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On this day, 166 years ago, in 1857, the last Mughal Emperor of India, Bahadur Shah II (d. 1862) gave his tacit support to the sepoys who had rebelled against the British, in what would later be called 'The Mutiny of 1857' (or, perhaps more accurately, the 'First War of Independence'). Even though by this stage the Mughal palace had no authority, much less any weapons or wealth, it was a tacit nod in favor of the Mutineers that helped many others join their cause. Sadly, the Mutiny failed for many (obvious) reasons, of them was the absence of a unifying leader that combined the Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus against the British. The British quelled the rebellion, massacred tens of thousands of people, and (in one of the most ironic incidents in British history) accused the Mughal Emperor of treason because he sided with his people against the Queen. While some of his sons were executed, the Emperor was stripped of his title, and eventually sent into exile to Rangoon, where he died an impoverished, broken man (as his eloquent poetry so sadly chronicles). There are only two known photographs of the Bahadur Shah, and hence only two photographs of any Mughal emperor. Note: Obviously the story is much more complex than this and some liberties have been taken in this brief tweet.