the last Mughal emperor of India (reigned 1837–58). He was a poet, musician, and calligrapher, more an aesthete than a political leader.

He was the second son of Akbar Shāh II and Lāl Bāī. For most of his reign he was a client of the British and was without real authority. He figured briefly, and unwillingly, in the Indian Mutiny of 1857–58; during the mutiny, rebel troops from the city of Meerut seized Delhi and compelled Bahādur Shāh to accept nominal leadership of the revolt. At the age of 82, and in fear of his life, he acquiesced. After the rebellion was put down by the British, he was exiled to Burma (Myanmar) with his family.