India: The tomb of the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, in Mehrauli, Delhi. Watercolour by Sita Ram (fl. 1810-1822), 1815

Ali Gauhar (1728–1806 CE), historically known as Shah Alam II, the eighteenth Mughal Emperor, was the son of the murdered Alamgir II. He escaped to Allahabad in December 1759 and later successfully defended the throne from the traitorous Imad-ul-Mulk, who appointed Shah Jahan III as the emperor. Later, he was nominated as the emperor by Ahmad Shah Durrani after the Third Battle of Panipat.

Shah Alam II was considered the only and rightful emperor but he was not able to return to Delhi until 1772. He is known to have fought against the British East India Company during the Battle of Buxar and reformed the Mughal Army under the command of Mirza Najaf Khan and is thus known as one of the last effective Mughal Emperors.

Shah Alam II also authored his own Diwan of poems and was known by the pen-name Aftab. His poems were guided, compiled and collected by Mirza Fakhir Makin.

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