Aurangzeb

Also called: Alamgir · Topic: The Mughal Empire: Babur to Aurangzeb · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 2 "Reshaping India's Political Map"; Class 8, Ch 3 "The Marathas"

Meaning

Aurangzeb, also called Alamgir, was the sixth great Mughal emperor (r. 1658–1707). He won the throne by defeating and killing his brothers and imprisoning his father, Shah Jahan. Under him the empire reached its largest size, but long Deccan wars and harsh religious policies left it weak. His reign is the turning point between the strong Mughal Empire and its quick collapse after 1707.

Explanation

Background: the war of succession (1657–1658)

• Shah Jahan fell ill in 1657. He wanted his eldest son, Dara Shikoh, to rule next.
• The Mughals had no fixed law of succession. No rule said which son would rule next.
• So the brothers fought for the throne.

• The winner took everything.

• Aurangzeb beat Dara Shikoh in a series of battles.

• He had Dara executed.

• He sent Dara's cut-off head to their father.

• His other two brothers were also removed. One was arrested and executed. The other was driven into exile.

• Shah Jahan was locked up in the Agra Fort. He stayed a prisoner there until he died.
• Aurangzeb crowned himself in 1658. He took the title 'Alamgir', meaning "conqueror of the world" (also read as "world-seizer" or "world-holder") [2].
• He ruled for almost 49 years, longer than any of the six great Mughals.

Expansion: the empire at its largest

• Aurangzeb was a skilled military leader. He conquered parts of the south, and the empire grew to its greatest size.
• Two Deccan kingdoms were annexed (taken over and made part of the empire):
• Bijapur, annexed 1686 [2];
• Golconda, annexed 1687 [2].

Religious policy

• He was a deeply religious, austere Sunni Muslim. "Austere" means he lived plainly, without luxury.
• Unlike Akbar, he personally followed all the rituals of his faith.
• He banned music and dance at court, saying they were un-Islamic.
• He brought back two taxes that Akbar had abolished:
• jizya, a tax that non-Muslims had to pay (a poll tax on "unbelievers"), commonly dated to 1679 [2];

• a pilgrimage tax on Hindus.

• He kept Hindus out of public offices and destroyed their schools and temples [2].

• The 1669 farman: a farman is a written royal order. In 1669 he ordered all governors "to demolish schools and temples of the infidels and put down their teachings and religious practices."
• What happened after the order:
• Temples at Banaras, Mathura and Somnath, and many others, were destroyed.
• Jain temples and Sikh gurudwaras were also destroyed.
• He persecuted Sufis and other Muslim sects, and also Zoroastrians (the religion of the Parsis).

• His persecution of the Sikhs of Punjab turned that community against Mughal rule [2].

• The debate: politics or faith?

• One view: his motives were mainly political. He wanted to show his power. Scholars point out that he also gave grants and promises of protection to some temples.
• The NCERT view: politics played a part. But his own farmans, especially the 1669 order, show that he also had a clear personal religious motive.

Results: the reversal in the Deccan

• His success in the south turned into a trap.
• He spent his last 25 years fighting war after war in the Deccan.
• Paying and feeding these armies emptied the treasury.

• Officers were far from the capital, so the administration was strained and central control weakened.

• He never crushed the Marathas. They were still undefeated when he died in 1707 [2].

• Heavy taxes, including the restored jizya, made farmers poorer over time [2].
• By the time he died, people across the empire were challenging his authority [2].
• The money shortage shows in buildings. Bibi-ka-Maqbara at Aurangabad (1679) copies the Taj Mahal but is smaller and plainer [4].
• His own verdict: in his last letters to two sons he wrote: "I came alone and am going away alone… I have not done well for the country and the people, and of the future there is no hope."
• The succession fight started again at once. His sons fought the Battle of Jajau (1707) right after his death [2].

Time, place and evidence

• Period: 1658–1707, the last of the six great Mughals. Babur was the first and Shah Jahan came just before him.
• Key people:
• Shah Jahan (his father, imprisoned in the Agra Fort);
• Dara Shikoh (his eldest brother, executed);
• Dilras Banu Begum, also called Rabia-ul-Daurani (his wife) [4];

• Azam Shah (his son, buried in the same funeral complex) [5][6].

