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{{Short description|Sixth Mughal Emperor (1618–1707)}}
{{About|the Mughal emperor|the Indian movie of the same name|Aurangzeb (film)}}
{{Use Indian English|4 =July 2016|date=April 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox royalty
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad<br>Aurangzeb<br/>{{Nobold|{{lang|fa|{{nq|محی‌الدین محمد اورنگزیب}}}}}}
| name = Aurangzeb <br> اورنگ‌زیب| image = File:Aurangzeb.png
| image       = Aurangzeb-portrait.jpg
| title = [[Shah]]<br>[[Amir al-Mu'minin]]
| caption      = Emperor Aurangzeb seated on a throne in the [[Durbar (court)|darbar]] with a [[hawk]]
| image_size = 200px
| succession   = [[Mughal emperor]] ([[Padishah]])
| caption = Portrait of Aurangzeb
| reign       = 31 July 1658{{snd}}3 March 1707
| succession = [[File:Fictional flag of the Mughal Empire.svg|border|22x20px]] 6th [[Mughal Emperor]]
| reign-type  = Tenure
| reign = 31 July 1658&nbsp;– 3 March 1707
| coronation   = 13 June 1659 at [[Shalimar Bagh, Delhi]]
| coronation = 13 June 1659
| predecessor = [[Shah Jahan]]
| predecessor = [[Shah Jahan]]
| successor   = [[Muhammad Azam Shah]] (titular)<br />[[Bahadur Shah I]]
| successor = [[Muhammad Azam Shah]]
| birth_name  = Muḥī al-Dīn Muḥammad<ref name="eb" />
| house = [[Timurid dynasty|Timurid]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1618|11|3|df=y}} {{smaller|([[Adoption of the Gregorian calendar|N.S.]])}}
| dynasty = [[Timurid dynasty|Timurid]]
| birth_place = [[Dahod]], [[Mughal Empire]] (present-day [[Gujarat]], India)
| father = [[Shah Jahan]]
| death_date   = 3 March 1707 {{smaller|([[Adoption of the Gregorian calendar|N.S.]])}} (aged 88)
| mother = [[Mumtaz Mahal]]
| death_place = [[Ahmednagar]], [[Mughal Empire]] (present-day [[Maharashtra]], India)
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1618|11|4|df=y}} {{smaller|([[Old Style and New Style dates|N.S.]])}}
| issue        = {{Unbulleted list
| birth_place = [[Dahod]], [[Mughal Empire]]
  | [[Zeb-un-Nissa]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1707|3|3|1618|11|4|df=y}}
  | [[Muhammad Sultan (Mughal prince)|Muhammad Sultan]]
| death_place = [[Ahmednagar]], [[India]]
  | [[Zinat-un-Nissa Begum]]
| burial_place = [[Khuldabad]]
  | [[Bahadur Shah I]]
| religion = [[Sunni Islam]] ([[Hanafi]])
  | [[Badr-un-Nissa Begum]]
  | [[Zubdat-un-Nissa Begum]]
  | [[Muhammad Azam Shah]]
  | [[Sultan Muhammad Akbar]]
  | [[Mihr-un-Nissa Begum]]
  | [[Muhammad Kam Bakhsh]]
}}
}}
| full name    = Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad<ref name="eb" />
| regnal name  = Alamgir<ref name="eb" />
| posthumous name = Khuld Makani ({{lang-fa|خلد مکانی|translation=Dwelling in eternal paradise}})
| house        = [[Timurid dynasty|Timurid]]
| father      = [[Shah Jahan]]
| mother      = [[Mumtaz Mahal]]
| religion    = [[Sunni Islam]]
| spouse      = [[Dilras Banu Begum]]
<ref name="soma">{{cite book|last1=Mukerjee|first1=Soma|title=Royal Mughal ladies and their contributions|date=2001|publisher=Gyan Publishing House|page=23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v-2TyjzZhZEC&pg=PA23|isbn=9788121207607}}</ref><ref name=Sarkar1912>{{cite book|last1=Sarkar|first1=Sir Jadunath|title=History of Aurangzib Vol. I|date=1912|publisher=M.C. Sarkar & Sons|location=Calcutta|page=61|url=https://jambudveep.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/history-of-aurangzeb-vol-1.pdf}}</ref>
| spouse-type  = Consort
| spouses      = {{plain list|
* [[Nawab Bai]]<ref name="soma" /><ref name="Sarkar1912" />
* [[Aurangabadi Mahal]]<ref name="soma" /><ref name="Sarkar1912" />
* [[Udaipuri Mahal]]<ref name="soma" /><ref name="Sarkar1912" />
}}
| spouses-type = Wives
| burial_place = [[Tomb of Aurangzeb]], [[Khuldabad]], [[Aurangabad district, Maharashtra|Aurangabad]], Maharashtra, India
}}
{{Mughal}}
[[File:Face detail, Aurangzeb Bahadur holding an iris (6124502565) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|upright|Aurangzeb Bahadur holding an iris|alt=]]
'''Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad'''<ref name="Thackeray">{{cite book |editor-last1=Thackeray |editor-first1=Frank W. |editor-last2=Findling |editor-first2=John E. |title=Events that formed the modern world : from the European Renaissance through the War on Terror|date=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, Calif.|isbn=9781598849011|page=248}}</ref> ({{lang-fa|{{nq|{{nq|محی‌الدین محمد}}}}}}) (3 November 1618{{snd}}3 March 1707),<ref name="eb">{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Spear|first1=Percival|author-link=Percival Spear|title=Aurangzeb|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|url=http://www.britannica.com/biography/Aurangzeb|access-date=6 April 2016}}</ref> commonly known by the [[sobriquet]] {{lang|fa-Latn|'''Aurangzeb'''|italics=no}} ({{Lang-fa|{{nq|اورنگزیب}}|lit=Ornament of the Throne}})<ref name="Thackeray" /> or by his regnal title {{lang|fa-Latn|'''Alamgir'''}} (Persian: "Conqueror of the World"),<ref>{{cite book|title=Dictionary of Wars|date=2013|publisher=Taylor and Francis|location=Hoboken|isbn=9781135954949|page=387}}</ref> was the sixth [[Mughal emperor]], who ruled over almost the entire [[Indian subcontinent]] for a period of 49 years.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chapra|first1=Muhammad Umer|title=Morality and Justice in Islamic Economics and Finance|date=2014|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=9781783475728|pages=62–63|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Bayly|first1=C.A.|title=Indian society and the making of the British Empire|date=1990|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge [England]|isbn=9780521386500|page=7|edition=1st pbk.}}</ref><ref name="Peter_2006">{{cite journal |last1=Turchin|first1=Peter|last2=Adams|first2=Jonathan M.|last3=Hall|first3=Thomas D | title = East-West Orientation of Historical Empires | journal = Journal of World-Systems Research|date=December 2006 |volume=12|issue=2 |page=223 |url =http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/369/381|access-date=12 September 2016 |issn= 1076-156X}}</ref> Widely considered to be the last effective ruler of the [[Mughal Empire]],<ref name=Asher>Catherine Blanshard Asher, (1992) [https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0521267285 "Architecture of Mughal India – Part 1"], Cambridge university Press, Volume 1, Page 252.</ref> Aurangzeb compiled the [[Fatawa-e-Alamgiri]], and was among the few monarchs to have fully established [[Sharia]] law and [[Islamic economics]] throughout the Indian subcontinent.<ref name="Hussein2002" /><ref>{{cite book|author1=Kawser Ahmed|author2=Helal Mohiuddin|title=The Rohingya Crisis: Analyses, Responses, and Peacebuilding Avenues|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Rohingya_Crisis/sQXFDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA8|date=2019|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=9781498585750|page=8}}</ref> He was an accomplished military leader<ref>{{cite book |last1=Balabanlilar |first1=Lisa |title=Imperial Identity in the Mughal Empire: Memory and Dynastic Politics in Early Modern South and Central Asia |date=2015 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-0-85773-246-0 |page=129 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VQmcDQAAQBAJ&pg=PG129 |language=en}}</ref> whose rule has been the subject of praise, though he has also been described as the most controversial ruler in [[Indian history]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Aurangzeb : The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King|last=Truschke|first=Audrey|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|year=2017|isbn=9781503602595|chapter=Chapter 1: Introducing Aurangzeb|chapter-url=https://www.sup.org/books/extra/?id=28067&i=Chapter%201.html|access-date=17 November 2018|quote=Some follow the Indian line that Aurangzeb was a straight-up bigot, whereas others view him as one of the few truly righteous Muslim rulers of old. }}</ref>
He was a notable expansionist; during his reign, the Mughal Empire reached its great extent, ruling over nearly all of the Indian subcontinent.<ref name="borocz">{{cite book|author=József Böröcz|title=The European Union and Global Social Change|page=21|publisher=[[Routledge]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d0SPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA21|access-date=26 June 2017|isbn=9781135255800|date=10 September 2009|author-link=József Böröcz}}</ref> During his lifetime, victories in the south expanded the Mughal Empire to 4 million square kilometres,<ref name="Taagepera">{{cite journal|date=September 1997|title=Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia|journal=[[International Studies Quarterly]]|volume=41|issue=3|page=500|doi=10.1111/0020-8833.00053|author=Rein Taagepera|author-link=Rein Taagepera|jstor=2600793|url=http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/3cn68807}}</ref> and he ruled over a population estimated to be over 158 million subjects.<ref name="borocz"/><!--with an annual revenue of $450 million (more than ten times that of his contemporary [[Louis XIV of France]]) in 1690.<ref name="harrison" />{{pn|date=December 2020}}  --> Under his reign, India surpassed [[Qing dynasty|Qing China]] to become the world's largest economy and biggest manufacturing power, worth nearly a quarter of [[Gross world product|global GDP]] and more than the entirety of Western Europe, and its largest and wealthiest subdivision, the [[Bengal Subah]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Modern World System and Indian Proto-industrialization: Bengal 1650-1800, (Volume 1)|author=Abhay Kumar Singh|publisher=Northern Book Centre|year=2006|isbn=9788172112011}}</ref> signaled [[proto-industrialization]].<ref>[[Angus Maddison|Maddison, Angus]] (2003): ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=rHJGz3HiJbcC&pg=PA259 Development Centre Studies The World Economy Historical Statistics: Historical Statistics]'', [[OECD Publishing]], {{ISBN|9264104143}}, pages 259–261</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=How India Clothed the World: The World of South Asian Textiles, 1500-1850|author=Giorgio Riello, Tirthankar Roy|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|year=2009|page=174|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=niuwCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA174|isbn=9789047429975}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Negate Fighting Faith|author=Ahmed Sayeed|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Negate_Fighting_Faith/IGnQDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA201|page=201|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2020|isbn=9789388660792}}</ref>
Aurangzeb was noted for his religious piety; he [[Hafiz (Quran)|memorized the entire Quran]], studied [[hadith]]s and stringently observed the rituals of Islam,<ref name=Richards1996p128 /><ref name="Truschke2017">{{cite book |last1=Truschke |first1=Audrey |year=2017 |title=Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King |publisher=978-0141001432|page=66|isbn=978-1503602571}}</ref>  and "transcribe[d] copies of the Quran."<ref name="Dasgupta1975">{{cite journal |last=Dasgupta |first=K. |year=1975 |title=How Learned Were the Mughals: Reflections on Muslim Libraries in India |journal=The Journal of Library History |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=241–254 |jstor=25540640}}</ref><ref name="Qadir1936">{{cite journal |last=Qadir |first=K.B.S.S.A. |year=1936 |title=The Cultural Influences of Islam in India |journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Arts |volume=84 |issue=4338 |pages=228–241 |jstor=41360651}}</ref> He also patronized works of [[Islamic calligraphy|Islamic]] and [[Arabic calligraphy]].<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Librarianship and Library Science in India: An Outline of Historical Perspectives|author=Taher, M.|date=1994|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=9788170225249|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qRLXDBX5KzkC|page=54|access-date=3 October 2014}}</ref>
Multiple interpretations of Aurangzeb's life and reign over the years by critics have led to a very complicated legacy. Some argue that his policies abandoned his predecessors' legacy of pluralism and religious tolerance, citing his introduction of the ''[[jizya]]'' tax and other policies based on [[Islamic ethics]]; his demolition of [[Hindu temple]]s; the executions of his elder brother [[Dara Shikoh]], [[Sambhaji|King Sambhaji]] of [[Maratha Kingdom|Maratha]]<ref name="Mehta2005">{{cite book|author=J. L. Mehta|title=Advanced Study in the History of Modern India: Volume One: 1707 – 1813|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC&pg=PA47|page=47|access-date=7 April 2016|year=2005 |publisher=Sterling Publishers |isbn=978-1-932705-54-6}}</ref><ref name="SBBhattacherje2009">{{cite book | author=S. B. Bhattacherje | title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Events & Dates | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oGVSvXuCsyUC&pg=SL1-PA81 | access-date=6 March 2012 | date=1 May 2009 | publisher=Sterling Publishers | isbn=978-81-207-4074-7 | pages = A80–A81 }}</ref> and [[Guru Tegh Bahadur|Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur]];<ref>{{cite book |last=Ayalon |first=David |year=1986 |title=Studies in Islamic History and Civilisation |publisher=Brill |page=271 |isbn=978-965-264-014-7}}</ref><ref>Abraham Eraly (2000), Emperors of the Peacock Throne: The Saga of the Great Mughals, Penguin Books, {{ISBN|978-0141001432}}, pages 398–399. According to Abraham Eraly, "in 1670, all temples around Ujjain were destroyed" and later "300 temples were destroyed in and around Chitor, Udaipur and Jaipur" among other Hindu temples destroyed elsewhere in campaigns through 1705.<br /><br />Avari writes, "Aurangzeb's religious policy caused friction between him and the ninth Sikh guru, Tegh Bahadur. In both Punjab and Kashmir the Sikh leader was roused to action by Aurangzeb's excessively zealous Islamic policies. Seized and taken to Delhi, he was called upon by Aurangzeb to embrace Islam and, on refusal, was tortured for five days and then beheaded in November 1675. Two of the ten Sikh gurus thus died as martyrs at the hands of the Mughals. (Avari (2013), page 115)</ref>{{efn|See also [http://www.aurangzeb.info/ "Aurangzeb, as he was according to Mughal Records"]; more links at the bottom of that page. For Muslim historian's record on major Hindu temple destruction campaigns, from 1193 to 1729 AD, see Richard Eaton (2000), Temple Desecration and Indo-Muslim States, Journal of Islamic Studies, Vol. 11, Issue 3, pages 283–319}} and the prohibition and supervision of behaviour and activities that are [[Haram|forbidden in Islam]] such as gambling, fornication, and consumption of alcohol and narcotics.<ref>{{cite book |last=Haroon |first=Asif |year=2004 |title=Muhammad Bin Qasim to General Pervez Musharraf: Triumphs, Tribulations |location=Lahore |publisher=Sang-e-Meel |page=70 |isbn=978-969-35-1624-1 |quote=To start with, Aurangzeb gradually transformed the system of governance as per the dictates of Shariah ... He curbed practices of gambling, drinking, music and prostitution}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mughal-dynasty|title=Mughal dynasty {{!}} History, Map, & Facts|work=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2018-10-06}}</ref> At the same time, some historians question the historical authenticity of the claims of his critics, arguing that his destruction of temples has been exaggerated,{{sfn|Avari|2013|p=115 |ps=: citing a 2000 study, writes "Aurangzeb was perhaps no more culpable than most of the sultans before him; they desecrated the temples associated with Hindu power, not all temples. It is worth noting that, in contrast to the traditional claim of hundreds of Hindu temples having been destroyed by Aurangzeb, a recent study suggests a modest figure of eighty destructions."}}<ref name="Truschke85">{{cite book|title=Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King|last=Truschke |first=Audrey |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|year=2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oUUkDwAAQBAJ |page=85 |isbn=9781503602595 |quote=Nobody knows the exact number of temples demolished or pillaged on Aurangzeb’s orders, and we never will. Richard Eaton, the leading authority on the subject, puts the number of confirmed temple destructions during Aurangzeb's rule at just over a dozen, with fewer tied to the emperor's direct commands. Other scholars have pointed out additional temple demolitions not counted by Eaton, such as two orders to destroy the Somanatha Temple in 1659 and 1706 (the existence of a second order suggests that the first was never carried out). Aurangzeb also oversaw temple desecrations. For example, in 1645 he ordered mihrabs (prayer niches, typically located in mosques) erected in Ahmedabad's Chintamani Parshvanath Temple, built by the Jain merchant Shantidas. Even adding in such events, however, to quote Eaton, "the evidence is almost always fragmentary, incomplete, or even contradictory". Given this, there were probably more temples destroyed under Aurangzeb than we can confirm (perhaps a few dozen in total?), but here we run into a dark curtain drawn across an unknown past.}}</ref> and noting that he built more temples than he destroyed,<ref name="Copland2013">{{cite book|author1=Ian Copland|title=A History of State and Religion in India|author2=Ian Mabbett|author3=Asim Roy|author4=Kate Brittlebank|author5=Adam Bowles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uWcZulI5tL0C&pg=PA119|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=978-1-136-45950-4|page=119}}</ref> paid for their maintenance, employed significantly more Hindus in his imperial bureaucracy than his predecessors, and opposed bigotry against Hindus and [[Shia Muslims]].<ref name="Truschke50">{{cite book|title=Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King|last=Truschke |first=Audrey |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|year=2017|page=58|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oUUkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT50|isbn=9781503602595}}</ref>
==Early life==
[[File:ShujaAurganzebMurad.jpg|thumb|right|upright|A painting from c. 1637 shows the brothers (left to right) [[Shah Shuja (Mughal)|Shah Shuja]], Aurangzeb and [[Murad Baksh]] in their younger years.]]
Aurangzeb was born on 3 November 1618, in [[Dahod]], Gujarat. He was the third son and sixth child of [[Shah Jahan]] and [[Mumtaz Mahal]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Waseem |editor-first=M. |year=2003 |title=On Becoming an Indian Muslim: French Essays on Aspects of Syncretism |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New Delhi |page=103 |isbn=978-0-19-565807-1}}</ref> In June 1626, after an unsuccessful rebellion by his father, eight-year-old Aurangzeb and his brother [[Dara Shukoh]] were sent to the Mughal court in [[Lahore]] as hostages of grandparents [[Jahangir]] and [[Nur Jahan]], as part of their father's pardon deal.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Eaton|first=Richard M.|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1243310832|title=India in the Persianate Age : 1000-1765|publisher=University of California Press|year=2019|isbn=978-0-520-97423-4|pages=251|oclc=1243310832}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Gandhi|first=Supriya|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1112130290|title=The emperor who never was : Dara Shukoh in Mughal India|date=2020|isbn=978-0-674-98729-6|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|pages=52-53|oclc=1112130290}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gandhi|first=Supriya|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1112130290|title=The emperor who never was : Dara Shukoh in Mughal India|date=2020|isbn=978-0-674-98729-6|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|pages=59-62|oclc=1112130290}}</ref>
Aurangzeb received a Mughal princely education covering subjects like combat, military strategy, and administration. His curriculum also included scholarly areas like Islamic studies and [[Turkish literature|Turkic]] and [[Persian literature]]. Aurangzeb grew up fluent in the [[Hindi]] of his time.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Truschke|first=Audrey|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/962025936|title=Aurangzeb : the life and legacy of India's most controversial king|date=2017|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=978-1-5036-0259-5|location=Stanford, California|pages=17-18|oclc=962025936}}</ref>
On 28 May 1633, Aurangzeb escaped death when a powerful [[war elephant]] stampeded through the Mughal imperial encampment. He rode against the elephant and struck its trunk with a [[lance]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Schimmel|first=Annemarie|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N7sewQQzOHUC|year=2004|title=The empire of the great Mughals|publisher=Reaktion Books|place=London|isbn=978-1-86189-185-3|page=54}}</ref> and successfully defended himself from being crushed. Aurangzeb's valour was appreciated by his father who conferred him the title of ''[[Rao Bahadur|Bahadur]]'' (Brave) and had him weighed in gold and presented gifts worth Rs. 200,000. This event was celebrated in Persian and [[Urdu]] verses, and Aurangzeb said:<ref name="Hansen1986">{{cite book|author=Waldemar Hansen|title=The Peacock Throne: The Drama of Mogul India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AV--abKg9GEC&pg=PA122|access-date=23 November 2012|date=1 January 1986|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0225-4|pages=122–124}}</ref>{{clarify|What did his brothers do?|date=February 2020}}
{{blockquote|If the (elephant) fight had ended fatally for me, it would not have been a matter of shame. Death drops the curtain even on Emperors; it is no dishonor. The shame lay in what my brothers did!}}
==Early military campaigns and administration==
===Bundela War===
[[File:The capture of Orchha by imperial forces (October 1635).jpg|thumb|right|upright|The [[Mughal Army]] under the command of Aurangzeb recaptures [[Orchha]] in October 1635.]]
Aurangzeb was nominally in charge of the force sent to [[Bundelkhand]] with the intent of subduing the rebellious ruler of [[Orchha State|Orchha]], [[Jhujhar Singh]], who had attacked another territory in defiance of Shah Jahan's policy and was refusing to atone for his actions. 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.<ref name="Richards1996p130">{{harvtxt|Richards|1996|p=130}}</ref>
===Viceroy of the Deccan===
[[File:Prince Awrangzeb (Aurangzeb) facing a maddened elephant named Sudhakar (7 June 1633).jpg|thumb|A painting from ''[[Padshahnama]]'' depicts Prince Aurangzeb facing a maddened [[war elephant]] named ''Sudhakar''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Abdul Hamid Lahori |url=http://warfare.atspace.eu/Moghul/ShahJahan/Prince_Awrangzeb_facing_a_maddened_elephant_named_Sudhakar.htm |title=Prince Awrangzeb (Aurangzeb) facing a maddened elephant named Sudhakar |year=1636 |website=Padshahnama |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106034412/http://warfare.atspace.eu/Moghul/ShahJahan/Prince_Awrangzeb_facing_a_maddened_elephant_named_Sudhakar.htm |archive-date=6 January 2014}}</ref>]]
Aurangzeb was appointed viceroy of the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]] in 1636.<ref name="Markovits2004p103">{{cite book |date=2004 |orig-year=First published 1994 as ''Histoire de l'Inde Moderne'' |editor-first=Claude |editor-last=Markovits |title=A History of Modern India, 1480–1950 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uzOmy2y0Zh4C |edition=2nd |location=London |publisher=Anthem Press |page=103 |isbn=978-1-84331-004-4}}</ref> After Shah Jahan's vassals had been devastated by the alarming expansion of [[Ahmednagar]] during the reign of the [[Nizam Shahi]] boy-prince [[Murtaza Shah III]], the emperor dispatched Aurangzeb, who in 1636 brought the Nizam Shahi dynasty to an end.<ref>George Michell and Mark Zebrowski, ''Architecture and Art of the Deccan Sultanates'', (Cambridge University Press, 1999), 12.</ref> In 1637, Aurangzeb married the [[Safavid]] princess [[Dilras Banu Begum]], posthumously known as Rabia-ud-Daurani. She was his first wife and chief consort as well as his favourite.<ref>{{cite book |last=Eraly |first= Abraham |author-link=Abraham Eraly |year=2007 |title=The Mughal World: Life in India's Last Golden Age |url=https://archive.org/details/mughalworldlifei00eral |url-access=limited |publisher=Penguin Books India |page=[https://archive.org/details/mughalworldlifei00eral/page/n157 147] |isbn=978-0-14-310262-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Chandra |first=Satish |year=2002 |orig-year=First published 1959 |title=Parties and politics at the Mughal Court, 1707–1740 |edition=4th |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=50 |isbn=978-0-19-565444-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Hamid|first1=Annie Krieger Krynicki ; translated from French by Enjum|title=Captive princess : Zebunissa, daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb|date=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Karachi|isbn=9780195798371|page=92}}</ref> He also had an infatuation with a slave girl, [[Zainabadi Mahal|Hira Bai]], whose death at a young age greatly affected him. In his old age, he was under the charms of his concubine, [[Udaipuri Mahal|Udaipuri Bai]]. The latter had formerly been a companion to Dara Shukoh.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Katherine Butler |last=Brown |date=January 2007 |title=Did Aurangzeb Ban Music? Questions for the Historiography of his Reign |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=82–84 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X05002313}}</ref> In the same year, 1637, Aurangzeb was placed in charge of annexing the small [[Rajput]] kingdom of [[Baglana]], which he did with ease.<ref name=Richards1996p128>{{harvtxt|Richards|1996|p=128}}</ref>
In 1644, Aurangzeb's sister, [[Jahanara Begum Sahib|Jahanara]], was burned when the chemicals in her perfume were ignited by a nearby lamp while in [[Agra]]. This event precipitated a family crisis with political consequences. Aurangzeb suffered his father's displeasure by not returning to Agra immediately but rather three weeks later. Shah Jahan had been nursing Jahanara back to health in that time and thousands of vassals had arrived in Agra to pay their respects.{{Citation needed|date=October 2012}} Shah Jahan was outraged to see Aurangzeb enter the interior palace compound in military attire and immediately dismissed him from his position of viceroy of the Deccan; Aurangzeb was also no longer allowed to use red tents or to associate himself with the official military standard of the Mughal emperor.{{Citation needed|date=October 2012}} Other sources tell us that Aurangzeb was dismissed from his position because Aurangzeb left the life of luxury and became a ''[[faqir]]''.<ref>Ahmad, Fazl. Heroes of Islam. Lahore: Sh. Muhammad Ashraff, 1993. Print.</ref>
In 1645, he was barred from the court for seven months and mentioned his grief to fellow Mughal commanders. Thereafter, Shah Jahan appointed him governor of Gujarat where he served well and was rewarded for bringing stability.{{Citation needed|date=October 2012}}
In 1647, Shah Jahan moved Aurangzeb from Gujarat to be governor of [[Balkh]], replacing a younger son, [[Murad Baksh]], who had proved ineffective there. The area was under attack from [[Uzbeks|Uzbek]] and [[Turkmen people|Turkmen]] tribes. While the Mughal artillery and muskets were a formidable force, so too were the skirmishing skills of their opponents. The two sides were in stalemate and Aurangzeb discovered that his army could not live off the land, which was devastated by war. With the onset of winter, he and his father had to make a largely unsatisfactory deal with the Uzbeks, giving away territory in exchange for nominal recognition of Mughal sovereignty. The Mughal force suffered still further with attacks by Uzbeks and other tribesmen as it retreated through the snow to [[Kabul]]. By the end of this two-year campaign, into which Aurangzeb had been plunged at a late stage, a vast sum of money had been expended for little gain.<ref>{{harvtxt|Richards|1996|pp=132–3}}</ref>
Further inauspicious military involvements followed, as Aurangzeb was appointed governor of [[Multan]] and [[Sindh]]. His efforts in 1649 and 1652 to [[Mughal sieges of Kandahar (1649–53)|dislodge the Safavids]] at [[Kandahar]], which they had recently retaken after a decade of Mughal control, both ended in failure as winter approached. The logistical problems of supplying an army at the extremity of the empire, combined with the poor quality of armaments and the intransigence of the opposition have been cited by John Richards as the reasons for failure, and a third attempt in 1653, led by Dara Shikoh, met with the same outcome.<ref>{{harvtxt|Richards|1996|pp=134–5}}</ref>
Aurangzeb became viceroy of the Deccan again after he was replaced by Dara Shukoh in the attempt to recapture Kandahar. Aurangzeb regretted this and harboured feelings that Shikoh had manipulated the situation to serve his own ends. Aurangbad's two ''[[jagir]]s'' (land grants) were moved there as a consequence of his return and, because the Deccan was a relatively impoverished area, this caused him to lose out financially. So poor was the area that grants were required from [[Malwa]] and Gujarat in order to maintain the administration and the situation caused ill-feeling between father and son. Shah Jahan insisted that things could be improved if Aurangzeb made efforts to develop cultivation.<ref name="Chandra2005p267" /> Aurangzeb appointed Murshid Quli Khan{{Citation needed|reason=Murshid Quli Khan was born at 1670|date=June 2016}} to extend to the Deccan the ''zabt'' revenue system used in northern India. Murshid Quli Khan organised a survey of agricultural land and a tax assessment on what it produced. To increase revenue, Murshid Quli Khan granted loans for seed, livestock, and irrigation infrastructure. The Deccan returned to prosperity,<ref name="Markovits2004p103" /><ref>{{harvtxt|Richards|1996|pp=140, 188}}</ref>
Aurangzeb proposed to resolve the situation by attacking the dynastic occupants of [[Golconda]] (the [[Qutb Shahi]]s) and [[Bijapur district, Karnataka|Bijapur]] (the [[Adil Shahi]]s). As an adjunct to resolving the financial difficulties, the proposal would also extend Mughal influence by accruing more lands.<ref name="Chandra2005p267" /> Aurangzeb advanced against the Sultan of Bijapur and [[Siege of Bidar|besieged Bidar]]. The ''[[Kiladar]]'' (governor or captain) of the fortified city, Sidi Marjan, was mortally wounded when a gunpowder magazine exploded. After twenty-seven days of hard fighting, [[Bidar]] was captured by the Mughals and Aurangzeb continued his advance.<ref name="Prasad1974">{{Cite book |last=Prasad |first=Ishwari |year=1974 |title=The Mughal Empire |location=Allahabad |publisher=Chugh Publications |pages=524–525 |oclc=1532660 |quote=[Aurangzeb] marched in the direction of Bijapur and on reaching Bidar laid siege to it ... The Qiladar of the fort was Sidi Marjan ... [The Mughals] were helped by an explosion of powder magazine in the fortress ... Sidi Marjan and two of his sons were badly burnt ... Thus was the fort of Bidar taken after a siege of 27 days ... Sidi Marjan died of his wounds soon afterwards ... Aurangzeb arrived at Kalyani.}}</ref> Again, he was to feel that Dara had exerted influence on his father: believing that he was on the verge of victory in both instances, Aurangzeb was frustrated that Shah Jahan chose then to settle for negotiations with the opposing forces rather than pushing for complete victory.<ref name="Chandra2005p267" />
===War of Succession===
[[File:Aurangzebs palace.jpg|thumb|[[Sepoy]]s loyal to the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb maintain their positions around the palace, at Aurangabad, in 1658.]]
