Aurangzeb

Lore & Background

Aurangzeb and the Mughals belonged to a branch of the Timurid dynasty. He held administrative and military posts under his father Shah Jahan and gained recognition as an accomplished military commander. Aurangzeb served as the viceroy of the Deccan in 1636–1637 and the governor of Gujarat in 1645–1647. He jointly administered the provinces of Multan and Sindh in 1648–1652 and continued expeditions into the neighbouring Safavid territories.

In September 1657, Shah Jahan nominated his eldest and liberalist son Dara Shikoh as his successor, a move repudiated by Aurangzeb, who proclaimed himself emperor in February 1658. In April 1658, Aurangzeb defeated the allied army of Shikoh and the Kingdom of Marwar at the Battle of Dharmat. Aurangzeb's decisive victory at the Battle of Samugarh in May 1658 cemented his sovereignty and his suzerainty was acknowledged throughout the Empire. After Shah Jahan recovered from illness in July 1658, Aurangzeb declared him incompetent to rule and imprisoned his father in the Agra Fort.

Following this, Aurangzeb had Dara Shikoh executed by beheading and his head was placed in a box and presented to their imprisoned father. Aurangzeb's reign is characterised by a period of rapid military expansion, with several dynasties and states being overthrown by the Mughals and many atrocities against non-Muslims. The Mughals also surpassed Qing China as the world's largest economy and biggest manufacturing power. The Mughal military gradually improved and became one of the strongest armies in the world.

A staunch Muslim, Aurangzeb is credited with the construction of numerous mosques and patronising works of Arabic calligraphy. He successfully imposed the Fatawa-i Alamgiri as the principal regulating body of the empire and prohibited religiously forbidden activities in Islam. Although Aurangzeb suppressed several local revolts, he maintained cordial relations with foreign governments. His empire was also one of the largest in Indian history.

However, his emperorship has a complicated legacy. He is often criticized for his actions against non-Muslims, including his ordering of the demolition of non-Muslim schools and temples and the reimposition of the jizya, a tax on non-Muslims, which had been suspended for the previous 100 years by his great-grandfather Akbar.

Reader's Guide

Aurangzeb was born in Dahod on 3 November 1618. He was the sixth child of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. Aurangzeb was a patrilineal descendent of Timur. In June 1626, after an unsuccessful rebellion by his father, eight-year-old Aurangzeb and his brother Dara Shikoh were sent to the Mughal court in Lahore as hostages of their grandfather Jahangir and his wife, Nur Jahan, as part of their father's pardon deal.

After Jahangir died in 1627, Shah Jahan emerged victorious in the ensuing war of succession to the Mughal throne. Aurangzeb and his brother were consequently reunited with Shah Jahan in Agra in 1628. Aurangzeb's daily allowance was fixed at 500 rupees. As a Mughal prince, Aurangzeb received an education covering subjects like combat, military strategy, and administration.

His curriculum also included areas like Islamic studies, Turkic and Persian literature. Aurangzeb grew up fluent in the Hindustani language. He was also fluent in his ancestral language of Chagatai Turkic, but similar to his predecessors, he preferred to use Persian. He had mastered the Quran and the hadith.

On 28 May 1633, a war elephant stampeded through the Mughal imperial encampment. Aurangzeb rode against the elephant and threw his spear at its head. He was unhorsed but escaped death. For his courage, Aurangzeb's father conferred on him the title of Bahadur (brave) and presented him with gifts.

Three days later Aurangzeb turned fifteen. Shah Jahan weighed him and presented him 5,000 mohars, the elephant named Sudhakar, along with other presents worth 200,000 rupees. In December 1634, he was assigned to his first post with the rank of ten thousand horse and four thousand troopers, also was allowed to use the royal prerogative of red tent. Aurangzeb was nominally in charge of the force sent to Bundelkhand with the intent of subduing the rebellious ruler of Orchha, Jhujhar Singh.

By arrangement, Aurangzeb stayed in the rear, away from the fighting, and took the advice of his generals as the Mughal Army gathered and commenced the siege of Orchha in 1635. The campaign was successful and Singh was removed from power. Aurangzeb was appointed viceroy of the Deccan in 1636.