• Regions: the north Indian heartland around Agra and Delhi; the Deccan, including Bijapur, Golconda and Maratha lands; Punjab, where the Sikhs lived.

• Written sources:
• The Maasir-i-Alamgiri is the court history of "the Emperor Aurangzib-Alamgir, reign 1658–1707 AD". It is a main source for his campaigns [3].

• His farmans, such as the 1669 order to governors, and his last letters to his sons show what he wanted and what he felt.

• Monuments:

• Bibi-ka-Maqbara, Aurangabad (Maharashtra), built in 1679 for Dilras Banu Begum. It copies the Taj Mahal's central dome, four minarets and wide square plinth, but is smaller and plainer. It is called the "Taj of the Deccan" [4].
• Tomb of Aurangzeb, Khuldabad, near Aurangabad. It is a plain, open-air grave in the courtyard of the shrine of Sufi saint Shaikh Burhan-u'd-din Gharib, with no dome and no marble [5].
• The tomb is an ASI-protected monument. It is part of a larger funeral complex that also holds the grave of Azam Shah and other family members [5][6].

Don't confuse with

• Akbar: Akbar abolished jizya and the Hindu pilgrimage tax. Aurangzeb brought both back.
• Taj Mahal (Agra): Shah Jahan built it for Mumtaz Mahal. The Bibi-ka-Maqbara (Aurangabad) was built in 1679 for Aurangzeb's wife Dilras Banu Begum. It is a smaller, plainer copy, called the "Taj of the Deccan" [4].
• Humayun's Tomb / Akbar's tomb: these are grand domed tombs. Aurangzeb's grave at Khuldabad is a plain, open-air grave in a Sufi shrine courtyard [5].
• Dara Shikoh: he was Shah Jahan's eldest son and his chosen heir. Aurangzeb was not the chosen heir. He defeated and executed Dara to take the throne.

Prelims Hooks

• Aurangzeb crowned himself in 1658 with the title 'Alamgir' ("conqueror of the world") and ruled until 1707 [2].
• Chronological order of the Deccan annexations: Bijapur (1686) → Golconda (1687) [2].
• The 1669 farman ordered all governors to destroy the schools and temples of non-believers. Temples at Banaras, Mathura and Somnath were destroyed.
• Maasir-i-Alamgiri is the court history of Aurangzeb's reign [3].
• Bibi-ka-Maqbara, Aurangabad (Maharashtra), built in 1679 for Dilras Banu Begum, is the "Taj of the Deccan" [4].
• Trap: Aurangzeb is not buried in a grand tomb. His plain grave is at Khuldabad, in the shrine of Shaikh Burhan-u'd-din Gharib [5]. He also did not defeat the Marathas [2].

Mains Points

• The largest empire was not the strongest empire. The Deccan wars made the empire bigger, but they emptied the treasury, stretched the administration and pushed peasants into poverty through heavy taxes [2]. Use this as a case of imperial overstretch (an empire growing beyond what it can afford to hold) to explain the fast Mughal decline after 1707.
• Political or religious motive: a ready "critically examine" answer.
• Political view: he wanted dominance, and he gave grants and protection to some temples.
• NCERT view: politics played a part, but the 1669 farman shows a clear personal religious motive too.

• Conclude that both motives were at work.

• His policies widened the opposition. Jizya, the pilgrimage tax and the destruction of temples and gurudwaras turned Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Sufis, other Muslim sects and Zoroastrians against Mughal rule [2].

• Link this to the rise of the Marathas, Sikhs and Jats as successor powers.
• Contrast it with Akbar's conciliation (jizya abolished) to show that legitimacy (people accepting the ruler's right to rule), not armies alone, held a diverse empire together.

Related concepts

• Mughal war of succession 1657-58
• Dara Shikoh
• Farman
• Fatawa-i-Alamgiri
• Badshahi Mosque, Lahore
• Bibi Ka Maqbara

Read more

• Aurangzeb (1658–1707): expansion and reversal