The four sons of Shah Jahan all held governorships during their father's reign. The emperor favoured the eldest, [[Dara Shukoh]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/879195/aurangzeb-and-dara-shikohs-fight-for-the-throne-was-entwined-with-the-rivalry-of-their-two-sisters|title=Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh's fight for the throne was entwined with the rivalry of their two sisters|first=Ira|last=Mukhoty|website=Scroll.in}}</ref> This had caused resentment among the younger three, who sought at various times to strengthen alliances between themselves and against Dara. There was no Mughal tradition of [[primogeniture]], the systematic passing of rule, upon an emperor's death, to his eldest son.<ref name="Chandra2005p267" /> Instead it was customary for sons to overthrow their father and for brothers to war to the death among themselves.<ref name="google96">{{cite book |date=2004 |orig-year=First published 1994 as ''Histoire de l'Inde Moderne'' |editor-first=Claude |editor-last=Markovits |title=A History of Modern India, 1480–1950 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uzOmy2y0Zh4C |edition=2nd |location=London |publisher=Anthem Press |page=96 |isbn=978-1-84331-004-4}}</ref> Historian [[Satish Chandra]] says that "In the ultimate resort, connections among the powerful military leaders, and military strength and capacity [were] the real arbiters".<ref name="Chandra2005p267" /> The contest for power was primarily between Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb because, although all four sons had demonstrated competence in their official roles, it was around these two that the supporting cast of officials and other influential people mostly circulated.<ref>{{harvtxt|Richards|1996|pp=151–2}}</ref> There were ideological differences&nbsp;— Dara was an intellectual and a religious liberal in the mould of Akbar, while Aurangzeb was much more conservative&nbsp;—&nbsp;but, as historians [[Barbara D. Metcalf]] and [[Thomas R. Metcalf]] say, "To focus on divergent philosophies neglects the fact that Dara was a poor general and leader. It also ignores the fact that factional lines in the succession dispute were not, by and large, shaped by ideology."<ref>{{cite book |title=A Concise History of Modern India |url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistorymo00metc |url-access=limited |first1=Barbara D. |last1=Metcalf |first2=Thomas R. |last2=Metcalf |author-link1=Barbara D. Metcalf |author-link2=Thomas R. Metcalf |edition=Second |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2006 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/concisehistorymo00metc/page/n55 20]–21 |isbn=978-0-521-86362-9}}</ref> Marc Gaborieau, professor of Indian studies at l'[[École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ceias.ehess.fr/index.php?90 |title=Marc Gaborieau |publisher=Centre d'Études de l'Inde et de l'Asie du Sud |date=6 July 2016 |language=fr |access-date=2 May 2016}}</ref> explains that "The loyalties of [officials and their armed contingents] seem to have been motivated more by their own interests, the closeness of the family relation and above all the charisma of the pretenders than by ideological divides."<ref name="google96"/> Muslims and Hindus did not divide along religious lines in their support for one pretender or the other nor, according to Chandra, is there much evidence to support the belief that Jahanara and other members of the royal family were split in their support. Jahanara, certainly, interceded at various times on behalf of all of the princes and was well-regarded by Aurangzeb even though she shared the religious outlook of Dara.<ref name="Chandra2005p271" />
In 1656, a general under [[Qutb Shahi dynasty]] named Musa Khan led an army of 12,000 musketeers to attack Aurangzeb,{{where|date=July 2018}} and later on the same campaign Aurangzeb, in turn, rode against an army consisting 8,000 horsemen and 20,000 [[Karnataka]] musketeers.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kolff |first1=Dirk H. A. |author1-link=Dirk H. A. Kolff |year=2002 |orig-year=1990 |title=Naukar, Rajput, and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market of Hindustan, 1450–1850 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SrdiVPsFRYIC&pg=PA22 |edition=illustrated, revised |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=22 |isbn=978-0-521-52305-9}}</ref>
Having made clear that he wanted Dara to succeed him, Shah Jahan became ill with [[stranguary]] in 1657 and was closeted under the care of his favourite son in the newly built city of [[Shahjahanabad]] (Old Delhi). Rumours of the death of Shah Jahan abounded and the younger sons were concerned that Dara might be hiding it for Machiavellian reasons. Thus, they took action: [[Shah Shuja (Mughal)|Shah Shuja]] In [[Bengal]], where he had been governor since 1637, Prince Muhammad Shuja crowned himself King at RajMahal, and brought his cavalry, artillery and river flotilla upriver towards Agra. Near Varanasi his forces confronted a defending army sent from Delhi under the command of Prince Sulaiman Shukoh, son of Dara Shukoh, and Raja Jai Singh<ref>{{harvtxt|Richards|1996|p=159}}</ref> while Murad did the same in his governorship of Gujarat and Aurangzeb did so in the Deccan. It is not known whether these preparations were made in the mistaken belief that the rumours of death were true or whether the challengers were just taking advantage of the situation.<ref name="Chandra2005p267">{{cite book |title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals |volume=2 |publisher=Har-Anand Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9788124110669 |first=Satish |last=Chandra |author-link=Satish Chandra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rm9MC4DDrcC&pg=PA267 |pages=267–269 |access-date=29 September 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Aurangzeb detail from- Estampes par Nicolas de Larmessin.f153.Aurangzeb, grand moghol (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|upright|Aurangzeb becomes emperor.]]
After regaining some of his health, Shah Jahan moved to Agra and Dara urged him to send forces to challenge Shah Shuja and Murad, who had declared themselves rulers in their respective territories. While Shah Shuja was defeated at [[Varanasi|Banares]] in February 1658, the army sent to deal with Murad discovered to their surprise that he and Aurangzeb had combined their forces,<ref name="Chandra2005p271" /> the two brothers having agreed to partition the empire once they had gained control of it.<ref name="Chandra2005p272" /> The two armies clashed at Dharmat in April 1658, with Aurangzeb being the victor. Shuja was being chased through [[Bihar]] and the victory of Aurangzeb proved this to be a poor decision by Dara Shikoh, who now had a defeated force on one front and a successful force unnecessarily pre-occupied on another. Realising that his recalled Bihar forces would not arrive at Agra in time to resist the emboldened Aurangzeb's advance, Dara scrambled to form alliances in order but found that Aurangzeb had already courted key potential candidates. When Dara's disparate, hastily concocted army clashed with Aurangzeb's well-disciplined, battle-hardened force at the [[Battle of Samugarh]] in late May, neither Dara's men nor his generalship were any match for Aurangzeb. Dara had also become over-confident in his own abilities and, by ignoring advice not to lead in battle while his father was alive, he cemented the idea that he had usurped the throne.<ref name="Chandra2005p271">{{cite book |title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals |volume=2 |publisher=Har-Anand Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9788124110669 |first=Satish |last=Chandra |author-link=Satish Chandra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rm9MC4DDrcC&pg=PA270 |pages=270–271 |access-date=29 September 2012}}</ref> "After the defeat of Dara, Shah Jahan was imprisoned in the fort of Agra where he spent eight long years under the care of his favourite daughter Jahanara."<ref name="sen2">{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-9-38060-734-4 |page=183}}</ref>
Aurangzeb then broke his arrangement with Murad Baksh, which probably had been his intention all along.<ref name="Chandra2005p272" /> Instead of looking to partition the empire between himself and Murad, he had his brother arrested and imprisoned at Gwalior Fort. Murad was executed on 4 December 1661, ostensibly for the murder of the ''[[Diwan (title)|diwan]]'' of Gujarat sometime earlier. The allegation was encouraged by Aurangzeb, who caused the ''diwan's'' son to seek retribution for the death under the principles of [[Sharia law]].<ref>{{harvtxt|Richards|1996|p=162}}</ref> Meanwhile, Dara gathered his forces, and moved to the [[Punjab region|Punjab]]. The army sent against Shuja was trapped in the east, its generals [[Jai Singh I|Jai Singh]] and Dilir Khan submitted to Aurangzeb, but Dara's son, Suleiman Shikoh, escaped. Aurangzeb offered Shah Shuja the governorship of Bengal. This move had the effect of isolating Dara Shikoh and causing more troops to defect to Aurangzeb. Shah Shuja, who had declared himself emperor in Bengal began to annex more territory and this prompted Aurangzeb to march from Punjab with a new and large army that fought during the [[Battle of Khajwa]], where Shah Shuja and his [[chain mail|chain-mail]] armoured war elephants were routed by the forces loyal to Aurangzeb. Shah Shuja then fled to [[Rakhine State|Arakan]] (in present-day Burma), where he was executed by the local rulers.<ref>''The Cambridge History of India'' (1922), vol. IV, p. 481.</ref>
With Shuja and Murad disposed of, and with his father immured in Agra, Aurangzeb pursued Dara Shikoh, chasing him across the north-western bounds of the empire. Aurangzeb claimed that Dara was no longer a Muslim {{citation needed |date=June 2018}} and accused him of poisoning the Mughal [[Grand Vizier]] [[Saadullah Khan (Mughal Empire)|Saadullah Khan]]. After a series of battles, defeats and retreats, Dara was betrayed by one of his generals, who arrested and bound him. In 1658, Aurangzeb arranged his formal coronation in Delhi.
On 10 August 1659, Dara was executed on grounds of apostasy and his head was sent to Shahjahan.<ref name="sen2"/> Having secured his position, Aurangzeb confined his frail father at the Agra Fort but did not mistreat him. Shah Jahan was cared for by Jahanara and died in 1666.<ref name="Chandra2005p272">{{cite book |title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals |volume=2 |publisher=Har-Anand Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9788124110669 |first=Satish |last=Chandra |author-link=Satish Chandra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rm9MC4DDrcC&pg=PA270 |page=272 |access-date=29 September 2012}}</ref>
==Reign==
===Bureaucracy===
[[File:Mughal-empire-map.jpg|thumb|Mughal Empire under Aurangzeb in early 18th century]]
Aurangzeb's imperial bureaucracy employed significantly more Hindus than that of his predecessors.
Between 1679 and 1707, the number of Hindu officials in the Mughal administration rose by half, to represent 31.6% of Mughal nobility, the highest in the Mughal era.<ref name="Truschke50" /><ref name="google1">{{Cite book|last=Malik|first=Jamal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FduG_t2sxwMC&q=Aurangzeb+levied+taxes+on+Hindu+merchants&pg=PA190|title=Islam in South Asia: A Short History|date=25 August 2008|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-9004168596|via=Google Books}}</ref> Many of them were [[Marathas]] and [[Rajputs]], who were his political allies.<ref name="Truschke50" />
===Establishment of Islamic law===
[[File:Aurangzeb 27.jpg|thumb|Aurangzeb compiled [[Hanafi]] law by introducing the [[Fatawa-e-Alamgiri]].]]
Aurangzeb was an orthodox Muslim ruler. Subsequent to the policies of his three predecessors, he endeavored to make [[Islam]] a dominant force in his reign. However these efforts brought him into conflict with the forces that were opposed to this revival.<ref>{{Cite book|date=1977|editor-last=Holt|editor-first=P. M.|editor2-last=Lambton|editor2-first=Ann K. S.|editor3-last=Lewis|editor3-first=Bernard|title=The Cambridge History of Islam|language=en|volume=2a|pages=52|doi=10.1017/chol9780521219488|isbn=9781139055048}}</ref>
Historian Katherine Brown has noted that "The very name of Aurangzeb seems to act in the popular imagination as a signifier of politico-religious bigotry and repression, regardless of historical accuracy." The subject has also resonated in modern times with popularly accepted claims that he intended to destroy the [[Bamiyan Buddhas]].<ref>{{cite journal |first=Katherine Butler |last=Brown |date=January 2007 |title=Did Aurangzeb Ban Music? Questions for the Historiography of his Reign |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=41 |issue=1 |page=78 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X05002313}}</ref> As a political and religious conservative, Aurangzeb chose not to follow the secular-religious viewpoints of his predecessors after his ascension. Shah Jahan had already moved away from the liberalism of [[Akbar]], although in a token manner rather than with the intent of suppressing Hinduism,<ref name="Chandra2005p255">{{cite book |title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals |volume=2 |publisher=Har-Anand Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9788124110669 |first=Satish |last=Chandra |author-link=Satish Chandra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rm9MC4DDrcC&pg=PA255 |pages=255–256 |access-date=29 September 2012}}</ref>{{efn|Regarding the tokenistic aspect of Shah Jahan's actions to strengthen Islam in his empire, Satish Chandra says, "We may conclude that Shah Jahan tried to effect a compromise. While formally declaring the state to be an Islamic one, showing respect to the ''sharia'', and observing its injunctions in his personal life, he did not reject any of the liberal measures of Akbar.&nbsp;... Shah Jahan's compromise was based not on principle but on expediency."<ref name="Chandra2005p255" />}} and Aurangzeb took the change still further.<ref>{{harvtxt|Richards|1996|p=171}}</ref> Though the approach to faith of Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan was more syncretic than [[Babur]], the founder of the empire, Aurangzeb's position is not so obvious.
His emphasis on [[sharia]] competed, or was directly in conflict, with his insistence that ''zawabit'' or secular decrees could supersede sharia.<ref>{{cite book |title=Medieval India: From Sultanate To The Mughals: Mughal Empire (1526–1748) |first=Satish |last=Chandra |edition=Second Reprint|year=2006 |publisher=Har-Anand Publications PVT LTD |orig-year=1999 |isbn=978-8124110669 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rm9MC4DDrcC&pg=PA350 |page=350 |access-date=24 October 2014}}</ref> The chief qazi refusing to crown him in 1659, Aurangzeb had a political need to present himself as a "defender of the sharia" due to popular opposition to his actions against his father and brothers.<ref>{{cite book|author=Satish Chandra|title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part - II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rm9MC4DDrcC&pg=PA350|year=2005|publisher=Har-Anand Publications|isbn=978-81-241-1066-9|pages=280–|quote=Although Aurangzeb had not raised the slogan of defending Islam before the battle of Samugarh with Dara, and had tried to befriend the Rajput rajas as we have seen, there were a number of factors which make it necessary for Aurangzeb to present himself as the defender of the sharia, and to try and win over the theologians. A principal factor was the popular revulsion against his treatment of his brothers, Murad and Dara, both of whom had the reputation of being liberal patrons of the poor and needy. Aurangzeb was shocked when as the time of his second coronation in 1659, the chief qazi refused to crown him since his father was still alive.}}</ref> Despite claims of sweeping edicts and policies, contradictory accounts exist. Historian Katherine Brown has argued that Aurangzeb never imposed a complete ban on music.<ref name="Brown">{{cite journal |first=Katherine Butler |last=Brown |date=January 2007 |title=Did Aurangzeb Ban Music? Questions for the Historiography of his Reign |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=41 |issue=1 |page=77 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X05002313|quote=More importantly, though, the fact that Aurangzeb did not order a universal ban on music lends support to the idea that his regime was less intolerant and repressive than has been widely believed in the past...Thus, the overwhelming evidence against a ban on musical practice in Aurangzeb's reign suggests that the nature of his state was less orthodox, tyrannical and centralised than }}</ref> He sought to codify [[Hanafi]] law by the work of several hundred jurists, called [[Fatawa-e-Alamgiri]].<ref name="Brown"/> It is possible the War of Succession and continued incursions combined with Shah Jahan's spending made cultural expenditure impossible.<ref>{{cite book |last=Zaman |first=Taymiya R. |year=2007 |title=Inscribing Empire: Sovereignty and Subjectivity in Mughal Memoirs |publisher=University of Michigan |page=153 |isbn=978-0-549-18117-0}}</ref>
He learnt that at [[Multan]], [[Thatta]], and particularly at [[Varanasi]], the teachings of Hindu [[Brahmins]] attracted numerous Muslims. He ordered the [[subahdar]]s of these provinces to demolish the schools and the temples of non-Muslims.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mukhia |first=Harbans |author-link=Harbans Mukhia |year=2004 |title=The Mughals of India |url=https://archive.org/details/mughalsindiapeop00mukh |url-access=limited |page=[https://archive.org/details/mughalsindiapeop00mukh/page/n38 25] |isbn=978-0-631-18555-0 |quote=learnt that in Multan and Thatta in Sind, and especially at Varanasi, Brahmins attracted a large number of Muslims to their discourses. Aurangzeb ... ordered the governors of all these provinces 'to demolish the schools and temples of the infidels'.}}</ref> Aurangzeb also ordered subahdars to punish Muslims who dressed like non-Muslims. The executions of the [[antinomian]] Sufi mystic [[Sarmad Kashani]] and the ninth Sikh Guru [[Tegh Bahadur]] bear testimony to Aurangzeb's religious policy; the former was beheaded on multiple accounts of heresy,{{efn| It has however been argued that the Mughal emperor had political motives for this particular execution. See the article on [[Sarmad Kashani]] for references.}} the latter, according to Sikhs, because he objected to Aurangzeb's [[forced conversion]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/religion/religions/sikhism/people/teghbahadur.shtml |title=Religions&nbsp;– Sikhism: Guru Tegh Bahadur |publisher=BBC |date=1 October 2009 |access-date=29 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="conversion">{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7xEdAAAAMAAJ|title=A Vindication of Aurangzeb: In Two Parts|author=Sadiq Ali|year=1918|page=141}}</ref><ref name="conversion2">{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wsiXwh_tIGkC&pg=RA1-PA152|title=The Pearson Indian History Manual for the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination|page=152|author=Vipul Singh|isbn=9788131717530}}</ref>
===Taxation policy===
Shortly after coming to power, Aurangzeb remitted more than 80 long-standing taxes affecting all of his subjects.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Pirbhai|first=M. Reza|url=https://brill.com/view/title/17049|title=Reconsidering Islam in a South Asian Context|date=2009-09-30|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-474-3102-2|location=|pages=67–116|chapter=Chapter Two : Indicism, Intoxication And Sobriety Among The ‘Great Mughals’|doi=10.1163/ej.9789004177581.i-370.14|chapter-url=https://brill.com/view/book/9789047431022/Bej.9789004177581.i-370_004.xml}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chandra|first=Satish|date=1969|title=Jizyah and the State in India during the 17th Century|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3596130|journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient|volume=12|issue=3|pages=322–340|doi=10.2307/3596130|jstor=3596130|issn=0022-4995}}</ref>[[File:Aurangzeb holding a flywhisk (6124544937) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|upright|Aurangzeb holding a flywhisk]]
In 1679, Aurangzeb chose to re-impose ''[[jizya]]'', a military tax on non-Muslim subjects in lieu of military service, after an abatement for a span of hundred years, in what was critiqued by many Hindu rulers, family-members of Aurangzeb, and Mughal court-officials.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Truschke|first=Audrey|url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/title/590382|title=Aurangzeb : The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King|year=2017|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|isbn=978-1-5036-0259-5|location=|pages=70–71|language=en|chapter=5. Moral Man and Leader|doi=10.1515/9781503602595-009|s2cid=243691670|chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781503602595-009/html}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Lal|first=Vinay|author-link=Vinay Lal|date=|title=Aurangzeb's Fatwa on Jizya|url=http://southasia.ucla.edu/history-politics/mughals-and-medieval/aurangzeb/aurangzebs-fatwa-jizya/|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-05|website=MANAS|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Khan|first=Iqtidar Alam|date=2001|title=State in the Mughal India: Re-Examining the Myths of a Counter-Vision|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3518271|journal=Social Scientist|volume=29|issue=1/2|pages=16–45|doi=10.2307/3518271|jstor=3518271|issn=0970-0293}}</ref> The specific amount varied with the socioeconomic status of a subject and tax-collection were often waived for regions hit by calamities; also, Brahmins, women, children, elders, the handicapped, the unemployed, the ill, and the insane were all perpetually exempted.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Truschke|first=Audrey|url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/title/590382|title=Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King|year=2017|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|isbn=978-1-5036-0259-5|location=|page=94|chapter=7. Later Years|doi=10.1515/9781503602595-011|s2cid=242351847|chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781503602595-011/html}}</ref> The collectors were mandated to be Muslims.<ref name=":1" /> A majority of modern scholars reject that religious bigotry influenced the imposition; rather, realpolitik — economic constraints as a result of multiple ongoing battles and establishment of credence with the orthodox Ulemas — are held to be primary agents.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Aggarwal|first=Dhruv Chand|date=Spring 2017|title=The Afterlives of Aurangzeb: Jizya, Social Domination and the Meaning of Constitutional Secularism|url=https://lawandreligion.com/sites/law-religion/files/01_Aggarwal%20%281%29.pdf|journal=Rutgers Journal of Law & Religion|volume=18|pages=109–155|via=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Husain|first=S.M. Azizuddin|date=2000-07-01|title=Jizya - Its Reimposition During the Reign of Aurangzeb: An Examination|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0376983620000204|journal=Indian Historical Review|language=en|volume=27|issue=2|pages=87–121|doi=10.1177/0376983620000204|s2cid=220267774|issn=0376-9836}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Lal|first=Vinay|author-link=Vinay Lal|date=|title=Aurangzeb, Akbar, and the Communalization of History|url=http://southasia.ucla.edu/history-politics/mughals-and-medieval/aurangzeb/communalization-of-history/|access-date=|website=Manas}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Kulke|first=Tilmann|url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/aurangzeb-islam-india-tilmann-kulke/e/10.4324/9780429054853-14|title=Routledge Handbook of South Asian Religions|date=2020-11-29|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-429-05485-3|editor-last=Jacobsen|editor-first=Knut A.|editor-link=Knut A. Jacobsen|location=|pages=194|language=en|chapter=Aurangzeb and Islam in India : 50 years of Mughal Realpolitik|doi=10.4324/9780429054853-14|s2cid=226338454|chapter-url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/aurangzeb-islam-india-tilmann-kulke/e/10.4324/9780429054853-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Husain|first=S. M. Azizuddin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yTJuAAAAMAAJ|title=Structure of Politics Under Aurangzeb, 1658-1707|date=2002|publisher=Kanishka Publishers, Distributors|isbn=978-81-7391-489-8|language=en}}</ref>
Aurangzeb also enforced differential taxation on Hindu merchants at the rate of 5% (as against 2.5% on Muslim merchants).<ref name=":2" />
===Policy on temples and mosques===
Aurangzeb issued land grants and provided funds for the maintenance of shrines of worship but also (often) ordered their destruction.<ref name=":3">{{cite book|last=Puniyani|first=Ram|title=Communal politics: facts versus myths|publisher=SAGE Publications|year=2003|isbn=978-0-7619-9667-5|page=60|quote=he kept changing his policies depending on the needs of the situation ... he had put a brake on the construction of new temples but the repair and maintenance of old temples was permitted. He also generously donated jagirs to many temples to win the sympathies of the people ... ''firmans'' include the ones from the temples of Mahakaleshwar (Ujjain), Balaji temple (Chitrakut), Umanand temples (Guwahati) and Jain temples of Shatrunjaya. Also there are ''firmans'' supporting other temples and gurudwaras in north India.|author-link=Ram Puniyani}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Citation|last=Mukhia|first=Harbans|title=For Conquest and Governance: Legitimacy, Religion and Political Culture|date=2004|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9780470758304.ch1|work=The Mughals of India|volume=|pages=25–26|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd|language=en|doi=10.1002/9780470758304.ch1|isbn=978-0-470-75830-4|access-date=2021-02-05}}</ref> Modern historians reject the thought-school of colonial and nationalist historians about these destruction being guided by religious zealotry; rather, the association of temples with sovereignty, power and authority is emphasized upon.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last=Subodh|first=Sanjay|title=Temples Rulers and Historians' Dilemma: Understanding the Medieval Mind|date=2001|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44155778|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=62|pages=334–344|jstor=44155778|issn=2249-1937}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pauwels|first1=Heidi|last2=Bachrach|first2=Emilia|date=July 2018|title=Aurangzeb as Iconoclast? Vaishnava Accounts of the Krishna images' Exodus from Braj|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-royal-asiatic-society/article/abs/aurangzeb-as-iconoclast-vaishnava-accounts-of-the-krishna-images-exodus-from-braj/E38DFDADE1A61737AC9D24394EF11F4C|journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society|language=en|volume=28|issue=3|pages=485–508|doi=10.1017/S1356186318000019|s2cid=165273975|issn=1356-1863}}</ref>
Whilst constructing mosques were considered an act of royal duty to subjects, there are also several ''[[firman]]s'' in Aurangzeb's name, supporting temples, ''[[Matha|maths]]'', chishti shrines, and [[gurudwara]]s, including [[Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga|Mahakaleshwar temple]] of [[Ujjain]], a gurudwara at Dehradun, Balaji temple of [[Chitrakoot district|Chitrakoot]], [[Umananda Temple]] of [[Guwahati]] and the [[Shatrunjaya]] [[Jain]] temples, among others.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Truschke|first=Audrey|title=What Aurangzeb did to preserve Hindu temples (and protect non-Muslim religious leaders)|url=https://scroll.in/article/829943/what-aurangzeb-did-to-preserve-hindu-temples-and-protect-non-muslim-religious-leaders|access-date=2021-02-05|website=Scroll.in|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":6" /> Numerous new temples were built, as well.<ref name=":5" />
Contemporary court-chronicles mention hundreds of temple which were demolished by Aurangzab or his chieftains, upon his order.<ref name=":4" /> In September 1669, he ordered the destruction of [[Kashi Vishwanath Temple|Vishvanath Temple]] at Varanasi, which was established by Raja Man Singh, whose grandson Jai Singh was believed to have facilitated Shivaji's escape.<ref name=":5" /> After the Jat rebellion in Mathura (early 1670), which killed the patron of the town-mosque, Aurangzeb suppressed the rebels and ordered for the city's [[Kesava Deo temple]] to be demolished, and replaced with an ''[[Eidgah]]''.<ref name=":5" /> In around 1679, he ordered destruction of several prominent temples, including those of Khandela, Udaipur, Chittor and Jodhpur, which were patronaged by rebels.<ref name=":5">{{cite journal |last=Eaton |first=Richard |year=2000 |title=Temple Desecration and Indo-Muslim States |journal=Journal of Islamic Studies |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=307–308 |quote=In early 1670, soon after the ring-leader of these rebellions had been captured near Mathura, Aurangzeb ordered the destruction of the city's Keshava Deva temple and built an Islamic structure ('īd-gāh) on its site ... Nine years later, the emperor ordered the destruction of several prominent temples in Rajasthan that had become associated with imperial enemies. These included temples in Khandela ... Jodhpur ... Udaipur and Chitor.|doi=10.1093/jis/11.3.283 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The [[Jama Masjid]] at [[Golkonda|Golkunda]] was similarly treated, after it was found that its ruler had built it to hide revenues from the state; however desecration of mosques are rare due to their complete lack of political capital contra temples.<ref name=":5" />
In an order specific to Benaras, Aurangzeb invokes Sharia to declare that Hindus will be granted state-protection and temples won't be razed (but prohibits construction of any new temple); other orders to similar effect can be located.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Citation|last=|first=|title=Precedents for Mughal architecture|date=1992|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/architecture-of-mughal-india/precedents-for-mughal-architecture/087130D88C52F03255F9228F16A1E3C6|work=Architecture of Mughal India|volume=|pages=8|editor-last=Asher|editor-first=Catherine B.|series=The New Cambridge History of India|place=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-26728-1|access-date=2021-02-05}}</ref> Richard Eaton, upon a critical evaluation of primary sources, counts 15 temples to have been destroyed during Aurangzeb's reign.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Eaton|first=Richard M.|year=2000|title=Temple Desecration and Indo-Muslim States|page=297|work=[[The Hindu]]|location=Chennai, India|url=http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1726/17260700.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106040012/http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1726/17260700.pdf|archive-date=6 January 2014}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> Ian Copland and others reiterate Iqtidar Alam Khan who notes that, overall, Aurangzeb built more temples than he destroyed.<ref name="Copland2013" />
===Execution of opponents===
The first prominent execution during the long reign of Aurangzeb started with that of his brother Prince [[Dara Shikoh]], who was accused of being influenced by Hinduism although some sources argue it was done for political reasons.<ref name="Larson">Gerald James Larson, ''India's Agony Over Religion'', (State University of New York Press, 1995), 111.</ref> Aurangzeb had his allied brother Prince [[Murad Baksh]] held for murder, judged and then executed.<ref>''The Cambridge Shorter History of India'', Vol. II, ed. H.H. Dodwell, (Cambridge University Press, 1934), 416.</ref> Aurangzeb is accused of poisoning his imprisoned nephew [[Sulaiman Shikoh]].<ref>Vincent Arthur Smith, ''The Oxford History of India: From the Earliest Times to the End of 1911'', (Clarendon Press, 1920), 412.</ref>
In 1689, the second Maratha Chhatrapati (King) [[Sambhaji]] was brutally executed by Aurangzeb. In a sham trial, he was found guilty of murder and violence, atrocities<ref name="Stein2010">{{cite book |last=Stein |first=Burton |author-link=Burton Stein |year=2010 |orig-year=First published 1998 |editor-last=Arnold |editor-first=David |editor-link=David Arnold (historian) |title=A History of India'' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QY4zdTDwMAQC&dq=maratha+plunder+and+rape&pg=PA179 |publisher=Blackwell Publishers |edition=2nd |page=179 |isbn=978-1-4051-9509-6}}</ref> against the Muslims of [[Burhanpur]] and Bahadurpur in [[Berar Subah|Berar]] by Marathas under his command.<ref>{{harvtxt|Richards|1996|p=223}}</ref>


