https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Aurangzeb%3A_The_Man_and_the_MythAurangzeb: The Man and the Myth - Revision history2026-11-08T20:00:10ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aurangzeb:_The_Man_and_the_Myth&diff=488361&oldid=prevSvetltdz: added info2026-01-29T16:07:26Z<p>added info</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|2017 biography of Aurangzeb}}<br />
{{Infobox book<br />
| name = Aurangzeb: The Man and the Myth<br />
| image = File:Aurangzeb,_The_Man_and_the_Myth.jpeg<br />
| author = [[Audrey Truschke]]<br />
| country = India / United States<br />
| language = English<br />
| subject = Biography, Mughal Empire<br />
| publisher = Penguin Random House India; Stanford University Press (under alternate title)<br />
| published = February 2017 (India), May 2017 (USA)<br />
| pages = 208<br />
| isbn = 978-0-14-344271-4<br />
| isbn_note = (India)<br/>{{ISBN|978-1-5036-0203-8|plainlink=yes}} (USA)<br />
| award = Choice Outstanding Academic Title (2017)<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''''Aurangzeb: The Man and the Myth''''' is a 2017 biography of Mughal emperor [[Aurangzeb]] by historian [[Audrey Truschke]]. The book was published by [[Penguin Random House]] in India and later by [[Stanford University Press]] in the [[United States]] under the title '''''Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King'''''. It aims to deconstruct popular myths about Aurangzeb and place his rule within a nuanced historical framework.<ref name="hindu-review">{{cite news |last=Sundaram |first=Rama |title=Aurangzeb: A stranger no more |url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/aurangzeb-a-stranger-no-more/article17408332.ece |access-date=27 June 2025 |work=The Hindu |date=4 March 2017}}</ref><br />
<br />
== Overview ==<br />
The book challenges the Hindutva narrative of Aurangzeb as a fanatical and intolerant ruler by examining Persian chronicles, royal [[firman]]s, and Mughal court histories. Truschke argues that Aurangzeb’s actions were often driven by political pragmatism rather than religious dogma, and that he continued many policies of his predecessors, including temple grants and employing Hindu officials.<ref>{{cite web | last=Hashmi | first=Fahad | title=Book Review: Audrey Truschke's 'Aurangzeb: The Man And the Myth' | website=Cafe Dissensus Everyday | date=21 November 2017 | url=https://cafedissensusblog.com/2017/11/21/book-review-audrey-truschkes-aurangzeb-the-man-and-the-myth/ | access-date=2 July 2025}}</ref><ref name="ie-review">{{cite news |last=Jain |first=Saumya |title=Aurangzeb is a complex king, not a cartoon bigot |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/audrey-truschkes-aurangzeb-is-a-complex-king-not-a-cartoon-bigot-aurangzeb-the-man-and-the-myth-4616236/ |access-date=27 June 2025 |work=The Indian Express |date=22 April 2017}}</ref> Among the key issues the book reconsiders are the reimposition of the ''[[jizya]]'' tax, temple demolitions, and conflicts with other religious communities. Truschke presents these within a broader Mughal imperial context, contending that Aurangzeb’s reign was more about statecraft than ideology.<ref>{{cite book |last=Truschke |first=Audrey |title=Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King |year=2017 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=9781503602038}}</ref> It was named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title in 2017.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.sup.org/books/history/aurangzeb |title=Aurangzeb {{!}} Stanford University Press |date=2017-05-16 |isbn=978-1-5036-0257-1 |language=en}}</ref><br />
<br />
== Reception ==<br />
Munis D. Faruqui, a historian of Mughal India, found the book to be an excellent work aimed at non-specialists, and praised Truschke's willingness to tackle the topic despite being aware about the inevitability of "vicious personal attacks from mostly nonacademic critics".<ref name="Faruqu">{{Cite journal |last=Faruqui |first=Munis D. |date=6 March 2019 |title=Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King. By Audrey Truschke |url=https://academic.oup.com/jaar/article/87/1/299/5145726 |journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion |volume=87 |issue=1 |pages=299–303 |doi=10.1093/jaarel/lfy040 |issn=0002-7189 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><br />
<br />
=== Academic reviews ===<br />
<br />
* Mondini, S. (2018). [Review of ''Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India’s Most Controversial King'', by A. TRUSCHKE]. ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London'', ''81''(3), 555–557. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26849744. <br />
* Kothiyal, T. (2018). [Review of ''Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India’s Most Controversial King'', by A. Truschke]. ''The Sixteenth Century Journal'', ''49''(4), 1241–1244. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27038635. <br />
* {{cite journal |last=Faruqui |first=Munis D. |date=6 March 2019 |title=Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King. By Audrey Truschke |url=https://academic.oup.com/jaar/article-abstract/87/1/299/5145726?redirectedFrom=fulltext |journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion |volume=87 |issue=1 |pages=299–303 |doi=10.1093/jaarel/lfy040 |issn=0002-7189 |url-access=subscription}}<br />
* {{cite journal |last=Roy |first=Muktiprakash |date=February 2021 |title=Interrogating the Politics of Historiography: A Critical Reading of Audrey Truschke's Aurangzeb: The Man and the Myth |url=https://ir.vidyasagar.ac.in/handle/123456789/5861 |journal=Journal of the Department of English |publisher=Registrar, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India |volume=14 |issn=0973-3671}}<br />
* {{cite journal |last1=Iftikhar |first1=Tahreem |last2=Hassan |first2=Najam Ul |date=2022 |title=Re-evaluation of History in Truschke's ''Aurangzeb: The Man and The Myth'', Postmodern Historiography Analysis |url=https://plhr.org.pk/article/re-evaluation-of-history-in-truschke-s-aurangzeb-the-man-and-the-myth-postmodern-historiography-analysis |journal=Pakistan Languages and Humanities Review |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=1127–1136 |doi=10.47205/plhr.2022(6-II)95 |issn=2708-6453 |doi-access=free}}<br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
* [[Aurangzeb]]<br />
* [[Audrey Truschke]]<br />
* [[Jadunath Sarkar#Works|Jadunath Sarkar's ''History of Aurangzeb'']]<br />
* [[Religious policy of the Mughals after Akbar#Aurangzeb|Religious policy under Aurangzeb]]<br />
* [[Guru Tegh Bahadur]]<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
{{Authority control}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:2017 non-fiction books]]<br />
[[Category:Books about the Mughal Empire]]<br />
[[Category:History books about India]]<br />
[[Category:Penguin Random House books]]<br />
[[Category:Stanford University Press books]]</div>Svetltdz