1815-1914

The British Empire

Bahadur Shah Zafar II was the last descendant of the Moghul warrior sovereigns: Babur, Humayan, Akbar. By the time he acceded in 1837 the authority of the Mughal emperors had evaporated as the British took control of their lands in return but negotiating a pension (£200,000 a year for Bahadur). Whilst King, Bahadar maintained the trappings of the monarch until in 1857 when Muslim soldiers involved in the rebellion induced him to become their spiritual leader. When John Lawrence retook Delhi in September 1857, Bahadur was exiled to Rangoon.


Bahadur Shah Zafar