History of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh

History of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh

The city of Ayodhya originally known as Fyzabad, is situated in Eastern India, in Uttar Pradesh State, on the bank of River Saryu, about 130 k.m. east of Lucknow. The city was founded by Ali Vardi Khan, nawab of Bengal (1676-1756) in 1730. The foundation of Ayodhya was laid by Saadat Khan, the second Nawab of Awadh. His successor Shuja-ud-daula made it the capital of Awadh. Ayodhya as a township, developed about 220 years ago. Safdar Jang, the second nawab of Avadh (1739-54), made it as his military headquarters. His successor Suja-ud-daula built a fort here. It was known as Chhota Calcutta, now the fort has ruined. He built the Chowk in 1765 and subsequently built the Anguribagh and Motibagh to the south of Ayodhya and Asafbagh and Bulandbagh to the west of the city. During the reign of Shuja-ud-daula, Ayodhya attained such a prosperity which it never saw again. The Nawabs graced Faziabad with several beautiful buildings, notable among them are the Gulab Bari, Moti Mahal and the tomb of Bahu Begum. Gulab Bari is a beautiful building of fine architecture, standing in a garden surrounded by a wall, approachable through two large gateways.

These buildings are particularly interesting for their assimilative architectural styles. Shuja-ud-daula's wife was the well known Bahu Begum, who married the Nawab in 1743 and continued to reside in Ayodhya, her residence being the Moti-Mahal. Close by at Jawaharbagh lies her Maqbara, where she was buried after her death in 1816. It is considered to be one of the finest buildings of its kind in Avadh, which was built at the cost of three lakh rupees by her chief advisor Darab Ali Khan. A fine view of the city is obtainable from top of the begum's tomb. Bahu Begum was a woman of great distinction and rank, bearing dignity. Most of the Muslim buildings of Ayodhya are attributed to her. From the date of Bahu Begum's death in 1815 till the annexation of Avadh, the city of Ayodhya gradually fell into decay. The glory of Ayodhya finally eclipsed with the shifting of capital from Ayodhya to Lucknow by Nawab Asaf-ud-daula.Ayodhya is a place of sugar refineries and mills for extracting oil from seeds. It is a market center for the produce of the surrounding area, including grain, oilseeds, cotton, and tobacco. A hydroelectric plant is located nearby. The ruins of the ancient town of Ajodhya, with the modern town standing nearby, are located across the river and form a part of Ayodhya. Ayodhya, which is among the principal religious centers of India, is an important place of Hindu pilgrimage. Ayodhya is a small developing city, here you can have fun of both the worlds of the town as well as the village if you go outside the city you will find lots of fields with plenty of crops.

This small town have lots of educational institutions including Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia University and Narendra Dev Agricultural University. There are several inter colleges for boys Government Inter College, SSV Inter college, Anil Saraswati Inter College, Adarsh Inter College, Raj Karan Inter College, Maharaja Inter College and Forbes Inter College; for girls Govt. Girls Inter College, Arya Kanya Inter College, Tulsi Kanya Inter College, Canossa Convent. Education for boys as well as girls is also available in Jingle Bell, Tiny Tots and in few other schools too. Tourist Place are, Gulab Bari, Maqbara , GuptarGhat, Hanuman Garhi and a lots of tourist places are in Ayodhya about 6 km. away from Ayodhya.