Awadh

   Town on the Sarju River, about 250 kilometers west of Kanauj, that Ramcharitramanas of Tulsidas (1532-1623) made famous with its Sanskrit name Ayudhya. Annexed to the Delhi sultanate in the beginning of 13th century, Awadh came to represent a prestigious iqta' under Iltutmish (1211-1236). Its location on the route to Lakhnauti added to Awadh's strategic importance. Ziya' Barani uses the names Awadh and Hindustan interchangeably, which tends to indicate that under the Tughlaqs (1320-1412) the entire tract extending northeast of the Ganges up to Jaunpur was administered from Awadh. Based on Nasir al-Din Chiragh Dehli's testimony, during the 14th century there existed a large Muslim population at Awadh. In the 15th century, the town of Awadh as well as the entire tract administered from there was a part of the Sharqi kingdom.