Oudh / Oude / Awadh / Ayodhya

The Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh consists of the following administrative divisions - 

• Ayodhya Division 
• Ayodhya
• Ambedkar Nagar
• Barabanki
• Sultanpur
• Amethi
• Devipatan Division
• Bahraich
• Balarampur
• Gonda
• Shravasti
• Lucknow Division
• Hardoi
• Lakhimpur Kheri
• Lucknow
• Raebareli
• Sitapur
• Unnao

But in the colonial era, when it was part of the British province of the United Provinces, Awadh or Oude / Oudh was one of the two broad divisions of the province, the other being the Agra Division. During that time, the districts were lesser as compared to now, and consisted of two sub-divisions - Lucknow and Fyzabad (Faizabad) Divisions. The districts of then Oudh were : 

• Lucknow Division
• Kheri
• Sitapur
• Hardoi
• Lucknow
• Unao (Unnao)
• Fyzabad (Faizabad) Division
• Bahraich
• Gonda
• Bara Banki
• Fyzabad (Faizabad / Ayodhya)
• Sultanpur
• Pratabgarh

The name 'Ayodhya' is itself variant of the name Awadh and so is the Thai city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya. The medieval Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya existed between 1350 to 1767 and covered today's central and southern Thailand. Certain spellings also mention it as Ayojjha, but for simplicity, we shall be using the word Oudh or Awadh in this post. 

Civilisation in the Awadh region first existed during the Copper and Bronze Ages (roughly between the 5th millennium BC to 1200 BC) with sites such as Shahabad (in Hardoi district), Hardi (in Ayodhya district), Deoti (in Lucknow district), etc. being the proofs. Awadh is the central region in the Hindu epic Ramayana, the homeplace of Lord Rama, Ayodhya, and also the start of the 14 years of exile (Vanavas) to Lord Rama, Goddess Sita and Lakshman. This region situated between Ganga, Sarayu and Gomati rivers is an integral part of Hinduism and several sites crucial to Hinduism are located, Ayodhya is one of them. Lord Rama belonged to the Kosala Kingdom which spread through Awadh and the eastern part of today's Uttar Pradesh. During the era of Mahabharata, Kosala would border smaller republics such as Nisada and Vatsa in the south and Panchala and Mallas in the west and east respectively. 

Ayodhya was also referred to as Saket in ancient Hindu scriptures. It served as the capital of Kosala and also inhabited a certain clan called Iskvakus (इक्ष्वाकु) - the origin of Suryavanshis. Panini's Astadhyayi (अष्टध्यायी) mentions Kosala as a kingdom bordering Misrakavana (मिश्रकावण) in the west and the holy cities of Pava (today's Padrauna, Kushinagar) and Varanasi in the east and southeast respectively. Early Greeks, although doesn't mention Awadh do note down about the place Kannauj, bordering Awadh to its south on the banks of the Ganga River. They knew Kannauj as Kallinipaza. Shravasti, Ayodhya and Kannauj are also mentioned during the Mauryan campaigns along with neighbouring towns of Kanyakubja (Kannau), Kapilavastu and Pragaya (Prayagraj). When Buddhism was being spread in between the 6th to 3rd centuries BC, towns such as Savatthi (Shravasti), Setavya (in Balapur, Gonda district) and Sageya (Saketa or Ayodhya). Ayodhya is also associated with the birthplace of the first Jain preceptor (Tirthankara), Usabha Rsabha or Rishabhanatha (ऋषभदेव). 

During the Greek expansion in Asian territories, Kosala was one of the buffer states between the Sunga Dynasty (the successor to the Mauryas) and the Indo-Greeks. Kosala also became part of the Kushan Empire (30 - 375 AD) and parallel Jainism was flourishing as well with important pilgrimage sites such as Jaisingpur (in Sultanpur district) along with Ayodhya. Also, during this time, the early Greek historian Hecataeus of Miletus (550 BC - 476 BC) mentions the entire north Indian belt as Prasiace with Ayodhya mentioned as Sigalla. The Sarayu River is also mentioned as Sarabos. Prasiace was a bridge between India Intra Gangem and India Extra Gangem on early Greek maps. 

Kosala and Ayodhya remained an integral part of every north Indian empire, be it Hindu or Islamic. The medieval Hindu empires such as the Guptas, the Pushyabhutis, the Maukharis, the Gurjara-Pratiharas, the Rashtrakutas, the Gahadavalas etc. were such Hindu dynasties spread across the northern Indian subcontinent passing through Awadh. With the birth of Islam, the Islamic knowledge of Ayodhya to early Arabs was also well-known. Spelt as Ajodaha or Ajodhya, Awadh was now under Islamic campaigns, starting with the Mamluks between 1170 to 1290. The Gahadavalas reigning in Awadh were defeated by the Ghurids in 1194, and thus marks the starting of Islamic footholds in Awadh. Between 1290 to 1390, Awadh was one of the provinces under the Thughluqs as mentioned in the Masalikul Absar, the encyclopedia of the Mamluks. In 1398, the Sharqi Dynasty or the Jaunpur Sultanate got independent of the Delhi Sultanate and established their own empire all across the Awadh and Ganga River basin. At this time, Awadh was landlocked with territories such a Katehar in the northwest, the country of Baghelas in the south and the territories of Mallas, i.e. Nepala (Nepal), in the east and north-east. 