In 1675 the Sikh leader [[Guru Tegh Bahadur]] was arrested on orders by Aurangzeb, found guilty of blasphemy by a [[Qadi]]'s court and executed.<ref>Hardip Singh Syan, ''Sikh Militancy in the Seventeenth Century: Religious Violence in Mughal and Early Modern India'', (I.B. Tauris, 2012), 130–131.</ref>


The 32nd Da'i al-Mutlaq (Absolute Missionary) of the [[Dawoodi Bohra]] sect of Musta'lī Islam Syedna Qutubkhan Qutubuddin was executed by Aurangzeb, then governor of Gujarat, for heresy; on 27 Jumadil Akhir 1056 AH (1648 AD), Ahmedabad, India.<ref>{{cite book |first=Jonah |last=Blank |author-link=Jonah Blank |year=2001 |title=Mullahs on the Mainframe: Islam and Modernity Among the Daudi Bohras |page=44 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uDVHN6xkdiMC|isbn=9780226056760 }}</ref>
'''Muhi al-Din Muhammad''' ({{Lang-ar|محی الدین محمد|translit=Muḥī al-Dīn Muḥammad}}), better known as '''Aurangzeb''' ({{Lang-ar|اورنگ‌زیب}}) was the sixth emperor of the [[Mughal Empire]]. Nahe Bhai is website pr bharoosa nhe kro sab fake h  He ruled over most of the [[Indian wikipidea m sab sach nhe hotaaa subcontinent]] through [[Islam]]ic [[Sharia]]. His reign lasted for 49 years from 1658 until he died in 1707. During this time, Aurangzeb greatly expanded the territory of the Mughal Empire. He was constantly at war. Victories in the south expanded the Empire to more than 4&nbsp; million square kilometres as he was the only ruler after Emperor Ashoka to rule over such a large land as a result unifying the entirety of the Indian Subcontinent (South Asia) under one ruler after two millennia. His empire had the world's largest economy, valued at 27% of the world's GDP. He was the last of the greatest and most powerful ruler of the Mughal dynasty. After his death, the power of the Mughal Empire declined quickly due to weak and ineffective successors. His administration of the Mughal Empire led to its apex in terms of territory and wealth. He defeated the British in their fruitless attempt to colonize India as matter of fact after the humiliating defeat of Brits (EIC), they had to prostrate on a mat before the emperor and begged for forgiveness but were forgiven later after paying a large sum in compensation and promise never to dare such insolence. Emperor Aurangzeb's exchequer raised a record £100 million in annual revenue through various sources like taxes, customs and land revenue, ''et al.'' from 24 provinces. He had annual yearly revenue of $450 million, more than ten times that of his contemporary {Louis XIV of France}.
Aurangzeb was well educated and ambitious. He compiled the Fatawa Alamgiri, which served as the Islamic law of India.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Katherine Butler |last=Brown |date=January 2007 |title=Did Aurangzeb Ban Music? Questions for the Historiography of his Reign |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=41 |issue=1 |page=79 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X05002313|s2cid=145371208 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Aurangzeb|url=http://www.gyanipandit.com/aurangzeb-history-in-hindi/|publisher=History & Information|access-date=29 March 2018}}</ref>


