urdu: نواب), also spelt nawaab, navaab, navab, nowab, nabob, nawaabshah, nawabshah or nobab, is a royal title. it was used by sovereign ruler, often of a south asian state. in in many ways it is similar to the western titles of king. the relationship of a nawab to the emperor of india has been compared to that of the kings of saxony to the german emperor. in earlier times, the title was given by the mughal emperor to muslim rulers of subdivisions or princely states in the indian subcontinent who were loyal to the mughal empire. the title is an equivalent to the title maharaja.