![]() He had no powers to resist it and knew that the event was doomed even before it officially started. A reluctant Zafar was declared the king of India in May 1857 when the sepoy mutiny broke out. As the years passed, the British progressively usurped his power. Zafar ascended Delhi’s throne when the Mughal Empire was already in steep decline. ![]() Denied any political powers by East India Company, Zafar succeeded in forging a court of brilliance and presided over what was perhaps one of the greatest cultural renaissance in the world.Įxploring the fall of the Mughal Empire, author William Dalrymple in The Last Mughal, uses new sources to pen to expound that stage of Indian history. While Zafar’s more illustrious ancestors controlled most of the Indian subcontinent, he was an emperor only in name. Zafar, in his lifetime, was a skilled calligrapher and a talented poet. The British officer in charge insists that no one is able locate the last resting place of Bahadur Shah Zafar II, the last Mogul emperor. A nondescript grave is ready inside the prison premises. ![]() ![]() A shrouded corpse is escorted by a motley crew of British soldiers. ![]()
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