<gallery>
Aurangzeb killed his father [[Shah Jahan]] and his other brothers due to their claims to the throne. He also wanted to spread [[Islam]] and wanted people of his nation to follow the rules and regulations of Islam Strictly no matter if they were Muslims or Hindus.
File:Tulapur arch.jpg|In the year 1689, according to Mughal accounts, [[Sambhaji]] was put on trial, found guilty of atrocities<ref name="Stein2010" /> and executed.<ref>{{cite book|author=J. L. Mehta|title=Advanced Study in the History of Modern India: Volume One: 1707{{snd}}1813 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC&pg=PA50 |access-date=29 September 2012 |date=1 January 2005 |publisher= Sterling Publishers |isbn=978-1-932705-54-6 |pages=50–}}</ref><ref name="google2">{{cite book |title=A History of India |author1=Stein, B. |author2=Arnold, D. |date=2010 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-4443-2351-1 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QY4zdTDwMAQC |page=180 |access-date=3 October 2014}}</ref>
File:Gurdwara Rakabganj Sahib, Delhi.jpg|[[Guru Tegh Bahadur]] was publicly executed in 1675 on the orders of Aurangzeb in Delhi<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/Sikh-Guru-Ji'/Sri-Guru-Tegh-Bhadur-Sahib-Ji.html |title=A Gateway to Sikhism {{!}} Sri Guru Tegh Bhadur Sahib - A Gateway to Sikhism |access-date=28 October 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140327223831/http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/Sikh-Guru-Ji'/Sri-Guru-Tegh-Bhadur-Sahib-Ji.html#12 |archive-date= 27 March 2014 |url-status = dead}}</ref>
File:Indian - Single Leaf of Shah Sarmad and Prince Dara Shikoh - Walters W912.jpg|[[Sarmad Kashani]], a Jewish convert to Islam and [[Sufi]] mystic was accused of heresy and executed.<ref name="David Cook 2007">{{cite book |last=Cook  |first=David |year=2007 |title=Martyrdom in Islam |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=80 |isbn=978-0-521-85040-7}}</ref>
</gallery>


===Expansion of the Mughal Empire===
His full name was '''Abdul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Mohammad Aurangzeb'''. His imperial title was '''Alamgir, which means 'The World Conqueror''''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Dictionary of Wars|date=2013|publisher=Taylor and Francis|isbn=9781135954949|location=Hoboken|page=387}}</ref><ref name="Thackeray">{{cite book|title=Events that formed the modern world : from the European Renaissance through the War on Terror|last1=Thackeray|first1=Frank W.|date=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781598849011|editor-last=John E. Findling|location=Santa Barbara, Calif.|page=248}}</ref>
[[File:Darbarscene.jpg|thumb|Aurangzeb seated on a golden throne holding a [[Hawk]] in the [[Durbar (court)|Durbar]]. Standing before him is his son, [[Azam Shah]].]]


In 1663, during his visit to [[Ladakh]], Aurangzeb established direct control over that part of the empire and loyal subjects such as Deldan Namgyal agreed to pledge tribute and loyalty. Deldan Namgyal is also known to have constructed a Grand Mosque in [[Leh]], which he dedicated to Mughal rule.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mg8My6WaWRcC&pg=PA63 |title=Rediscovery of Ladakh |first=H. N. |last=Kaul|publisher=Indus Publishing |year=1998 |page=63 |access-date=29 April 2012|isbn=9788173870866 }}</ref>
==Aurangzeb's Reforms==
He reintroduced the practice of Jaziya (which is 2.5 per cent of an individual's annual savings) and banned the old Hindu practice of suttee. He banned the consumption of alcohol and singing in court.


[[File:Aurangzeb T0000253 104.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Aurangzeb seated on the [[Peacock Throne]].]]
He was popular with traders as he abolished more than 80 sorts of local taxes levied by the previous rulers
==Conflicts with the Rajputs==
Aurangzeb had to deal with the Rajput rulers of Marwar, Mewar and Jaipur. Raja Jai Singh of Jaipur was sent to the Deccan, where he died in 1666. Raja Jaswant Singh of Marwar was deputed to the north-western frontier where he and his children died fighting the Afghan rebels(1678). With no successor to it, Aurangzeb occupied the throne of Marwar. However, a posthumous son of Rana Jaswant Singh named Ajit Singh was born and appeared to claim the throne. Aurangzeb refused to accept or acknowledge Ajit Sign as the successor. This began the Rajput Struggle against the Mughals till Aurangzeb's successor recognized Ajit SIgn as the ruler of Marwar. Rana Raj Singh of Mewar was also angered by Aurangzeb's anti-Rajput behaviour and supported Ajit Singhs cause.  


In 1664, Aurangzeb appointed [[Shaista Khan]] [[subedar]] (governor) of Bengal. Shaista Khan eliminated Portuguese and [[Arakanese people|Arakanese]] pirates from the region, and in 1666 recaptured the port of [[Chittagong]] from the Arakanese king, [[Sanda Thudhamma]]. Chittagong remained a key port throughout Mughal rule.<ref>{{cite book |date=2004 |orig-year=First published 1994 as ''Histoire de l'Inde Moderne'' |editor-first=Claude |editor-last=Markovits |title=A History of Modern India, 1480–1950 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uzOmy2y0Zh4C |edition=2nd |location=London |publisher=Anthem Press |page=106 |isbn=978-1-84331-004-4 |quote=Shayista Khan ... was appointed [Bengal's] governor in 1664 and swept the region clean of Portuguese and Arakanese pirates ... in 1666, he recaptured the port of Chittagong ... from the king of Arakan. A strategic outpost, Chittagong would remain the principal commercial port of call before entering the waters of the delta.}}</ref>
== References ==
 
In 1685, Aurangzeb dispatched his son, [[Muhammad Azam Shah]], with a force of nearly 50,000 men to capture [[Bijapur Fort]] and defeat [[Sikandar Adil Shah]] (the ruler of Bijapur) who refused to be a vassal. The Mughals could not make any advancements upon Bijapur Fort,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sxhAtCflwOMC&q=Aurangzeb+bijapur+1686&pg=PA263|title=A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century|isbn=9788131732021|last1=Farooqui|first1=Salma Ahmed|year=2011}}</ref> mainly because of the superior usage of cannon batteries on both sides. Outraged by the stalemate Aurangzeb himself arrived on 4 September 1686 and commanded the [[Siege of Bijapur]]; after eight days of fighting, the Mughals were victorious.{{Citation needed|date=September 2012}}
 
Only one remaining ruler, [[Abul Hasan Qutb Shah]] (the [[Qutb Shahi dynasty|Qutbshahi]] ruler of [[Golconda]]), refused to surrender. He and his servicemen fortified themselves at Golconda and fiercely protected the [[Kollur Mine]], which was then probably the world's most productive diamond mine, and an important economic asset. In 1687, Aurangzeb led his grand Mughal army against the Deccan Qutbshahi fortress during the [[Siege of Golconda]]. The Qutbshahis had constructed massive fortifications throughout successive generations on a [[granite]] hill over 400&nbsp;ft high with an enormous eight-mile long wall enclosing the city. The main gates of Golconda had the ability to repulse any war elephant attack. Although the Qutbshahis maintained the impregnability of their walls, at night Aurangzeb and his infantry erected complex [[scaffold]]ing that allowed them to scale the high walls. During the eight-month siege the Mughals faced many hardships including the death of their experienced commander [[Kilich Khan II|Kilich Khan Bahadur]]. Eventually, Aurangzeb and his forces managed to penetrate the walls by capturing a gate, and their entry into the fort led Abul Hasan Qutb Shah to surrender peacefully.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
 
===Military equipment===
{{See also|Army of the Mughal Empire|Mughal weapons|Mughal artillery}}
[[File:Dagger (khanjar) of Emperor Aurangzeb (reigned 1658-1707) and sheath LACMA M.76.2.7a-b (3 of 9).jpg|thumb|right|upright|Dagger (Khanjar) of Aurangzeb (''Badshah Alamgir'').]]
 
Mughal [[cannon]] making skills advanced during the 17th century.<ref>{{cite book |title=Modern World System and Indian Proto-industrialization: Bengal 1650–1800 |volume=1 |first=Abhay Kumar |last=Singh |pages=351–352 |publisher=Northern Book Centre |location=New Delhi |year=2006 |isbn=9788172112011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WwNUblS-jpwC&pg=PA351 |access-date=30 September 2012}}</ref> One of the most impressive Mughal cannons is known as the Zafarbaksh, which is a very rare ''composite cannon'', that required skills in both wrought-iron forge welding and [[bronze]]-casting technologies and the in-depth knowledge of the qualities of both metals.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Balasubramaniam |first1=R. |last2=Chattopadhyay |first2=Pranab K. |year=2007 |title=''Zafarbaksh'' – The Composite Mughal Cannon of Aurangzeb at Fort William in Kolkata |url=http://www.insa.nic.in/writereaddata/UpLoadedFiles/IJHS/Vol42_2_5_RBalasubramaniam.pdf |journal=Indian Journal of History of Science |volume=42 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222081939/http://www.insa.nic.in/writereaddata/UpLoadedFiles/IJHS/Vol42_2_5_RBalasubramaniam.pdf |archive-date=22 December 2015}}</ref>
 
Aurangzeb military entourage consisted of 16 cannons including the ''Azdaha Paikar'' (which, was capable of firing a 33.5&nbsp;kg ordnance)<ref name="google3">{{cite book|title=War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740–1849|author1=Roy, K.|author2=Roy, L.D.H.K.|date=2011|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9781136790874|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zp0FbTniNaYC|page=30|access-date=3 October 2014}}</ref> and ''Fateh Rahber'' (20 feet long with Persian and Arabic inscriptions).
 
The ''Ibrahim Rauza'' was also a famed cannon, which was well known for its multi-barrels.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lDRbAAAAQAAJ |title=Bombay and western India: a series of stray papers |volume=2 |first=James |last=Douglas |publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & Company |year=1893 }}</ref> [[François Bernier]], the personal physician to Aurangzeb, observed versatile Mughal gun-carriages each drawn by two horses.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7n6Cg9znFrUC&pg=PA59 |title=Gunpowder, Explosives And the State: A Technological History |first=Brenda J. |last=Buchanan |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |year=2006 |page=59 |isbn=9780754652595 }}</ref>
 
Despite these innovations, most soldiers used bows and arrows, the quality of sword manufacture was so poor that they preferred to use ones imported from England, and the operation of the cannons was entrusted not to Mughals but to European gunners. Other weapons used during the period included rockets, cauldrons of boiling oil, muskets and [[manjaniq]]s (stone-throwing catapults).<ref>{{cite book |title=A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder |first=James Riddick |last=Partington |author-link=James Riddick Partington |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=1998 |orig-year=1960 (Cambridge: W. Heffer & Sons) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fNZBSqd2cToC&pg=PA221 |page=221 |isbn=9780801859540}}</ref>
 
Infantry who were later called [[Sepoy]] and who specialised in siege and artillery emerged during the reign of Aurangzeb<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SrdiVPsFRYIC&q=sepoy+aurangzeb&pg=PA174|title=Naukar, Rajput, and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market of Hindustan, 1450-1850|first=Dirk H. A.|last=Kolff|date=8 August 2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521523059|via=Google Books}}</ref>
 
<gallery>
File:Daulatabad fort N-MH-A50-3.JPG|Daulatabad cannon
File:Kalak Bangadi,Janjira Fort.jpg|Kalak Bangadi cannon.
File:Daulatabad cannon1.jpg|One of the Daulatabad cannons
File:Kilkila cannon.jpg|Kilkila cannon
File:Aurangabad - Daulatabad Fort (69).JPG|Aurangabad cannon
</gallery>
 
====War elephants====
In 1703, the Mughal commander at [[Coromandel Coast|Coromandel]], [[Daud Khan Panni]] spent 10,500 coins to purchase 30 to 50 war elephants from [[Ceylon]].<ref>{{Google books |id=3C1vz5ioOMwC |page=122 |title=Mughal Warfare: Indian Frontiers and Highroads to Empire, 1500–1700 }}</ref>
 
===Art and culture===
Aurangzeb had a more austere nature than his predecessors, and greatly reduced imperial patronage of the figurative [[Mughal miniature]].<ref>''Imperial Mughal Painting'', [[Stuart Cary Welch]], (New York: George Braziller, 1978), pp. 112-13. "In spite of his later austerity, which turned him against music, dance, and painting, a few of the best Mughal paintings were made for [Aurangzeb] 'Alamgir. Perhaps the painters realized that he might close the workshops and therefore exceeded themselves in his behalf".</ref> This had the effect of dispersing the court atelier to other regional courts. Being religious he encouraged Islamic calligraphy. His reign also saw the building of the Lahore [[Badshahi Masjid]] and [[Bibi Ka Maqbara]] in Aurangabad for his wife Rabia-ud-Daurani.
 
