Faizullah Khan

Who was Faizullah Khan?

Faizullah Khan was the first Nawab of Rampur. The princely state of Rampur was set up in 1774, after the First Rohilla War, by the dismemberment of the Rohilla state of Rohilkhand. Faizullah Khan, the surviving heir of Ali Mohammed Khan and opponent of the forces of Awadh and the British East India Company in the war, was installed as ruler of what was a puppet state. It bordered the Maratha Empire to the south, making it a strategic point.

Faizullah Khan was ethnically Persian and his family settled South Asia during the Mughal Empire. The Persians in Mughal Empire consisted of high ranking soldiers and administrative elites of the Mughal Empire. Rampur State was one of the important Shia Muslim princely states with Awadh.

Under tutelage of the East India Company, Faizullah Khan ruled peacefully for 20 years. The capital Rampur was founded, and the Raza Library collection gathered.