula, the third Nawab, lived chiefly at :Lucknow during the early part of his reign; but after his defeat at Buxar in 1764 he made Faizabad his residence, and during the remainder of his life added largely to its defences and also laid a large town. Shuja-ud-daula died early in 1775, and before the close of the year Asaf-ud-daula moved permanently to Lucknow. The importance of Faizabad declined, but it remained the home of Asaf-ud-daula's grandmother and mother, the Nawab Begam and Bahu Begam, whose treatment was the subject of charges against Warren Hastings. After the death of Bahu Begam in 1816 Faizabad decayed still farther". Oudh State was annexed by the British in 1856. Local self-government for Ayodhya and Faizabad was introduced in 1865. The two cities were administered jointly as a municipality. Gulab Bari stands in a garden surrounded by a wall, approachable through two large gateways. These buildings are particularly interesting for their assimilative architectural styles.