East India Company

Akbar Shah II (r. 1806-1837) was the penultimate Mughal emperor, holding a Delhi court that kept its ceremonial and literary life while the East India Company reduced its standing and revenue. He tried for thirty years to make Mirza Jahangir his heir instead of the future Bahadur Shah Zafar.

Siraj-ud-Daulah (c. 1729-1757) was the last independent Nawab of Bengal, whose brief reign ended in defeat at Plassey after his commander Mir Jafar defected to the British East India Company. His death in 1757 opened Bengal, the wealthiest Mughal province, to British rule.

The Mughal Empire (1526-1857) ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for three centuries, from Babur's victory at Panipat to the deposition of Bahadur Shah Zafar. At its height it was among the wealthiest and most populous states in the world.