A Nawab was originally the provincial governor or viceroy of a province or region of the Mughal empire. The term is derived from the Arabic 'naib', meaning deputy. In some areas, especially Bengal, the term was pronounced Nabob. (The last variation has entered the English language. See below.) Most of the Muslim rulers of the subcontinent had accepted the authority of the Mughals. Hence the term Nawab is generally understood to mean any Muslim ruler in the subcontinent. Under British rule, Nawabs ruled the princely states of Awadh, Bahawalpur, Baoni, Banganapalle, Bhopal, Cambay, Jaora, Junagadh, Kurnool, Kurwai, Palanpur (Pakistan), Pataudi, Rampur, Sachin, and Tonk. Other former rulers bearing the title, such as the Nabobs of Bengal, had been dispossessed by the British or others by the time the Mughal dynasty finally ended in 1857.

Nawab is also the title of senior Muslim nobles in Hyderabad and Berar State. The female equivalent is Begum; the crown prince title is Nawabzada or Wali Ehed.

Most of the Nawabs were males, although the Begums of Bhopal were an exception. Before the incorporation of India into the British Empire, Nawabs ruled the kingdoms of Awadh, Arcot, Bengal and Bhopal.

A few rulers who were tributary to the Mughals took other titles; the first Nizam of Hyderabad was given the alternative title, Nizam ul Mulk, usually translated as Governor of the Kingdom.

In colloquial usage in English, the term "nabob" is sometimes used to refer to a merchant leader of high social status and wealth, or a capitalist. It can also be used metaphorically for people who have a grandiose style or manner of speech, as in Spiro Agnew's famous dismissal of the press as "nattering nabobs of negativism".

Nawabs (families, individuals and dynasties)

• Nawabs of Arcot
• Nawabs of Awadh
• Nawabs of Bahawalpur
• Nawabs of Banganapalle
• Nawabs of Baoni
• Nawabs of Bengal
• Nawabs of Bhopal
• Nawabs of Cambay
• Nawabs of Jaora
• Nawabs of Junagadh
• Nawabs of Kurwai
• Nawabs of Palanpur (Pakistan)
• Nawabs of Pataudi
• Nawabs of Rampur
• Nawabs of Sachin
• Nawabs of Tonk

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