The Narayan dynasty was the ruling family of Benares. After the disintegration of the Mughal Empire in the 18th century, the family ruled Benares as tributories of the Nawab of Awadh and the East India Company. In 1911, Benares became a full-fledged princely state of British India, and the Narayan dynasty ruled it as British vassals until they acceded to independent India in 1948.