====Calligraphy====
[[File:Aurangzeb Handwritten Quran.jpg|thumb|right|Manuscript of the ''[[Quran]]'', parts of which are believed to have been written in Aurangzeb's own hand.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=202553 |title = Emirates owner to sell Quran inscribed by Aurangzeb |date = 15 November 2018 |access-date = 7 April 2011 |archive-date = 24 July 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110724232445/http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=202553 |url-status = dead }}</ref>]]
 
The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb is known to have patronised works of [[Islamic calligraphy]]; the demand for Quran manuscripts in the ''[[Naskh (script)|naskh]]'' style peaked during his reign. Having been instructed by [[Syed Ali Tabrizi]], Aurangzeb was himself a talented calligrapher in ''naskh'', evidenced by Quran manuscripts that he created.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Blair|first=Sheila|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56651142|title=Islamic calligraphy|date=2006|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-0-7486-1212-3|location=Edinburgh|pages=550|oclc=56651142}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Schimmel|first=Annemarie|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/20420019|title=Calligraphy and Islamic culture|date=1990|publisher=Tauris|isbn=1-85043-186-8|location=London|oclc=20420019}}</ref>
 
====Architecture====
Aurangzeb was not as involved in architecture as his father. Under Aurangzeb's rule, the position of the Mughal Emperor as chief architectural patron began to diminish. However, Aurangzeb did endow some significant structures. Catherine Asher terms his architectural period as an "Islamization" of [[Mughal architecture]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Asher|first=Catherine B.|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/chol9780521267281|title=Architecture of Mughal India|date=1992-09-24|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-26728-1|pages=252 & 290|doi=10.1017/chol9780521267281}}</ref> One of the earliest constructions after his accession was a small marble mosque known as the [[Moti Masjid (Delhi)|Moti Masjid]] (Pearl Mosque), built for his personal use in the Red Fort complex of Delhi. He later ordered the construction of the [[Badshahi Mosque]] in Lahore, which is today one of the largest mosques in the Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{cite book |date=2004 |orig-year=First published 1994 as ''Histoire de l'Inde Moderne'' |editor-first=Claude |editor-last=Markovits |title=A History of Modern India, 1480–1950 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uzOmy2y0Zh4C |edition=2nd |location=London |publisher=Anthem Press |page=166 |isbn=978-1-84331-004-4}}</ref> The mosque he constructed in Srinagar is still the largest in [[Kashmir]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}
 
Most of Aurangzeb's building activity revolved around mosques, but secular structures were not neglected. The [[Bibi Ka Maqbara]] in Aurangabad, the mausoleum of Rabia-ud-Daurani, was constructed by his eldest son [[Azam Shah]] upon Aurangzeb's decree. Its architecture displays clear inspiration from the Taj Mahal.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Asher|first=Catherine B.|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/chol9780521267281|title=Architecture of Mughal India|date=1992-09-24|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-26728-1|pages=263–264|doi=10.1017/chol9780521267281}}</ref><ref name="bibi">{{cite web |title=World Heritage Sites. Bibi-Ka-Maqbar |url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_whs_ellora_bibi.asp |access-date=28 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011201131/http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_whs_ellora_bibi.asp |archive-date=11 October 2011 |url-status = dead}}</ref> Aurangzeb also provided and repaired urban structures like fortifications (for example a wall around Aurangabad, many of whose [[Gates in Aurangabad|gates]] still survive), bridges, [[caravanserais]], and gardens.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|last=Asher|first=Catherine B.|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/chol9780521267281|title=Architecture of Mughal India|date=1992-09-24|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-26728-1|pages=260–261|doi=10.1017/chol9780521267281}}</ref>
 
Aurangzeb was more heavily involved in the repair and maintenance of previously existing structures. The most important of these were mosques, both Mughal and pre-Mughal, which he repaired more of than any of his predecessors.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Asher|first=Catherine B.|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/chol9780521267281|title=Architecture of Mughal India|date=1992-09-24|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-26728-1|pages=255–259|doi=10.1017/chol9780521267281}}</ref> He patronised the ''[[dargahs]]'' of Sufi saints such as [[Bakhtiyar Kaki]], and strived to maintain royal tombs.<ref name=":7" />
 
<gallery>
File:Badshahi Mosque July 1 2005 pic32 by Ali Imran (1).jpg|Seventeenth-century [[Badshahi Masjid]] built by Aurangzeb in Lahore.
File:Aurangabad, Bibi Ka Maqbara, mausoleo per la prima moglie di aurangzaeb Dilras Banu Begum, 1660-69 ca., corpo centrale e minareti 04.jpg|Bibi ka Maqbara.
File:Syed Abdul Rahim Shah Bukhari.jpg|Tomb of [[Sufi]] saint, Syed Abdul Rahim Shah Bukhari constructed by Aurangzeb.
</gallery>
 
====Textiles====
The textile industry in the Mughal Empire emerged very firmly during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and was particularly well noted by Francois Bernier, a French physician of the Mughal Emperor. Francois Bernier writes how ''[[Mughal Karkhanas|Karkanahs]]'', or workshops for the artisans, particularly in textiles flourished by "employing hundreds of embroiderers, who were superintended by a master". He further writes how "Artisans manufacture of silk, fine brocade, and other fine muslins, of which are made turbans, robes of gold flowers, and tunics worn by females, so delicately fine as to wear out in one night, and cost even more if they were well embroidered with fine needlework".<ref name="saudiaramcoworld">{{cite magazine |last=Werner |first=Louis |date=July–August 2011 |title=Mughal Maal |url=http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/201104/mughal.maal.htm |magazine=Saudi Aramco World |access-date=3 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222152801/http://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/201104/mughal.maal.htm |archive-date=22 February 2016}}</ref>
 
He also explains the different techniques employed to produce such complicated textiles such as ''Himru'' (whose name is Persian for "brocade"), ''Paithani'' (whose pattern is identical on both sides), ''Mushru'' (satin weave) and how ''Kalamkari'', in which fabrics are painted or block-printed, was a technique that originally came from Persia. Francois Bernier provided some of the first, impressive descriptions of the designs and the soft, delicate texture of [[Shawl|Pashmina shawls]] also known as ''Kani'', which were very valued for their warmth and comfort among the Mughals, and how these textiles and shawls eventually began to find their way to France and England.<ref name="saudiaramcoworld2">{{cite magazine |last=Hansen |first=Eric |date=July–August 2002 |title=Pashmina: Kashmir's Best Cashmere |url=http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200204/pashmina-kashmir.s.best.cashmere.htm |magazine=Saudi Aramco World |access-date=3 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041027085612/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200204/pashmina-kashmir.s.best.cashmere.htm |archive-date=27 October 2004}}</ref>
 
<gallery>
File:Caspar David Friedrich - Frau mit Umschlagtuch (1804).jpg|[[Shawl]]s manufactured in the Mughal Empire had highly influenced other cultures around the world.
File:Muslim-shawl-makers-kashmir1867.jpg|[[Shawl]] makers in the Mughal Empire.
File:Floorspread LACMA M.79.9.6 (1 of 3).jpg|Mughal imperial carpet
</gallery>
 
==Foreign relations==
[[File:Hofstaat zu Delhi am Geburtstag des Großmoguls01.jpg|thumb|''The Birthday of the Grand Mogul Aurangzeb'', made 1701–1708 by [[Johann Melchior Dinglinger]].<ref name="google4">{{cite book|title=The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture|author1=Schimmel, A.|author2=Waghmar, B.K.|date=2004|publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=9781861891853|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N7sewQQzOHUC|page=17|access-date=3 October 2014}}</ref>]]
 
Aurangzeb sent diplomatic missions to [[Mecca]] in 1659 and 1662, with money and gifts for the [[Sharif of Mecca|Sharif]]. He also sent alms in 1666 and 1672 to be distributed in Mecca and [[Medina]]. Historian Naimur Rahman Farooqi writes that, "By 1694, Aurangzeb's ardour for the Sharifs of Mecca had begun to wane; their greed and rapacity had thoroughly disillusioned the Emperor ... Aurangzeb expressed his disgust at the unethical behavior of the Sharif who appropriated all the money sent to the [[Hijaz]] for his own use, thus depriving the needy and the poor."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Farooqi |first=Naimur Rahman |year=1989 |title=Mughal-Ottoman Relations |location=Delhi |publisher=Idarah-i Adabiyat-i Delli |pages=124, 126 |oclc=20894584 |quote=In November 1659, shortly after his formal coronation, Aurangzeb sent ... a diplomatic mission to Mecca ... entrusted with 630.000 rupees for the Sharif families of Mecca and Medina ... Aurangzeb sent another mission to Mecca in 1662 ... with presents worth 660,000 rupees ... Aurangzeb also sent considerable amount of money, through his own agents, to Mecca. In 1666 ... alms and offerings; ... six years later ... several lakhs of rupees; the money was to be spent in charity in Mecca and Medina.}}</ref>
 
===Relations with the Uzbek===
[[Subhan Quli Khan]], [[Balkh]]'s Uzbek ruler was the first to recognise him in 1658 and requested for a general alliance, he worked alongside the new Mughal Emperor since 1647, when Aurangzeb was the Subedar of Balkh.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
 
===Relations with the Safavid dynasty===
Aurangzeb received the embassy of [[Abbas II of Persia]] in 1660 and returned them with gifts. However, relations between the Mughal Empire and the [[Safavid dynasty]] were tense because the Persians attacked the Mughal army positioned near [[Kandahar]]. Aurangzeb prepared his armies in the Indus River Basin for a counteroffensive, but Abbas II's death in 1666 caused Aurangzeb to end all hostilities. Aurangzeb's rebellious son, [[Sultan Muhammad Akbar]], sought refuge with [[Suleiman I of Persia]], who had rescued him from the [[Imam]] of [[Musqat]] and later refused to assist him in any military adventures against Aurangzeb.<ref>{{cite book |first=Rudi |last=Matthee |title=Persia in Crisis: Safavid Decline and the Fall of Isfahan |pages=126, 136 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fFaw4od7nfUC&pg=PA126|isbn=9781845117450 |date=15 December 2011}}</ref>
 
===Relations with the French===
In 1667, the French East India Company ambassadors Le Gouz and Bebert presented [[Louis XIV of France]]'s letter which urged the protection of French merchants from various rebels in the Deccan. In response to the letter, Aurangzeb issued a ''[[firman]]'' allowing the French to open a factory in [[Surat]].{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
 
<gallery>
File:Pomp and Ceremony of the March of the Great Mogol.jpg|''March of the Great Moghul'' (Aurangzeb)
File:Voyage de Francois Bernier by Paul Maret 1710.jpg|[[François Bernier]], was a French physician and traveller, who for 12 years was the personal physician of Aurangzeb. He described his experiences in ''Travels in the Mughal Empire''.
File:Indostan - a Map of India by Vincenzo Coronelli, Venice 1692.jpg|Map of the Mughal Empire by Vincenzo Coronelli (1650–1718) of Venice, who served as Royal Geographer to Louis XIV of France.
File:1652 Sanson Map of India - Geographicus - India-sanson-1652.jpg|French map of the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]].
</gallery>
 
===Relations with the Sultanate of Maldives===
 
In the 1660s, the Sultan of the Maldives, [[Ibrahim Iskandar I]], requested help from Aurangzeb's representative, the [[Faujdar]] of [[Balasore]]. The Sultan wished to gain his support in possible future expulsions of Dutch and English trading ships, as he was concerned with how they might impact the economy of the Maldives. However, as Aurangzeb did not possess a powerful navy and had no interest in providing support to Ibrahim in a possible future war with the Dutch or English, the request came to nothing.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tripathy |first=Rasananda |year=1986 |title=Crafts and commerce in Orissa in the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ybX1-CqEXPkC&pg=PA91 |location=Delhi |publisher=Mittal Publications |page=91 |oclc=14068594 |access-date=29 April 2012}}</ref>
 
===Relations with the Ottoman Empire===
Like his father, Aurangzeb was not willing to acknowledge the Ottoman claim to the [[caliphate]]. He often supported the Ottoman Empire's enemies, extending cordial welcome to two rebel Governors of Basra, and granting them and their families a high status in the imperial service. Sultan [[Suleiman II of the Ottoman Empire|Suleiman II]]'s friendly postures were ignored by Aurangzeb.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uB1uAAAAMAAJ |title=Mughal-Ottoman relations: a study of political & diplomatic relations |first=Naimur Rahman|last=Farooqi |publisher=Idarah-i Adabiyat-i Delli|year=1989|pages=332–333|quote=Aurangzeb, who seized the Peacock throne from Shahjahan, was equally unwilling to acknowledge the Ottoman claim to the Khilafat. Hostile towards the Ottomans, the Emperor took every opportunity to support the opponents of the Ottoman regime. He cordially welcomed two rebel Governors of Basra and gave them and their dependents high mansabs in the imperial service. Aurangzeb also did not respond to Sultan Suleiman II's friendly overtures.}}</ref> The Sultan urged Aurangzeb to wage holy war against Christians.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uB1uAAAAMAAJ |title=Mughal-Ottoman relations: a study of political & diplomatic relations |first=Naimur Rahman |last=Farooqi|publisher=Idarah-i Adabiyat-i Delli|year=1989|access-date=29 April 2012|pages=151|quote=Suleiman II even solicited Aurangzeb's support against the Christians and urged him to wage holy war against them. }}</ref>
 
===Relations with the English and the Anglo-Mughal War===
{{See also|Anglo-Mughal War}}
[[File:The English ask pardon of Aurangzeb.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Josiah Child]] requests a pardon from Aurangzeb during the [[Anglo-Mughal War]].]]
 
In 1686, the [[East India Company|Honourable East India Company]], which had unsuccessfully tried to obtain a ''[[firman]]'' that would grant them regular trading privileges throughout the Mughal Empire, initiated the [[Anglo-Mughal War]].<ref name="encyclopedia">{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Asia.aspx# |title=Asia Facts, information, pictures &#124; Encyclopedia.com articles about Asia &#124; Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World |publisher=encyclopedia.com|access-date=23 February 2015}}</ref> This war ended in disaster for the English, particularly in 1689 when Aurangzeb dispatched a large fleet of [[Grab (ship)|grabs]] from [[Janjira State|Janjira]] that [[blockade]]d [[Bombay]]. The ships, commanded by [[Sidi Yaqub]], were manned by [[Mappila]] (loyal to [[Arakkal kingdom|Ali Raja Ali II]]) and [[Abyssinian people|Abyssinian]] sailors.<ref name="Faruki 1935">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vvNtAAAAMAAJ |title=Aurangzeb and His times |first=Zahiruddin |last=Faruki |publisher=Idarah-i Adabiyāt-i Delli |year=1935 |location=Bombay |edition=Reprinted}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=September 2012}} In 1690, realising the war was not going favourably for them, the Company sent envoys to Aurangzeb's camp to plead for a pardon. The company's envoys prostrated themselves before the emperor, agreed pay a large indemnity, and promise to refrain from such actions in the future.<ref name="Faruki 1935"/>{{Page needed|date=November 2020}}
 
In September 1695, English pirate [[Henry Every]] conducted one of the most profitable pirate raids in history with his capture of a Grand Mughal grab convoy near [[Surat]]. The Indian ships had been returning home from their annual [[Hajj|pilgrimage to Mecca]] when the pirate struck, capturing the ''[[Ganj-i-Sawai]]'', reportedly the largest ship in the Muslim fleet, and its escorts in the process. When news of the capture reached the mainland, a livid Aurangzeb nearly ordered an armed attack against the English-governed city of Bombay, though he finally agreed to compromise after the Company promised to pay financial reparations, estimated at £600,000 by the Mughal authorities.<ref name="Burgess">{{cite journal |last1=Burgess |first1=Douglas R. |year=2009 |title=Piracy in the Public Sphere: The Henry Every Trials and the Battle for Meaning in Seventeenth‐Century Print Culture |journal=Journal of British Studies |volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=887–913 |doi=10.1086/603599 |s2cid=145637922 }}</ref> Meanwhile, Aurangzeb shut down four of the English East India Company's [[Factory (trading post)|factories]], imprisoned the workers and captains (who were nearly [[Lynching|lynched]] by a rioting mob), and threatened to put an end to all English trading in India until Every was captured.<ref name="Burgess"/> The Privy Council and East India Company offered a massive bounty for Every's apprehension, leading to the first worldwide manhunt in recorded history.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Pirates' Pact: The Secret Alliances Between History's Most Notorious Buccaneers and Colonial America |url=https://archive.org/details/piratespactsecre00jrdo |url-access=limited |last=Burgess |first=Douglas R. |year=2009 |publisher= McGraw-Hill |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-07-147476-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/piratespactsecre00jrdo/page/n162 144]}}</ref> However, Every successfully eluded capture.{{Citation needed|date=September 2012}}
 
In 1702, Aurangzeb sent Daud Khan Panni, the Mughal Empire's Subhedar of the [[Carnatic region]], to besiege and blockade [[Fort St. George]] for more than three months.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yQgt5SYepi8C&pg=PA11 |title=A Miscellany of Mutinies And Massacres in India |first=Terence R. |last=Blackburn |publisher=APH Publishing |year=2007 |page=11 |isbn=9788131301692}}</ref> The governor of the fort [[Thomas Pitt]] was instructed by the East India Company to sue for peace.
 
==Administrative reforms==
 
===Tribute===
Aurangzeb received tribute from all over the [[Indian subcontinent]], using this wealth to establish bases and fortifications in India, particularly in the Carnatic, Deccan, Bengal and Lahore.
 
