Lucknow became important in 1528, when it was captured by Bābur, the first Mughal ruler of India. Under Akbar, his grandson, the city became part of Oudh province. Āṣaf al-Dawlah, who became nawab of Oudh (now Ayodhya) in 1775, transferred his capital from Faizabad to Lucknow. When the Indian Mutiny broke out in 1857, Sir Henry Lawrence (Lawrence, Sir Henry Montgomery), the British commissioner, and the European inhabitants of Lucknow were besieged for several months until rescued by British troops. The British then abandoned the city until the following year, when they regained control over India.

Lucknow contains notable examples of architecture. The Great Imāmbāṛā (1784) is a single-storied structure where Shīʿite Muslims assemble during the month of Muḥarram. The Rumi Darwaza, or Turkish Gate, was modeled (1784) after the Sublime Porte (Bab-i Hümayun) in Istanbul. The best-preserved monument is the Residency (1800), the scene of the defense by British troops during the Indian Mutiny. A memorial commemorating the Indians who died during the uprising was erected in 1957.

Among Lucknow's educational institutions are the University of Lucknow (1921), a music academy, an institute of Muslim theology, the Central Drug Research Institute (1951), an arts-and-crafts college, and a state museum. The city also has a botanical and a national zoological garden. Pop. (2001) 2,185,927.