Portrait of Ghazi-ud-Din Haider, 1st King of Oudh (c. 1769-1827)
Artist: Robert Home (British, 1752–1834)
Date: n.d.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Collection: Private collection
Ghazi-ud-Din Haidar Shah
Ghazi-ud-Din Haidar Shah (c. 1769 – 19 October 1827) was the last nawab wazir of Oudh from 11 July 1814 to 19 October 1818, and first King of Oudh (Oudh State) from 19 October 1818 to 19 October 1827.[
He was the third son of Nawab Saadat Ali Khan and Mushir Zadi was his mother. He became Nawab Wazir of Oudh on 11 July 1814 after the death of his father.
In 1816, as a consequence of the Nepal War (in which Ghazi-ud-Din loaned the British 1 Crore Rupees), the East India Company made some territorial readjustments in order to liquidate the loan. They ceded to him the districts of Nawabgunge & Khyreegunge (both taken from Oudh in 1801), along with the Terae lands taken from Nepal, and took Handea (or Kewae).
In 1818, under the influence of the Marquess of Hastings, the British Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), he declared himself as the independent Padshah-i-Awadh (King of Oudh). Lord Hastings believed that if Ghazi-ud-din, were made king, he would be a useful counterpoise to the Emperor of Delhi. He accordingly induced him to coin money in his own name, and to assume the title of Shah (King). The title never took much root out of Lucknow, and though Ghazi-ud-din and his four successors were all titular kings, their rule is far more commonly spoken of by the country folk as the "Nawabi" than as "Shahi".
He died in the Farhat Bakhsh palace in Lucknow in 1827. He was succeeded by his son Nasir-ud-Din Haider after his death.
