The Oudh State or Kingdom of Oudh (Awadh State) was a princely state in the Awadh region during the British Raj until 1856. Oudh (IPA: /ˈaʊd/), the now obsolete but once official English-language name of the state, also written in British historical texts as 'Oude', derived from the name of Ayodhya. The capital of Oudh State was in Faizabad, but the British Agents, officially known as 'residents', had their seat in Lucknow. The Nawab of Oudh, one of the richest princes, paid for and erected a splendid Residency in Lucknow as a part of a wider programme of civic improvements.