Gateway, Lucknow

By the 17th century, Lucknow, the chief city of the Mughal province of Avadh, was a prosperous commercial centre. As Mughal power declined, Avadh grew more and more autonomous, but was annexed by the British in 1856.

The rulers of Avadh (called nawabs) were great builders and patrons of the arts, creating a culturally rich environment. They commissioned numerous imposing gateways or darwazas, including this one with its three-arched entrance known as the Hussainabad Darwaza and dating from the reign of Nawab Muhammad Ali Shah (approx. 1837–1842).

During the nineteenth-century, as British power in India grew, the nawabs often built grand structures such as this to proclaim their own importance and high status.