===Revenue===
[[File:India in 1700 Joppen.jpg|thumb|right|upright|By 1690, Aurangzeb was acknowledged as: ''"emperor of the Mughal Sultanate from [[Cape Comorin]] to [[Kabul]]"''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HTCsAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA178|title=The East India Company and the British Empire in the Far East |first1=Marguerite Eyer |last1=Wilbur |location=Stanford |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1951 |page=178 |isbn=9780804728645}}</ref>]]
 
Aurangzeb's exchequer raised a record{{Citation needed|date=September 2012}} £100&nbsp;million in annual revenue through various sources like taxes, customs and land revenue, ''et al.'' from 24 provinces.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yUhvfR1S_UEC&pg=PA311 |title=The Indian Empire: Its People, History, and Products |first=Sir William Wilson |last=Hunter |author-link=William Wilson Hunter |publisher=Asian Educational Services |location=New Delhi |year=2005 |orig-year=First published 1886 (London:) |edition=Reprinted |page=311 |isbn=9788120615816}}</ref> He had an annual yearly revenue of $450 million, more than ten times that of his contemporary [[Louis XIV of France]].<ref name="harrison">{{cite book|title=Developing cultures: case studies|author=[[Lawrence Harrison (academic)|Lawrence E. Harrison]], [[Peter L. Berger]]|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2006|page=158|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RB0oAQAAIAAJ|isbn=9780415952798}}</ref>
 
===Coins===
<gallery>
File:Half rupee coin of Aurangzeb.jpg|Half rupee
File:Silver Rupee of Aurangazeb AH1096.jpg|Rupee coin showing full name
File:047aur13.jpg|Rupee with square area
File:074aur-12.JPG|A copper dam of Aurangzeb
</gallery>
Aurangzeb felt that verses from the ''Quran'' should not be stamped on coins, as done in former times, because they were constantly touched by the hands and feet of people. His coins had the name of the mint city and the year of issue on one face, and, the following couplet on other:<ref name=Alamgiri>{{cite book |last=Khan |first=Sāqi Must'ad |translator-last=Sarkar |translator-first=Sir Jadunath |translator-link=Jadunath Sarkar |year=1947 |title=Maāsir-i-'Ālamgiri: A History of the Emperor Aurangzib 'Ālamgir (reign 1658–1707 A.D.) |location=Calcutta |publisher=Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal |page=13 |oclc=692517744 |quote=In former times the sacred Quaranic ''credo'' (''Kalma'') used to be stamped on gold and silver coins, and such coins were constantly touched with the hands and feet of men; Aurangzib said that it would be better to stamp some other words ... The Emperor liked it [the couplet] and ordered that one face ... should be stamped with this verse and the other with the name of the mint-city and the year.}}</ref>
 
{{blockquote|King Aurangzib 'Ālamgir<br /> Stamped coins, in the world, like the bright full moon.<ref name=Alamgiri />}}
 
==Rebellions==
[[File:Battle elephant.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Aurangzeb spent his reign crushing major and minor rebellions throughout the Mughal Empire.]]
 
Traditional and newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as the Marathas, Rajputs, [[Hindu Jats]], [[Pashtuns]], and [[Sikh]]s, gained military and governing ambitions during Mughal rule, which, through collaboration or opposition, gave them both recognition and military experience.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Metcalf |first1=Barbara D. |author-link1=Barbara D. Metcalf |last2=Metcalf |first2=Thomas R. |author-link2=Thomas R. Metcalf |year=2006 |title=A Concise History of Modern India |url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistorymo00metc |url-access=limited |edition=Second |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/concisehistorymo00metc/page/n58 23]–24 |isbn=978-0-521-86362-9}}</ref>
* In 1669, the Hindu Jat peasants of Bharatpur around [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]] rebelled and created [[Bharatpur, India|Bharatpur]] state but were defeated.
* In 1659, [[Shivaji]], launched a surprise attack on the Mughal Viceroy Shaista Khan and, while waging war against Aurangzeb. Shivaji and his forces attacked the Deccan, [[Janjira State|Janjira]] and [[Surat]] and tried to gain control of vast territories. In 1689 Aurangzeb's armies captured Shivaji's son [[Sambhaji]] and executed him after he had sacked [[Burhanpur]]. But, the Marathas continued the fight and it actually started the terminal decline of his empire.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FzmkFXSgxqgC&pg=RA1-PA52 |title=An Atlas and Survey of South Asian History |first=Karl J. |last=Schmidt |page=54 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |year=1995 |isbn=9781563243349 |location=Armonk, New York |access-date=29 April 2012}}</ref>
* In 1679, the [[Rathore]] clan under the command of [[Durgadas Rathore]] rebelled when Aurangzeb didn't give permission to make the young Rathore prince the king and took direct command of [[Jodhpur]]. This incident caused great unrest among the Hindu [[Rajput]] rulers under Aurangzeb and led to many rebellions in [[Rajputana]].<ref name=CHIp248-252>{{cite book |last1=Dodwell |first1=Henry H |year=1962 |title=The Cambridge History of India |pages=248–252 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yoI8AAAAIAAJ |access-date=15 September 2011}}</ref>
* In 1672, the [[Satnami]], a sect concentrated in an area near Delhi, under the leadership of Bhirbhan, took over the administration of [[Narnaul]], but they were eventually crushed upon Aurangzeb's personal intervention with very few escaping alive.<ref name="Edwardes1930" />
* In 1671, the [[Battle of Saraighat]] was fought in the easternmost regions of the Mughal Empire against the [[Ahom Kingdom]]. The Mughals led by [[Mir Jumla II]] and Shaista Khan attacked and were defeated by the Ahoms.
* [[Maharaja Chhatrasal]] was a medieval Indian warrior from Bundela Rajput clan, who fought against the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, and established his own kingdom in [[Bundelkhand]], becoming a Maharaja of [[Panna State|Panna]].<ref>Bhagavānadāsa Gupta, Contemporary Sources of the Mediaeval and Modern History of Bundelkhand (1531–1857), vol. 1 (1999). {{ISBN|81-85396-23-X}}.</ref>
 
===Jat rebellion===
[[File:Gate of the Tomb of Akbar at Sikandra, Agra, India, 1795.jpg|thumb|left|The tomb of [[Akbar]] was pillaged by Jat rebels during the reign of Aurangzeb.]]
 
In 1669, [[Hindu Jats]] began to organise a rebellion that is believed to have been caused by the re-imposition of ''jizya'' and destruction of Hindu temples in Mathura.{{sfn|Avari|2013|p=131|ps=: Crisis arose in the north among the Jat agriculturists dissatisfied with punitive imperial taxation ... The first to rebel against the Mughals were the Hindu Jats.}}<ref>[https://www.google.com/search?q=In+1669+the+demolition+of+Hindu+temples+and+building+of+mosques+in+Mathura+led+to+a+Jat+uprising+under+Gokla&client=ms-android-asus-tpin&prmd=niv&sxsrf=ALeKk00DAl765NVg8N3F9kl1TnA19NbxpQ:1621014310797&source=lnms&tbm=bks&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjDuK7x3MnwAhXPAnIKHflzAVQQ_AUoBnoECAIQBg&biw=360&bih=593&dpr=3 The History of Indian people by Damodar P Singhal pg 196] Quote: "In 1669 the demolition of Hindu temples and building of mosques in Mathura led to a Jat uprising under Gokla"</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dailyo.in/arts/jat-rebels-and-akbar-s-mausoleum/story/1/27841.html |title=How Jat fury turned into a very powerful revolt against the Mughals |website=Daily O}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=July 2021}} The Jats were led by [[Gokula]], a rebel landholder from [[Tilpat]]. By the year 1670 20,000 Jat rebels were quelled and the Mughal Army took control of Tilpat, Gokula's personal fortune amounted to 93,000 gold coins and hundreds of thousands of silver coins.<ref name="google6">{{cite book|title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part – II|author=Chandra, S.|date=2005|publisher=Har-Anand Publications|isbn=9788124110669|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rm9MC4DDrcC|page=290|access-date=3 October 2014}}</ref>
 
Gokula was caught and executed. But the Jats once again attempted began their rebellion. [[Raja Ram Jat]], in order to avenge his father Gokula's death, plundered Akbar's tomb of its gold, silver and fine carpets, opened Akbar's grave and dragged his bones and burned them in retaliation.<ref name=jats>Vīrasiṃha, 2006, [https://books.google.com/books?isbn=8188629529 "The Jats: Their Role & Contribution to the Socio-economic Life and Polity of North & North-west India, Volume 2"], Delhi: Originals , Page 100-102.</ref><ref name=jats1>Edward James Rap;son, Sir Wolseley Haig and Sir Richard, 1937, [https://books.google.com/books?id=yoI8AAAAIAAJ "The Cambridge History of India"], Cambridge University Press, Volume 4, pp.305.</ref><ref name=jats2>Waldemar Hansen, 1986, [https://books.google.com/books?isbn=812080225X "The Peacock Throne: The Drama of Mogul India"], Page 454.</ref><ref name=jats3>Reddy, 2005, [https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0070604479 "General Studies History for UPSC"], [[Tata McGraw-Hill]], Page B-46.</ref><ref name=jats4>Catherine Ella Blanshard Asher, 1992, [https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0521267285 "Architecture of Mughal India – Part 1"], Cambridge university Press, Volume 4, Page 108.</ref> Jats also shot off the tops of the minarets on the gateway to Akbar's Tomb and melted down two silver doors from the [[Taj Mahal]].<ref name=jattomb1>{{cite book |last=Peck |first=Lucy |year=2008 |title=Agra: The Architectural Heritage |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZtFbBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT44 |publisher=Roli Books |isbn=978-81-7436-942-0}}</ref><ref name=jattomb2>Sir Harry Hamilton Johnston, Leslie Haden Guest, 1937, [https://books.google.com/books?id=SvkqAAAAIAAJ The World of To-day: The Marvels of Nature and the Creations of Man], Volume 2, p. 510</ref><ref name="jattomb3">{{cite book |last=Havell |first=Ernest Binfield |author-link=Ernest Binfield Havell |year=1904 |title=A Handbook to Agra and the Taj, Sikandra, Fatehpur-Sikri and the Neighbourhood |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AmgLAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA75 |publisher=Longmans, Green, and Company |page=75}}</ref><ref name="jattomb4">{{cite book |last=Penfield |first=Frederic Courtland |author-link=Frederic Courtland Penfield |year=1907 |title=East to Suez Ceylon, India, China, and Japan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7X9Q_rOFzZIC&pg=PA179 |page=179}}</ref> Aurangzeb appointed Mohammad Bidar Bakht as commander to crush the Jat rebellion. On 4 July 1688, Raja Ram Jat was captured and beheaded. His head was sent to Aurangzeb as proof.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.48871/2015.48871.Maasir---I---Alamgiri#page/n199/mode/2up/search/ellora | title=Maasir - I - Alamgiri| year=1947}}</ref>
 
However, after Aurangeb's death, Jats under [[Badan Singh]] later established their independent state of [[Bharatpur, India|Bharatpur]].
 
===Mughal–Maratha Wars===
{{Main|Mughal–Maratha Wars}}
{{See also|Maratha Empire}}
[[File:Aurangzeb au siège de Satara.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Aurangzeb leads the Mughal Army during the [[Battle of Satara]].]]
 
In 1657, while Aurangzeb attacked Golconda and Bijapur in the Deccan, the Hindu [[Maratha]] warrior, [[Shivaji]], used guerrilla tactics to take control of three Adil Shahi forts formerly under his father's command. With these victories, Shivaji assumed de facto leadership of many independent Maratha clans. The Marathas harried the flanks of the warring Adil Shahis, gaining weapons, forts, and territory.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kincaid |first=Dennis |year=1937 |title=The Grand Rebel: An Impression of Shivaji, Founder of the Maratha Empire |location=London |publisher=Collins |pages=72–78}}</ref> Shivaji's small and ill-equipped army survived an all out Adil Shahi attack, and Shivaji personally killed the Adil Shahi general, Afzal Khan.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kincaid |first=Dennis |year=1937 |title=The Grand Rebel: An Impression of Shivaji Maharaj, Founder of the Maratha Empire |location=London |publisher=Collins |pages=121–125}}</ref> With this event, the Marathas transformed into a powerful military force, capturing more and more Adil Shahi territories.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kincaid |first=Dennis |year=1937 |title=The Grand Rebel: An Impression of Shivaji, Founder of the Maratha Empire |location=London |publisher=Collins |pages=130–138}}</ref> Shivaji went on to neutralise Mughal power in the region.<ref>{{cite book |date=2004 |orig-year=First published 1994 as ''Histoire de l'Inde Moderne'' |editor-first=Claude |editor-last=Markovits |title=A History of Modern India, 1480–1950 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uzOmy2y0Zh4C |edition=2nd |location=London |publisher=Anthem Press |page=102 |isbn=978-1-84331-004-4}}</ref>
 
In 1659, Aurangzeb sent his trusted general and maternal uncle Shaista Khan, the [[Wali]] in Golconda to recover forts lost to the Maratha rebels. Shaista Khan drove into Maratha territory and took up residence in [[Pune]]. But in a daring raid on the governor's palace in Pune during a midnight wedding celebration, led by Shivaji himself, the Marathas killed Shaista Khan's son and Shivaji maimed Shaista Khan by cutting off three fingers of his hand. Shaista Khan, however, survived and was re-appointed the administrator of Bengal going on to become a key commander in the war against the Ahoms.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
 
[[File:Raja Shivaji at Aurangzeb's Darbar- M V Dhurandhar.jpg|thumb|280px|Raja Shivaji at Aurangzeb's Darbar- M V Dhurandhar]]
 
Shivaji captured forts belonging to both Mughals and Bijapur. At last Aurangzeb ordered the armament of the [[Daulatabad, Maharashtra|Daulatabad Fort]] with two [[Bombard (weapon)|bombards]] (the Daulatabad Fort was later used as a Mughal bastion during the Deccan Wars). Aurangzeb also sent his general [[Jai Singh I|Raja Jai Singh]] of [[Amber, India|Amber]], a Hindu Rajput, to attack the Marathas. Jai Singh won the [[Purandar fort|fort of Purandar]] after fierce battle in which the Maratha commander [[Murarbaji]] fell. Foreseeing defeat, Shivaji agreed for a truce and a meeting with Aurangzeb at Delhi. Jai Singh also promised Shivaji his safety, placing him under the care of his own son, the future Raja [[Ram Singh I]]. However, circumstances at the Mughal court were beyond the control of the Raja, and when Shivaji and his son [[Sambhaji]] went to Agra to meet Aurangzeb, they were placed under house arrest because of Shivaji's apparent misbehaviour, from which they managed to effect a daring escape.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kincaid |first=Dennis |year=1937 |title= The History of Medieviel India:from sultanates to mughals by Satish Chandra|publisher=Penguin }}</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2020}}
 
Shivaji returned to the Deccan, and crowned himself ''Chhatrapati'' or the ruler of the Maratha Kingdom in 1674.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kincaid |first=Dennis |year=1937 |title=The Grand Rebel: An Impression of Shivaji, Founder of the Maratha Empire |location=London |publisher=Collins |page=283}}</ref> While Aurangzeb continued to send troops against him, Shivaji expanded Maratha control throughout the Deccan until his death in 1680. Shivaji was succeeded by his son, Sambhaji. Militarily and politically, Mughal efforts to control the Deccan continued to fail.<ref>{{cite book|title=Studies in Mughal History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZdCrUxFAHEC&pg=PA42|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publication|first=Ashvini|last=Agrawal|year=1983|isbn=9788120823266}}</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2020}}
 
On the other hand, Aurangzeb's third son [[Sultan Muhammad Akbar|Akbar]] left the Mughal court along with a few Muslim Mansabdar supporters and joined Muslim rebels in the Deccan. Aurangzeb in response moved his court to Aurangabad and took over command of the Deccan campaign. The rebels were defeated and Akbar fled south to seek refuge with Sambhaji, Shivaji's successor. More battles ensued, and Akbar fled to [[Persia]] and never returned.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Great Moghuls |first1=Bamber |last1=Gascoigne |first2=Christina |last2=Gascoigne |author-link1=Bamber Gascoigne |publisher=Cape |year=1971 |pages=228–229 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ryFAAAAIAAJ |isbn=978-0-224-00580-7}}</ref>
 
In 1689, Aurangzeb's forces captured and executed Sambhaji. His successor [[Rajaram Chhatrapati|Rajaram]], later Rajaram's widow [[Tarabai]] and their Maratha forces fought individual battles against the forces of the Mughal Empire. Territory changed hands repeatedly during the years (1689–1707) of interminable warfare . As there was no central authority among the Marathas, Aurangzeb was forced to contest every inch of territory, at great cost in lives and money. Even as Aurangzeb drove west, deep into Maratha territory&nbsp;– notably conquering [[Satara district|Satara]]&nbsp;— the Marathas expanded eastwards into Mughal lands&nbsp;– [[Malwa]] and [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]]. The Marathas also expanded further South into Southern India defeating the independent local rulers there capturing [[Gingee|Jinji]] in Tamil Nadu. Aurangzeb waged continuous war in the Deccan for more than two decades with no resolution.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Great Moghuls |first1=Bamber |last1=Gascoigne |first2=Christina |last2=Gascoigne |author-link1=Bamber Gascoigne |publisher=Cape |year=1971 |pages=239–246 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ryFAAAAIAAJ |isbn=978-0-224-00580-7}}</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2020}} He thus lost about a fifth of his army fighting rebellions led by the Marathas in [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan India]]. He travelled a long distance to the Deccan to conquer the Marathas and eventually died at the age of 88, still fighting the Marathas.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gordon|first1=Stewart|title=The Marathas 1600–1818|date=1993|publisher=Cambridge University|location=New York|isbn=978-0521268837|pages=101–105|edition=1. publ.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHK-BhVXOU4C&q=aurangzeb+1707&pg=PR9|access-date=20 July 2016}}</ref>
 
Aurangzeb's shift from conventional warfare to anti-insurgency in the Deccan region shifted the paradigm of Mughal military thought. There were conflicts between Marathas and Mughals in [[Pune]], Jinji, Malwa and [[Vadodara]]. The Mughal Empire's port city of [[Surat]] was sacked twice by the Marathas during the reign of Aurangzeb and the valuable port was in ruins.<ref name="google7">{{cite book|title=A History of India|author1=Stein, B.|author2=Arnold, D.|date=2010|publisher=Wiley|isbn=9781444323511|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QY4zdTDwMAQC|page=181|access-date=3 October 2014}}</ref>
[[Matthew White (historian)|Matthew White]] estimates that about 2.5 million of Aurangzeb's army were killed during the Mughal–Maratha Wars (100,000 annually during a quarter-century), while 2 million civilians in war-torn lands died due to drought, [[Plague (disease)|plague]] and [[Famine in India|famine]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Matthew White|year=2011|title=Atrocitology: Humanity's 100 Deadliest Achievements|publisher=[[Canongate Books]] |page=113|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5w9qmd1UeMC&pg=PP113|isbn=9780857861252|author-link=Matthew White (historian)}}</ref>
 
<gallery>
File:A portrait probably made by a Mughal artist, in the Deccan, during Aurangzeb's military campaigns there.jpg|A Mughal trooper in the Deccan.
File:Bhavanidas. The Emperor Aurangzeb Carried on a Palanquin ca. 1705–20 Metripolitan Museum of Art..jpg|Aurangzeb leads his final expedition (1705), leading an army of 500,000 troops.
File:Prince with rifle.jpg|Mughal-era aristocrat armed with a matchlock musket.
</gallery>
 
