n 1798 after the death of Asaf ud Daula his place was taken by Nawab Wajir Ali Khan but in just four months he became unpopular because of his stupid actions. Even Begum Sahiba, wife of Asaf ud Daula, wanted to make her step son Yamin ud Daula Saadat Ali Khan as King. Because of opposition from Asaf ud Daula, Saadat Ali had stayed outside Lucknow and was brought to Lucknow when opinion about Wajir Ali Khan grew strong. Governor General himself appointed him as Nawab on 21st Jan, 1798 at a grand darbar held at Bibiyapur Palace. It is said that he had a deal with English government that if they helped him in getting the throne he will give them half of Avadh. And English government was in dire need of money to fight Marhatta. Once he succeeded, Saadat Ali entered into a fresh treaty in 1801 with East India company by which he ceded a territory yielding gross revenue of 1.35 crore. This was almost half of Avadh which was given in lieu of 1000 English troops to be stationed in Avadh. Since the treaty was imposed most arbitrarily it became constant irritant with the Nawab and he felt guilty throughout his life. He therefore acted with utmost restrain with the state expenditure and further improved the revenue of the left over subedari with tact and strict administration and accumulated a sum of about 23 crore in cash. Somehow Saadat Ali Khan persuaded the East India Company to hand back this lost territory and promised to manage it on behalf of the company. Since this act would have damaged the reputation, the company conspired to get him poisoned by Jawahar Khan, superintendent of dewankhana and Nawabs personal servant Buddhan Khan which was not successful. However his better management of finances did not deter the Nawab to venture upon the extensive building activities and colonization of Lucknow. New colonies developed by him were Saadatganj and Maulviganj. He started his building activities by adding few structures in Daulat Khana complex. Saadat Ali stayed at Daulat Khana only for about five years and shifted from there after he fell seriously ill with ulcers. His illness was attributed to unhealthy surrounding and congested environment around Daulat Khana. He therefore shifted to Farah Baksh in 1803 which was purchased from a Spaniard, Joseph Quiers for rupees fifty thousand. This area later became the nucleus for the future expansion of Lucknow by the successive Nawab since hardly any room was available around Daulat Khana. Other buildings built in his time are Chattar Manzil, Lal Baradari, Dilkusha, Hayat Baksh, Noor Baksh, Kallan ki Lat, Badshah Manzil, Zahoor Baksh, Begum Kothi, Darul Shafa (old), Chini Bazaar, Khurshid Manzil, Moti Mahal, Qadam Rasul, Tehri Kothi, Iron Bridge and Mandiaon Cantonment. The Avadh style was gradually abandoned during reign of Saadat Ali Khan and European innovations adopted largely. The result was that Lucknow became rendezvous for more distinguished people than ever before. Saadat Ali Khan died in 1814 and he is buried at his tomb in Kaiserbagh next to his wife Khursheed Zadi's tomb.