The earliest reference made to Faizabad is said to be in the Ramayana, in which the city is referred to as Saket, the mythical private estate of King Dashrath, father of Lord Ram but the other sources indicate that Saket, which means Heaven in Sanskrit, is the ancient name of holy city of Ajodhya not Faizabad. However, more accurately, the reference is found in Medieval and Modern history, when Nawab Saadat Ali Khan, Burhan-ul-Mulk was given the charge of the Subah of Awadh around 1722 by the MughalCourt. Nawab Sa'adat Khan made the first settlements along the banks of Ghaghra with a cantonment consisting of a fortress and mud barracks. Due to these temporary dwellings, Faizabad was first known as 'Bangla' (implied meaning- hutment).
Establishment of Princely state of Avadh
Avadh, a princely state of India, was established around 1722 AD with Faizabad as its capital and Saadat Ali Khan I as firstNawab and progenitor of Nawabs of Awadh He made his own palace near Ajodhya, and founded a new city Faizabad, which became the capital of the new government. Due to his management policy state's income rose from Rupees 70 lakhs to 2 crores.
Faizabad was developed later on by Saadat Ali Khan's second successor, Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula into a fully fledged capital city, with gardens, palaces, markets, roads and other infrastructure. Under Shuja-ud-Daula's reign Faizabad achieved its culmination as an important centre of trade and commerce in northern India and attracted travellers, writers, merchants, artists and courtesans from sll over Europe and Asia. Shuja-ud-Daula also built a fortress on the banks of Saryu after he lost the battle of Buxar in 1764. however, this fort now is nothing more than a hummock, just an edict remains which is pictured here.
Faizabad was also a centre of one of many battles of the Mutiny of 1857. A detailed history of Faizabad can be read in