===Ahom campaign===
[[File:Aurangzeb in old age 2.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Aurangzeb reciting the [[Quran]].]]
While Aurangzeb and his brother Shah Shuja had been fighting against each other, the Hindu rulers of [[Kuch Behar]] and [[Assam]] took advantage of the disturbed conditions in the Mughal Empire, had invaded imperial dominions. For three years they were not attacked,{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} but in 1660 [[Mir Jumla II]], the viceroy of Bengal, was ordered to recover the lost territories.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Sarkar |editor-first=Jadunath |editor-link=Jadunath Sarkar |year=1973 |orig-year=First published 1948 |title=The History of Bengal |volume=II |location=Patna |publisher=Academica Asiatica |page=346 |oclc=924890 |quote=Mir Jumla was appointed governor of Bengal (June 1660) and ordered to punish the kings of Kuch Bihar and Assam.}}</ref>
 
The Mughals set out in November 1661. Within weeks they occupied the capital of Kuch Behar, which they annexed. Leaving a detachment to garrison it, the Mughal army began to retake their territories in Assam. Mir Jumla II advanced on Garhgaon, the capital of the [[Ahom kingdom]], and reached it on 17 March 1662. The ruler, Raja [[Sutamla]], had fled before his approach. The Mughals captured 82 elephants, 300,000 rupees in cash, 1000 ships, and 173 stores of rice.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Sarkar |editor-first=Jadunath |editor-link=Jadunath Sarkar |year=1973 |orig-year=First published 1948 |title=The History of Bengal |volume=II |location=Patna |publisher=Academica Asiatica |pages=346–347 |oclc=924890 |quote=[Mir Jumla] left Dacca on 1st November 1661 ... the Mughal army entered the capital of Kuch Bihar on 19th December ... The kingdom was annexed to the Mughal empire ... Mir Jumla set out for the conquest of Assam on 4th January, 1662 ... triumphantly marched into Garh-gaon the Ahom capital on 17th March. Raja Jayadhwaj ... had fled .. The spoils ... 82 elephants, 3 lakhs of rupees in cash, ... over a thousand bots, and 173 stores of paddy.}}</ref>
 
On his way back to [[Dacca]], in March 1663, Mir Jumla II died of natural causes.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Sarkar |editor-first=Jadunath |editor-link=Jadunath Sarkar |year=1973 |orig-year=First published 1948 |title=The History of Bengal |volume=II |location=Patna |publisher=Academica Asiatica |pages=350 |oclc=924890 |quote=[Mir Jumla] set out on his return on 10th January 1663, travelling by ''pālki'' owing to his illness, which daily increased. At Baritalā he embarked in a boat and glided down the river toward Dacca, dying on 31st March.}}</ref> Skirmishes continued between the Mughals and Ahoms after the rise of [[Chakradhwaj Singha]], who refused to pay further indemnity to the Mughals and during the wars that continued the Mughals suffered great hardships. Munnawar Khan emerged as a leading figure and is known to have supplied food to vulnerable Mughal forces in the region near Mathurapur. Although the Mughals under the command of Syed Firoz Khan the [[Faujdar]] at Guwahati were overrun by two Ahom armies in 1667, but they continued to hold and maintain presence in their eastern territories even after the [[Battle of Saraighat]] in 1671.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}
 
The Battle of Saraighat was fought in 1671 between the Mughal empire (led by the Kachwaha king, Raja Ramsingh I), and the Ahom Kingdom (led by Lachit Borphukan) on the Brahmaputra river at Saraighat, now in Guwahati. Although much weaker, the Ahom Army defeated the Mughal Army by brilliant uses of the terrain, clever diplomatic negotiations to buy time, guerrilla tactics, psychological warfare, military intelligence and by exploiting the sole weakness of the Mughal forces—its navy.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
 
The Battle of Saraighat was the last battle in the last major attempt by the Mughals to extend their empire into Assam. Though the Mughals managed to regain Guwahati briefly after a later Borphukan deserted it, the Ahoms wrested control in the Battle of Itakhuli in 1682 and maintained it till the end of their rule.<ref name=ahom2>Sarkar, J. N. (1992), "Chapter VIII Assam-Mughal Relations", in Barpujari, H. K., The Comprehensive History of Assam 2, Guwahati: Assam Publication Board, pp. 148–256</ref>
 
===Satnami opposition===
[[File:Emperor Aurangzeb at a jharokha window, two noblemen in the foregroundIn 1710 San Diego Museum of Art.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Aurangzeb dispatched his personal imperial guard during the campaign against the Satnami rebels.]]
 
In May 1672, the Satnami sect obeying the commandments of an "old toothless woman" (according to Mughal accounts) organised a massive{{Clarify|reason=vague|date=April 2015}} revolt in the agricultural heartlands of the Mughal Empire. The Satnamis were known to have shaved off their heads and even eyebrows and had temples in many regions of [[Northern India]]. They began a large-scale rebellion 75 miles southwest of Delhi.<ref name="books.google.com.pk">{{cite book|title=The Peacock Throne: The Drama of Mogul India|author=Hansen, W.|date=1986|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=9788120802254|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AV--abKg9GEC|page=454|access-date=3 October 2014}}</ref>
 
The Satnamis believed they were invulnerable to Mughal bullets and believed they could multiply in any region they entered. The Satnamis initiated their march upon Delhi and overran small-scale Mughal infantry units.<ref name="Edwardes1930">{{cite book |last1=Edwardes |first1=Stephen Meredyth |last2=Garrett |first2=Herbert Leonard Offley |year=1930 |title=Mughal Rule in India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4aqU9Zu7mFoC&pg=PA119 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers and Distributors |page=119|isbn=9788171565511 }}</ref>
 
Aurangzeb responded by organising a [[Army of the Mughal Empire|Mughal army]] of 10,000 troops and artillery, and dispatched detachments of his own personal Mughal imperial guards to carry out several tasks. To boost Mughal morale, Aurangzeb wrote Islamic prayers, made [[amulet]]s, and drew designs that would become emblems in the Mughal Army. This rebellion would have a serious aftermath effect on the Punjab.<ref name="books.google.com.pk"/>
 
===Sikh opposition===
[[File:Sheesh Ganj Gurudwara.jpg|thumb|[[Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib]] in Delhi is built at the place where [[Guru Tegh Bahadur]] was beheaded.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]]|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pm-modi-visits-gurdwara-sis-ganj-sahib-in-delhi-on-400th-prakash-parab-of-guru-teg-bahadur-101619837925141.html|title=PM Modi visits Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Delhi on 400th Prakash Parab of Guru Teg Bahadur|date=1 May 2021}}</ref>]]
 
The ninth Sikh Guru, [[Guru Tegh Bahadur]], like his predecessors was opposed to forced conversion of the local population as he considered it wrong. Approached by [[Kashmiri Pandit]]s to help them retain their faith and avoid [[forced conversion|forced religious conversions]], Guru Tegh Bahadur sent a message to the emperor that if he could convert Teg Bagadur to Islam, every Hindu will become a Muslim.<ref name=sehgal /> In response, Aurangzeb ordered arrest of the Guru. He was then brought to Delhi and tortured so as to convert him. On his refusal to convert, he was beheaded in 1675.<ref name=sehgal>{{cite book |last=Sehgal |first=Narender |year=1994 |title=Converted Kashmir: Memorial of Mistakes |url=http://www.kashmir-information.com/ConvertedKashmir/Chapter14.html |location=Delhi |publisher=Utpal Publications |pages=152–153 |isbn=978-8185217062 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140418030529/http://www.kashmir-information.com/ConvertedKashmir/Chapter14.html |archive-date=18 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/people/teghbahadur.shtml#top |title=Guru Tegh Bahadur |website=BBC}}</ref>
[[File:Zafarnama.jpg|thumb|[[Zafarnama (letter)|Zafarnama]] is the name given to the letter sent by the tenth Sikh Guru, [[Guru Gobind Singh]] in 1705 to Aurangzeb. The letter is written in Persian script.]]
In response, Guru Tegh Bahadur's son and successor, [[Guru Gobind Singh]], further militarised his followers, starting with the establishment of [[Khalsa]] in 1699, eight years before Aurangzeb's death.<ref name="MandairShackle2013p25">{{cite book |author1=Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair |author2=Christopher Shackle |author3=Gurharpal Singh |title=Sikh Religion, Culture and Ethnicity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D8xdAgAAQBAJ |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-84627-4 |pages=25–28}}</ref><ref name="BBC">{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/people/gobindsingh.shtml |title=BBC Religions - Sikhism |publisher=BBC |date=26 October 2009 |access-date=30 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=P Dhavan |title=When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699–1799 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-7HJ5idB8_QC&pg=PA45 |year=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-975655-1 |pages=3–4}}</ref> In 1705, Guru Gobind Singh sent a letter entitled ''[[Zafarnama (letter)|Zafarnamah]]'', which accused Aurangzeb of cruelty and betraying Islam.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chaitanya |first=Krishna |year=1994 |title=A History of Indian Painting: The Modern Period |publisher=Abhinav Publications |pages=3–4 |isbn=978-81-7017-310-6 |quote="In the letter to Aurangzeb in his ''Zafarnama'', Gobind Singh opposes the emperor not because he is a Muslim, but condemns him because he had betrayed Islam by his deceit, unscrupulousness and intolerance. 'You, who profess belief in the one God and the Koran do not have at heart an atom of faith in them... You neither recognise any God, nor do you have any respect for Prophet Mohammed.'"}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Randhawa |first=Karenjot |title=Civil Society in Malerkotla, Punjab: Fostering Resilience Through Religion |date=2012 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=9780739167373 |page=61}}</ref> The letter caused him much distress and remorse.<ref>{{cite book |last=Renard |first=John |title=Fighting Words: Religion, Violence, and the Interpretation of Sacred Texts |date=2012 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520274198 |page=215}}</ref> Guru Gobind Singh's formation of Khalsa in 1699 led to the establishment of the Sikh Confederacy and later [[Sikh Empire]].
 
===Pashtun opposition===
[[File:Aurangzeb in a pavilion with three courtiers below (6124546713).jpg|thumb|left|Aurangzeb in a pavilion with three courtiers below.]]
The Pashtun revolt in 1672 under the leadership of the warrior poet [[Khushal Khan Khattak]] of Kabul,<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Morgenstierne | first1 = G. | doi = 10.1080/03068376008731684 | title = Khushhal Khan—the national poet of the Afghans | journal = Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society | volume = 47 | pages = 49–57 | year = 1960 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Banting |first=Erinn |title=Afghanistan: The Culture ''Lands, Peoples, & Cultures'' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w5fqBZDuGPgC&pg=PA28 |access-date=28 February 2013 |year=2003 |publisher=Crabtree Publishing Company |isbn=978-0778793373 |page=28 }}</ref> was triggered when soldiers under the orders of the Mughal Governor Amir Khan allegedly molested women of the [[Pashtun tribes]] in modern-day [[Kunar Province]] of [[Afghanistan]]. The Safi tribes retaliated against the soldiers. This attack provoked a reprisal, which triggered a general revolt of most of tribes. Attempting to reassert his authority, Amir Khan led a large Mughal Army to the [[Khyber Pass]], where the army was surrounded by tribesmen and routed, with only four men, including the Governor, managing to escape.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
 
Aurangzeb's incursions into the Pashtun areas were described by Khushal Khan Khattak as "Black is the Mughal's heart towards all of us Pathans".<ref>{{cite book|author1=Sugata Bose|author2=Ayesha Jalal|title=Modern South Asia: History, Culture, Political Economy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T4U0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT80|date=7 September 2017|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-351-60305-8|pages=80–|quote='Black is the Mughal's heart towards all us Pathans', complained the Pushto poet Khushal Khan Khattak about Aurangzeb's incursions in the tribal regions of the northwest frontier of India.}}</ref> Aurangzeb employed the scorched earth policy, sending soldiers who massacred, looted and burnt many villages. Aurangzeb also proceeded to use bribery to turn the Pashtun tribes against each other, with the aim that they would distract a unified Pashtun challenge to Mughal authority, and the impact of this was to leave a lasting legacy of mistrust among the tribes.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Omrani|first1=Bijan|title=The Durand Line: History and Problems of the Afghan-Pakistan Border|journal=Asian Affairs|date=July 2009|volume=XL|page=182|quote=The situation deteriorated and matters came to a head in 1675, at the time of the last great Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb. He launched a terrible scorched earth policy, sending thousands of soldiers into the valleys, burning, despoiling, smashing villages and killing as many tribesmen as possible. He also successfully used bribery to set the tribal chiefs against each other, thus fomenting so much mutual suspicion that they were too busy fighting each other to fight the Mughal Empire. This worked up to a point. But the resulting legacy of mistrust between the tribes destroyed any prospect that unified political institutions might slowly emerge or that the laws and government of the settled regions might be adopted.}}</ref>
 
After that the revolt spread, with the Mughals suffering a near total collapse of their authority in the Pashtun belt. The closure of the important [[Attock]]-[[Kabul]] trade route along the [[Grand Trunk road]] was particularly disastrous. By 1674, the situation had deteriorated to a point where Aurangzeb camped at Attock to personally take charge. Switching to diplomacy and bribery along with force of arms, the Mughals eventually split the rebels and partially suppressed the revolt, although they never managed to wield effective authority outside the main trade route.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
 
==Death==
{{See also|Tomb of Aurangzeb}}
[[File:Biwi ka Maqbara.JPG|thumb|right|[[Bibi Ka Maqbara]], the mausoleum of Aurangzeb's wife [[Dilras Banu Begum]], was commissioned by him]]
[[File:TOMB aURANGAZEB.JPG|thumb|Aurangzeb's tomb in [[Khuldabad]], Maharashtra.]]
 
By 1689, the conquest of Golconda, Mughal victories in the south expanded the Mughal Empire to 4&nbsp;million square kilometres,<ref name="Taagepera"/> with a population estimated to be over 158&nbsp;million.<ref name="borocz"/> But this supremacy was short-lived.<ref>{{harvtxt|Richards|1996|p=1}}</ref> Jos Gommans, Professor of Colonial and Global History at the [[University of Leiden]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hum.leiden.edu/history/staff/gommans.html |title=Prof.dr. J.J.L. (Jos) Gommans |publisher=Universiteit Leiden |date=14 August 2012 |access-date=30 September 2012}}</ref> says that "...&nbsp;the highpoint of imperial centralisation under emperor Aurangzeb coincided with the start of the imperial downfall."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Mughal Warfare: Indian Frontiers and Highroads to Empire 1500–1700 |first=Jos J. L. |last=Gommans |location=London |publisher=Routledge |year=2002 |isbn=9780415239899 |page=16 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3C1vz5ioOMwC&pg=PA16 |access-date=30 September 2012}}</ref>
 
Aurangzeb constructed a small marble mosque known as the [[Moti Masjid (Delhi)|Moti Masjid]] (Pearl Mosque) in the [[Red Fort]] complex in Delhi.<ref name=murray>{{cite book |last=Murray |first=John |year=1911 |title=A handbook for travelers in India, Burma and Ceylon |url=https://archive.org/stream/handbooktravelle00john#page/198 |edition=8th |location=Calcutta |publisher=Thacker, Spink, & Co. |page=198 |isbn=978-1175486417 |access-date=25 January 2014}}</ref> However, his constant warfare, especially with the Marathas, drove his empire to the brink of bankruptcy just as much as the wasteful personal spending and opulence of his predecessors.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Richards | first1 = J. F. | year = 1981 | title = Mughal State Finance and the Premodern World Economy | journal = Comparative Studies in Society and History | volume = 23 | issue = 2| pages = 285–308 | jstor=178737 | doi=10.1017/s0010417500013311}}</ref>
 
[[File:Aurangzeb reading the Quran.jpg|thumb|upright|Aurangzeb reading the ''Quran'']]
 
The Indologist [[Stanley Wolpert]], emeritus professor at [[UCLA]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.ucla.edu/people/faculty?lid=393 |title=Stanley A. Wolpert |publisher=UCLA |access-date=1 October 2012 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930074005/http://www.history.ucla.edu/people/faculty?lid=393 |archive-date=30 September 2012 }}</ref> says that:
 
{{blockquote|the conquest of the Deccan, to which Aurangzeb devoted the last 26 years of his life, was in many ways a Pyrrhic victory, costing an estimated hundred thousand lives a year during its last decade of futile chess game warfare. The expense in gold and rupees can hardly be accurately estimated. Aurangzeb's encampment was like a moving capital&nbsp;– a city of tents 30 miles in circumference, with some 250 bazaars, with a {{frac|1|2}} million camp followers, 50,000 camels and 30,000 elephants, all of whom had to be fed, stripped the Deccan of any and all of its surplus grain and wealth&nbsp;... Not only famine but bubonic plague arose&nbsp;... Even Aurangzeb, had ceased to understand the purpose of it all by the time he was nearing 90&nbsp;... "I came alone and I go as a stranger. I do not know who I am, nor what I have been doing," the dying old man confessed to his son, Azam, in February 1707.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolpert|first=Stanley A. |author-link=Stanley Wolpert |year=2004 |orig-year=1977 |title=New History of India|edition=7th|publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780195166774}}</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2020}}}}
 
[[File:Tomb of Aurangzeb at Khuldabad, Aurangabad, 1850s.jpg|thumb|The unmarked grave of Aurangzeb in the mausoleum at [[Khuldabad]], Maharashtra.]]
 
Even when ill and dying, Aurangzeb made sure that the populace knew he was still alive, for if they had thought otherwise then the turmoil of another war of succession was likely.<ref>{{cite book |title=Civilization and Capitalism: 15th–18th Century: The Perspective of the World |volume=III |first=Fernand |last=Braudel |author-link=Fernand Braudel |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley & Los Angeles |year=1992 |orig-year=1979 (Paris: Librairie Armand Colin: ''Le Temps du Monde'') |isbn=9780520081161 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xMZI2QEer9QC&pg=PA514 |page=514 |access-date=30 September 2012}}</ref> He died at his military camp in [[Bhingar]] near Ahmednagar on  3 March 1707 at the age of 88, having outlived many of his children. He had only 300 rupees with him which were later given to charity as per his instructions and he prior to his death requested not to spend extravagantly on his funeral but to keep it simple.
<ref name="Qadir1936"/><ref>Sohoni, P., 2016. A Tale of Two Imperial Residences: Aurangzeb's Architectural Patronage. Journal of Islamic Architecture, 4(2), pp.63-69.[https://media.neliti.com/media/publications/72668-EN-a-tale-of-two-imperial-residences-aurang.pdf]</ref> His modest open-air grave in [[Khuldabad]], [[Aurangabad]], Maharashtra expresses his deep devotion to his Islamic beliefs. It is sited in the courtyard of the shrine of the Sufi saint Shaikh Burhan-u'd-din Gharib, who was a disciple of [[Nizamuddin Auliya]] of Delhi.
 
