The Life and Times of the Nawabs of Lucknow  (Paperback)

Saadat Khan's Successor

After Nawab Saadat Khan committed suicide, a fight for the throne quickly ensued, as he did not have a son. One claimant was his brother's son, Muazam Sher Jung. The other was his sister's Mirza Mohammad Muqeem Khan, who later took the name of Safdar Jung. Mohammad Muqeem Khan was married to Saadat Khan's daughter, Sadrunnisa..
The dispute was resolved after Mohammad Muqeem Khan bribed Nadir Shah with Rs 20 million: the Afghan instructed Emperor Mohammad Shah in Delhi to appoint. Mohammad Muqeem Khan as the subedar of Awadh.
Mohammad Muqeem Khan, who adopted the name Safdar Jung at this point, returned to his capital Ayodhya a happy man. He believed that his ascension was a divine gift and so renamed his residence from 'Bungla' (bungalow) to Faizabad', coined by joining two words 'Faiza', meaning profit, and Abad', meaning population. Faizabad soon developed into an impressive city, and is still known by this name today. There was another reason why Safdar Jung named the city Faizabad: the name of the small town in the Khurasan province of Iran that he was from, was also called Faizabad; it was a town that enjoyed very good climate and was famous for its watermelons.
Possibly, Saadat Khan had wanted his son-in-law to succeed him. In what seemed to be an effort to groom him on these lines, he had first posted him in the army, and later on made him naib (assistant) subedar. In 1739, when Saadat Khan went to Delhi to fight against Nadir Shah, he gave the charge of Awadh to Safdar Jung.