 One such community of early Shaikh colonists are the Qidwai, whose ancestor was Qazi Qidwa, a son of the Sultans of Rum, in what is now modern Turkey.The Qazi is said to have been sent him to the Awadh region to spread Islam, where he is said to have won over fifty villages to Islam.These fifty villages were later awarded to him, and the region became known as Qidwara.