Shah Alam II (1728–1806 CE), also known as Ali Gauhar, is the eighteenth Mughal Emperor and son of the murdered Alamgir II.

He escapes to Allahabad in December 1759 and later successfully defends the throne from the traitorous Imad-ul-Mulk, who appoints Shah Jahan III as the emperor.

Later, he is nominated as the emperor by Ahmad Shah Durrani after the Third Battle of Panipat.

Shah Alam II is considered the only and rightful emperor, but he isn't 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.

One of his grandsons, along with a great grandson, marry the two daughters of the last Safavid ruler of Persia.

Shah Alam II also authors his own Diwan of poems and is known by the pen-name Aftab; his poems are guided, compiled and collected by Mirza Fakhir Makin.