subah

Noun

subah (plural subahs)

1. (India, historical) A province of the Mughal Empire.
   • Hindostan was then parcelled out into twelve grand divisions, called soobahs, to each of which a viceroy was assigned, by the title of Soobahdar, corruptly written Soobah by European writers; for, soobah signifies province: many of these soobahs were in extent equal to large European kingdoms.1806, [Thomas Maurice], Indian Antiquities: Or, Dissertations Relative to the Antient Geographical Divisions, […] of Hindostan: […] , volume I. Containing the Dissertation on the Antient Geographical...
   • Upon this, Mirzapha Jung immediately assumed the subah, and nominated Chunda Saheb governor of the Carnatic.1818, “Review of The History of British India by James Mill, Esq.”, in The British Review, and London Critical Journal, volume 12, pages 253–54
2. (India, historical) Synonym of subadar (“the governor or commander in charge of a subah; a viceroy”).

   Synonyms:

   subadar