With the rise of Islam in Awadh, it became home to some of the key Sufi saints between the 11th and 16th centuries, such as Ashraf Jahangir Semnani (originally from Iran but settled at Kichaucha, the modern-day Ambedkar Nagar district) and Salar Masud Ghazi or Ghazi Miyan (settled at Bahraich). As the Delhi Sultanate was replaced by the Lodis and later, the Mughals, Awadh became a key strategic territory that would witness numerous battles between these rising Islamic powers. In 1531, there was an unsuccessful revolt raised against the Mughals by Lodis and in 1540, Sher Shah founded the Sur Empire after defeating Humayun at Chausa (in Buxar district, Bihar) and Bilgram (in Hardoi district). But as fate would decide, the Sur empire didn't last long and was reconquered by the Mughals between 1556 to 1557. At this time, cities like Lakhnau (Lucknow) and Khairabad rose to prominence. Awadh's boundary during the period of being a Mughal subah extended from Khairabad in the west to Gorakhpur in the east and it is reported that in 1605 (the year Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar died), the total revenue generated from Awadh was 202 million Dams (copper), a currency introduced along with the Mohur (gold) and Rupaiya (silver) coins. Mughal Awadh was now known for manufacturing calico, cotton and embroidery that even attracted the European traders. 

But with rising Islam, there was also a period of the Bhakti Movement when devotional poets such as Tulsidas were born in this region (in Soron, Gonda district, 1532). Tulsidas composed the epic poem Ramcharitmanas (रामचरितमानस) in Awadhi language (a pre-cursor to modern-day Hindi) that started in 1574, the times when Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar was the Mughal Emperor. Interestingly, while an epic was being created on the Indian subcontinent at this time, around the same period another astounding writer was in the making much farther on the British Isles - William Shakespeare. 

It's interesting that having such a rich history, Awadh was virtually absent on European maps in the early 17th century. One would find places marked as Delli (denoting Delhi) neighbouring Agra in the south and Holopass or Holobass (possibly Allahabad or Prayagraj) in the east. It is only during the 18th century when the territory of Oude (a mispronunciation of Awadh and Ayodhya) appeared on European maps that would border Doab and Rohikcund (Rohilkhand) in the west, while Allahabad in the south and Mewat and Butiah (Bettiah) in the east (as on the map sketched by the Dutch cartographer Jakob Renell in 1788). It was also during this time that the Mughal Awadh (or Oudh) prospered under Nawab Saadat Ali Khan, that ruled the territory between 1722 to 1739, with its capital at Fyzabad. But Awadh was untouched by the rising Maratha powers in the Deccan and Rajputana in the 18th century and it would be the British to finally annex the kingdom under its protection in 1773. In return for the protection given, the Nawab of Oudh aided the British in defeating the subjugation of Rohillas in the west. 

In the 19th century, the fate of Awadh would change forever when it would be annexed to the East India Company's territories in 1856. This would be subsequently added to the Northwest Provinces and the new province was now called as North-Western Provinces and Oudh. In 1902, it was renamed as North-Western Provinces of Agra and Oudh which just after another two years was renamed as United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, with its capital at Allahabad. It was only in 1921 when another renaming of the province took place, this time simplifying it to United Provinces and the capital was shifted to Lucknow, which serves as the current capital of Uttar Pradesh (renamed in 1950). 

Awadh played a major role during the 1857 First War of Indian Independence (Sepoy Rebellion) where the Siege of Lucknow became one of the turning points of the war. The rebellion was widely spread throughout the Awadh region and there were major skirmishes at places such as Sitapur, Daryabad, Sultanpur, Salon and Fyzabad. It took seven months for the East India Company soldiers to relieve Awadh from the sepoys, only to be met with the thrashing of the Company itself in 1858. The year also marked the end of the Mughal Empire in the subcontinent, particularly because of the numerous rebellions and battles fought all across the Awadh and adjoining areas. 

Awadh came into the news again in the late 19th and early 20th century during the Indian independence movement that was now spread all across the subcontinent - from Baluchistan to Assam and from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Awadh's Roy Bareily (Rae Bareli) became the centre of the 'No-Rent Campaign' in December 1930 under a Congress worker, Mohan Lal Saxena. Awadh also witnessed three Indian National Congress sessions at Lucknow, in 1899, 1916 and 1936 respectively. Lucknow also served as the centre of Muslim League sessions in 1913, 1916, 1923 and 1937 respectively. On achieving independence in 1947, Awadh, being part of the British United Provinces, was now part of the Indian Union which in 1950 got renamed Uttar Pradesh. 

The history of Ayodhya or Awadh would be incomplete without mentioning the highly controversial incident that occurred in 1992, the Babri Masjid demolition. The aftermath of this incident was the brutal 1993 Bombay (now Mumbai) bombings and the case was finally resolved on 30th September 2020 with a decision to construct a Ram Mandir (in the process) at the site of Ramjanmabhoomi. The official name of Faizabad was also changed to Ayodhya subsequently. 

Attached here is a recreation of an 1821 map of Awadh, originally drafted by the English cartographer Aaron Arrowsmith (1750 - 1823).