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Nawabs of Bengal (Murshidabad)

Hereditary Mughal-successor rulers of the Bengal Subah (Bengal, Bihar and Orissa), de facto independent from 1717 under Murshid Quli Khan and based at Murshidabad; the richest province of Mughal India.

Independence broken by the East India Company's victory over Siraj-ud-Daulah at Plassey (1757); after the Company obtained the Diwani in 1765 the nawabs became pensioned figureheads, the nizamat continuing nominally until 1880.

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Further reading

• Murshid Quli Khan and his times Abdul Karim · 1963

  Scholarly study of the founder of the independent Bengal nizamat and the early nawabi state; verified via Open Library.

• Fall of the Mughal Empire Jadunath Sarkar · 1932

  Narrates the emergence and fall of the autonomous Bengal nawabs; verified via Open Library.

Sources

• Nawabs of Bengal — Wikipedia (lead section, fetched via MediaWiki API 2026-07-23; de facto independent Bengal/Bihar/Orissa, capital Murshidabad, coins in Mughal emperor's name)
• Wikidata Q2637089 — inception 1717, dissolved 1880 (nominal)
• 'In 1765 Clive secured the diwani ... The Nawab lost all independent military or financial power and became a mere figurehead' (Bengal Under English Rule 1757-1905, EurasiaReview) [non-Wikipedia]