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Bahadur Shah Zafar
Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-Din Muhammad Bahadur Shah
Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-Din Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar II was the last Mughal Emperor of India. A celebrated Urdu poet and calligrapher, he was more a poet-king than a military commander. His nominal rule was entirely under the control of the British East India Company. When the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (the First War of Independence) erupted, the sepoys proclaimed him their symbolic leader. After the revolt was suppressed, Bahadur Shah was arrested, tried for treason by the British, and exiled to Rangoon (Burma), where he died in 1862 — ending the 331-year Mughal dynasty.
What you need to know
- Born 24 October 1775 in Delhi
- Became emperor in 1837 but was largely a pensioner of the British
- Proclaimed leader of the 1857 Indian Rebellion by rebel sepoys
- Tried and convicted of treason after British suppression of the revolt
- Exiled to Rangoon (Yangon, Burma) in 1858
- Died 7 November 1862 in Rangoon; buried there
- Famous couplet: 'Kitna hai bad-naseeb Zafar dafn ke liye / Do gaz zameen bhi na mili koo-e-yaar mein'
Relations
Family
- Descendant of
- Aurangzeb
Facts at a glance
- Born
- Died
- Gender
- MALE
- Religion
- ISLAM
- Type
- RULER
Details
- Full Name
- Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-Din Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar
- Born
- 24 October 1775, Delhi
- Died
- 7 November 1862, Rangoon, Burma
- Reign
- 1837–1857
- Buried
- Rangoon (Yangon), Myanmar
- Known For
- Urdu poetry, Ghazals, 1857 Rebellion
- Pen Name
- Zafar (Victory)