Having "immersed himself in the inner courtyards of the Mughal Court" (xxvii) for several years, he presents the events of 1857 from both sides. Courtesy of the National Army Museum, London.īut Dalrymple does more than simply bring this extraordinary story to life. Zafar's favourite wife, Zinat Mahal, c.1839. He was to be the last Mughal Emperor in India, whom Queen Victoria would succeed as the Empress of India. The reigning Emperor from 1837 was Bahadur Shah II, a poet better known by his pen-name Zafar. In this, the British proved the most successful. Most of the Muslim population continued to show obedience to the Emperor in Delhi, but the Marathas and the Sikhs - and the British of the East India Company - took the opportunity to try to increase their power. After the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughal dynasty fell into disarray. The great Mughal dynasty in India met an ignominious end, and William Dalrymple renders it dramatically in the book under review. You may use them without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer or the National Army Museum, as appropriate, and (2) mention this site. Apart from the first, the illustrations here are all on our own website.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |