Maharaja Sir Jang Bahadur of Nepal (1816-1877) - 1870

Head and shoulders carte de visite portrait of Maharaja Sir Jang Bahadur (1816-77), Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief, Nepal 1846-77 from the 'Album of cartes de visite portraits of Indian rulers and notables' taken by Bourne and Shepherd in the early 1870s. Born into an aristocratic family, Jang Bahadur joined the Nepalese military service at the age of 16 in 1832-33. After his family fell from favour he left Nepal but returned as a captain in the artillery in 1840 joining the palace bodyguard in 1841. He pursued his political ambitions by eliminating his major rivals, installing his own candidate on the throne, and making his post of Prime Minister hereditary within his family. Bahadur exercised almost unlimited power over internal affairs. He is credited with revising and codifying the Nepalese legal system into a single body of laws, the Muluki Ain of 1854. In 1874 he was given the title Knight Grand Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire.

Source : British Library