Brown writes that after his death, "a string of weak emperors, wars of succession, and coups by noblemen heralded the irrevocable weakening of Mughal power". She notes that the populist but "fairly old-fashioned" explanation for the decline is that there was a reaction to Aurangzeb's oppression.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Katherine Butler |last=Brown |date=January 2007 |title=Did Aurangzeb Ban Music? Questions for the Historiography of his Reign |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=41 |issue=1 |page=79 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X05002313}}</ref> Aurangzeb's son, [[Bahadur Shah I]], succeeded him and the empire, both because of Aurangzeb's over-extension and because of Bahadur Shah's weak military and leadership qualities, entered a period of terminal decline. Immediately after Bahadur Shah occupied the throne, the [[Maratha Empire]]&nbsp;– which Aurangzeb had held at bay, inflicting high human and monetary costs even on his own empire – consolidated and launched effective invasions of Mughal territory, seizing power from the weak emperor. Within decades of Aurangzeb's death, the Mughal Emperor had little power beyond the walls of Delhi.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mehta|first1=Jaswant|title=Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707–1813|date=2005|publisher=New Dawn Press|location=Elgin Ill, USA|isbn=978-1-932705-54-6|page=141|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC&q=%22mughal+emperor%22+%22gates+of+delhi%22+maratha+decline&pg=PR7}}</ref>
 
==Legacy==
 
His critics argue that his ruthlessness and religious bigotry made him unsuitable to rule the mixed population of his empire.  Some critics assert that the persecution of [[Shia]]s, [[Sufi]]s and non-Muslims to impose practices of orthodox Islamic state, such as imposition of sharia and ''[[jizya]]'' religious tax on non-Muslims, doubling of custom duties on Hindus while abolishing it for Muslims, executions of Muslims and non-Muslims alike, and destruction of temples eventually led to numerous rebellions.<ref name=bitory1>{{cite book |editor-last=Pletcher |editor-first=Kenneth |year=2010 |title=The History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hdmcAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA183 |publisher=Britannica Educational Publishing |page=183 |isbn=978-1-61530-201-7}}</ref><ref name=bitory2>{{cite book |editor-last=Joseph |editor-first=Paul |year=2016 |title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of War: Social Science Perspectives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=idw0DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA433 |publisher=SAGE Publications |pages=432–433 |isbn=978-1-4833-5988-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gupta |first1=R.K. |last2=Bakshi |first2=S.R. |year=2008 |title=Dalit Literature: Our Response |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DLQeSBLpUwsC&pg=PA77 |publisher=Sarup & Sons |page=77 |isbn=978-81-7625-841-8}}</ref><ref name=bitory4>{{cite book |editor-last1=Shakir |editor-first1=Moin |year=1989 |title=Religion State And Politics in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x_gQAQAAIAAJ |publisher=Ajanta Publications (India) |page=47 |isbn=978-81-202-0213-9}}</ref><ref name=bitory5>{{cite book |last1=Upshur |first1=Jiu-Hwa L. |last2=Terry |first2=Janice J. |last3=Holoka |first3=Jim |year=2011 |title=Cengage Advantage Books: World History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mBo-2D0TKUcC&pg=PA527 |publisher=Cengage Learning |page=527 |isbn=978-1-111-34514-3}}</ref><ref name=bitory6>{{cite book |last=Chua |first=Amy |year=2009 |title=Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance—and Why They Fall |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0307472450 |publisher=[[Random House|Anchor Books]] |page=189 |isbn=978-0-307-47245-8}}</ref> G. N. Moin Shakir and Sarma Festschrift argue that he often used political opposition as pretext for religious persecution,<ref name=bitory4/> and that, as a result, groups of [[Jat people|Jats]], [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]], [[Sikh]]s, [[Satnami]]s and [[Pashtuns]] rose against him.<ref name="Edwardes1930"/><ref name=bitory4/><ref name=bitory7>{{cite book |last=Agrawal |first=Ashvini |year=1983 |title=Studies in Mughal History |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=8120823265 |page=15 |isbn=978-81-208-2326-6}}</ref>
 
===Modern reception===
 
In [[Pakistan]], author Haroon Khalid writes that, "Aurangzeb is presented as a hero who fought and expanded the frontiers of the Islamic empire" and "is imagined to be a true believer who removed corrupt practices from religion and the court, and once again purified the empire."<ref>Haroon Khalid (1 October 2018), "In India and Pakistan, religion makes one country’s hero the other’s villain", ''Quartz India''. Retrieved 21 April 2019.</ref> The academic Munis Faruqui also opines that the "Pakistani state and its allies in the religious and political establishments include him in the pantheon of premodern Muslim heroes, especially lauding him for his militarism, personal piety, and seeming willingness to accommodate Islamic morality within state goals."<ref>Munis D. Faruqui "Book review of ''Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India’s Most Controversial King''" in ''Journal of the American Academy of Religion'', Volume 87, Issue 1, March 2019, p. 300</ref>
 
[[Muhammad Iqbal]], considered the spiritual founder of Pakistan, compared him favorably to the [[prophet Abraham]] for his warfare against Akbar's ''[[Din-i Ilahi]]'' and idolatry,<ref>Sisir Kumar Das, ''History of Indian Literature: 1911-1956, struggle for freedom : triumph and tragedy'', [[Sahitya Akademi]] (2005), p. 368</ref> while Iqbal Singh Sevea, in his book on the [[political philosophy]] of the thinker, says that "Iqbal considered that the life and activities of Aurangzeb constituted the starting point of [[Muslim nationalism in South Asia|Muslim nationality in India]]."<ref>Iqbal Singh Sevea, ''The Political Philosophy of Muhammad Iqbal: Islam and Nationalism in Late Colonial India'', Cambridge University Press (2012), p. 168</ref> [[Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani]], in his funeral oration, hailed [[M.A. Jinnah]], the founder of Pakistan, to be the greatest Muslim since Aurangzeb.<ref>Venkat Dhulipala, ''Creating a New Medina: State Power, Islam, and the Quest for Pakistan in Late Colonial North India'', Cambridge University Press (2015), p. 489</ref> President [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq|Zia-ul-Haq]], known for his [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization|Islamization]] drive, has been described as "a conceptual descendent of Aurangzeb."<ref>''Pakistan Journal of History and Culture'', vol. 13 (1996), p. 116</ref>
 
Beyond the individual appreciations, Aurangzeb is seminal to Pakistan's national self-consciousness, as historian [[Ayesha Jalal]], while referring to the [[Pakistani textbooks controversy]], mentions M. D. Zafar's ''A Text Book of Pakistan Studies'' where we can read that, under Aurangzeb, "Pakistan spirit gathered in strength", while his death "weakened the Pakistan spirit."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Jalal |first=Ayesha |date=February 1995 |title=Conjuring Pakistan: History as Official Imagining |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies |volume=27 |issue=1 |page=79|doi=10.1017/S0020743800061596 }}</ref> Another historian from Pakistan, [[Mubarak Ali]], also looking at the textbooks, and while noting that Akbar "is conveniently ignored and not mentioned in any school textbook from class one to matriculation", contrasts him with Aurangzeb, who "appears in different textbooks of Social Studies and Urdu language as an orthodox and pious Muslim copying the Holy Quran and sewing caps for his livelihood."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ali |first=Mubarak |date=September–October 1992 |title=Akbar in Pakistani Textbooks |journal=Social Scientist |volume=20 |issue=9/10 |pages=73–76 |doi=10.2307/3517719 |jstor=3517719 }}</ref>
 
This image of Aurangzeb is not limited to Pakistan's official historiography. Historian [[Audrey Truschke]] points out that [[BJP]] and other [[Hindu nationalists]] regard him as Muslim zealot. [[Nehru]] claimed that, due to his reversal of the cultural and religious syncretism of the previous Mughal emperors, Aurangzeb acted "more as a Moslem than an Indian ruler".<ref>{{cite book |last=Truschke |first=Audrey |year=2017 |title=Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King |publisher=Stanford University Press |page=7 |isbn=978-1-5036-0259-5}}</ref>
 
==Full title==
[[File:Firman of Aurangzeb, India, 1689, The David Collection, Copenhagen (1) (36012492090).jpg|thumb|''[[Tughra]]'' and seal of Aurangzeb, on an imperial ''[[firman]]'']]
Aurangzeb's full imperial title was:
 
''Al-Sultan al-Azam wal Khaqan al-Mukarram Hazrat Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Bahadur Alamgir I'',
''Badshah Ghazi'',
''Shahanshah-e-Sultanat-ul-Hindiya Wal Mughaliya''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tomb of Aurangzeb|url=http://www.asiaurangabad.in/pdf/Tourist/Tomb_of_Aurangzeb-_Khulatabad.pdf|publisher=ASI Aurangabad|access-date=21 March 2015|archive-date=23 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923175254/http://www.asiaurangabad.in/pdf/Tourist/Tomb_of_Aurangzeb-_Khulatabad.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
Aurangzeb had also been attributed various other titles including ''Caliph of The Merciful'', ''Monarch of Islam'', and ''Living Custodian of God''.<ref name="Hussein2002">{{cite book |last1=Hussein |first1=S M |date=2002 |title=Structure of Politics Under Aurangzeb 1658-1707 |publisher=Kanishka Publishers Distributors |page=158 |isbn=978-8173914898}}</ref><ref>Shah Muhammad Waseem (2003): ''[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dShuAAAAMAAJ&q=aurangzeb+caliph&dq=aurangzeb+caliph&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9mI-H_MjhAhV9SBUIHcbnCm4Q6AEILjAB هندوستان ميں فارسى تاريخ نگارى: ٧١ويں صدى كے آخرى نصف سے ٨١ويں صدى كے پهلے نصف تک فارسى تاريخ نگارى كا ارتقاء]'', Kanishka Publishing. {{ISBN|9788173915376}}</ref>
 
== In literature ==
Aurangzeb has prominently featured in the following books
* 1675 - [[Aurang-zebe]], play by [[John Dryden]], written and featured on the London stage during the Emperor's lifetime.
* 19?? – Hindi fiction novel by [[Acharya Chatursen Shastri]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/entertainment/Understanding-Aurangzeb/article14434624.ece|title=Understanding Aurangzeb|last=Lokapally|first=Vijay|date=21 June 2016|work=The Hindu|access-date=13 December 2017|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>
* 1970 – ''[[Shahenshah (novel)|Shahenshah]]'' ({{lang-mr|शहेनशहा}}), the [[Marathi language|Marathi]] fictional biography by [[Nagnath S. Inamdar|N S Inamdar]]
* 2017- ''1636: Mission to the Mughals'', by [[Eric Flint]] and Griffin Barber
* 2017 – ''Shahenshah – The Life of Aurangzeb'', the English translation by Vikrant Pande of the 1970 Marathi fictional biography by [[Nagnath S. Inamdar|N S Inamdar]]
 
==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''Muhi-ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb, Mughal Emperor'''
|2= 2. [[Shah Jahan|Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Shah Jahan I, Mughal Emperor]]<ref name="Sarker2007p187">Kobita Sarker, ''Shah Jahan and his paradise on earth:&nbsp;the story of Shah Jahan's creations in Agra and Shahjahanabad in the golden days of the Mughals'' (2007), p. 187</ref>
|3= 3. [[Mumtaz Mahal]]<ref name="Sarker2007p187" />
|4= 4. [[Jahangir|Nur-ud-din Muhammad Jahangir, Mughal Emperor]]<ref name="Mehta1984p418">{{cite book |last=Mehta |first=Jaswant Lal |year=1984 |orig-year=First published 1981 |title=Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-TsMl0vSc0gC&pg=PG418 |volume=II |edition=2nd |publisher=Sterling Publishers |isbn=978-81-207-1015-3 |oclc=1008395679 |page=418}}</ref>
|5= 5. [[Jagat Gosain]]<ref name="Mehta1984p418" />
|6= 6. [[Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan]]<ref name="Thackeray2012p254">Frank W. Thackeray, John E. Findling, ''Events That Formed the Modern World'' (2012), p. 254</ref>
|7= 7. Diwanji Begum<ref name="Thackeray2012p254"/>
|8= 8. [[Akbar|Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, Mughal Emperor]]<ref name="Mehta1984p374">{{harvtxt|Mehta|1984|p=374}}</ref>
|9= 9. [[Mariam-uz-Zamani]]<ref name="Mehta1984p374" />
|10= 10. [[Udai Singh of Marwar|Udai Singh]], Raja of [[Jodhpur State|Marwar]]<ref name="Mukherjee2001p128">Soma Mukherjee, ''Royal Mughal Ladies and Their Contributions'' (2001), p. 128</ref>
|11= 11. Manrang Devi of [[Gwalior]]<ref name="Mukherjee2001p128" />
|12= 12. [[Mirza Ghiyas Beg|I'timad-ud-Daulah]]<ref>Subhash Parihar, ''Some Aspects of Indo-Islamic Architecture'' (1999), p. 149</ref>
|13= 13. [[Asmat Begam]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Shujauddin|first1=Mohammad|last2=Shujauddin|first2=Razia|title=The Life and Times of Noor Jahan|date=1967|publisher=Caravan Book House|page=1|language=en}}</ref>
|14=14. Ghias ud-din 'Ali Asaf Khan<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ahmad|first1=Moin-ud-din|title=The Taj and Its Environments: With 8 Illus. from Photos., 1 Map, and 4 Plans|date=1924|publisher=R. G. Bansal|page=101|language=en}}</ref>
|15= }}
 
==See also==
* [[Jaigarh Fort]]
* [[Mughal weapons]]
* [[List of largest empires]]
 
==References==
'''Notes'''
{{notelist}}
'''Citations'''
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
'''Bibliography'''
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |first=Burjor |last=Avari| author-link=Burjor Avari | title=Islamic Civilization in South Asia: A History of Muslim Power and Presence in the Indian Subcontinent |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hGHpVtQ8eKoC | publisher=Routledge | isbn=978-0-41558-061-8|year=2013}}
* {{cite book |last=Durant |first=Will |author-link=Will Durant |year=1993 |orig-year=First published 1935 |title=The Story of Civilization: Our Oriental Heritage |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-1-56731-023-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Richards |first=John F. |author-link=John F. Richards |year=1996 |orig-year=First published 1993 |title=The Mughal Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HHyVh29gy4QC&pg=PA1 |series=The New Cambridge History of India |volume=5 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-56603-2}}
{{refend}}
==Further reading==
* {{Cite book|last=Eraly|first=Abraham|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qhluAAAAMAAJ|year=2007|title=The Mughal world|publisher=[[Weidenfeld & Nicolson]]|place=London|isbn=9780297852094}}
* {{cite book |title=The Peacock Throne: The Drama of Mogul India |first=Waldemar |last=Hansen |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1986 |edition=Second |orig-year=1972 (Holt, Rinehart, Winston) |isbn=9788120802254 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AV--abKg9GEC}}
* Muḥammad Bakhtāvar Khān. ''Mir'at al-'Alam: History of Emperor Awangzeb Alamgir''. Trans. [[Sajida Alvi]]. Lahore: Idārah-ʾi Taḥqīqāt-i Pākistan, 1979.
* {{Cite book|last=Khan|first=Khafi|editor-last=Hashim|editor-first=Muhammad|year=2006 |orig-year=1718|title=Muntakhab-ul Lubab|publisher=Sang-e-Meel Publications|place=Pakistan}}
* {{cite book |title=Xenophobia in Seventeenth-century India |first=Gijs |last=Kruijtzer |publisher=Leiden University Press |year=2009 |url=https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/13850/Kruijtzer..?sequence=2|isbn=9789087280680}}
* [[Jadunath Sarkar|Sarkar, Jadunath]] (1972). [[History of Aurangzib]]. Bombay: Orient Longman.
* ''Delhi'', Khushwant Singh, Penguin USA, Open Market Ed edition, 5 February 2000. ({{ISBN|0-14-012619-8}})
* {{cite book |first=Audrey |last=Truschke |title=Aurangzeb: The Man and The Myth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oUUkDwAAQBAJ |publisher=Penguin India |year=2017|isbn=9781503602595 }} Also published as {{cite book |first=Audrey |last=Truschke |title=Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oUUkDwAAQBAJ|publisher=Stanford University Press |year=2017|isbn=9781503602595 }}
* ''[[A Short History of Pakistan]]'', Dr. Ishtiaque Hussain Qureshi, University of Karachi Press.


==External links==
== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category-inline}}
{{Commons and category|Alamgir I|Alamgir_I}}
* [http://www.aurangzeb.info Aurangzeb, as he was according to Mughal Records]
* [http://www.aurangzeb.info/ Aurangzeb, as he was according to Mughal Records]
* [http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Mughals/Aurang2.html Article on Aurganzeb] from MANAS group page, [[UCLA]]
* [https://aeon.co/essays/the-great-aurangzeb-is-everybodys-least-favourite-mughal The great Aurangzeb is everybody’s least favourite Mughal – Audrey Truschke | Aeon Essays] by Audrey Truschke, published on AEON
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050829192151/http://web.nwe.ufl.edu/~esull/restoration/aurengzebe.htm The Tragedy of Aureng-zebe] Text of [[John Dryden]]'s drama, based loosely on Aurangzeb and the Mughal court, 1675
* [http://coinindia.com/galleries-aurangzeb.html Coins of Aurangzeb]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180918091133/https://www.urdulibraryonline.com/aurangzeb-alamgir-aslam-rahi-ma/ Life of Auranzeb in Urdu (ebook)]


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[[Category:18th-century Indian monarchs]]
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Revision as of 21:18, 25 September 2022

Aurangzeb
اورنگ‌زیب
Shah
Amir al-Mu'minin
Portrait of Aurangzeb
6th Mughal Emperor
Reign31 July 1658 – 3 March 1707
Coronation13 June 1659
PredecessorShah Jahan
SuccessorMuhammad Azam Shah
Born(1618-11-04)4 November 1618 (N.S.)
Dahod, Mughal Empire
Died3 March 1707(1707-03-03) (aged 88)
Ahmednagar, India
Burial
Khuldabad
HouseTimurid
DynastyTimurid
FatherShah Jahan
MotherMumtaz Mahal
ReligionSunni Islam (Hanafi)


Muhi al-Din Muhammad (Arabic: محی الدین محمد‎, romanized: Muḥī al-Dīn Muḥammad), better known as Aurangzeb (Arabic: اورنگ‌زیب‎) was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire. Nahe Bhai is website pr bharoosa nhe kro sab fake h He ruled over most of the Indian wikipidea m sab sach nhe hotaaa subcontinent through Islamic Sharia. His reign lasted for 49 years from 1658 until he died in 1707. During this time, Aurangzeb greatly expanded the territory of the Mughal Empire. He was constantly at war. Victories in the south expanded the Empire to more than 4  million square kilometres as he was the only ruler after Emperor Ashoka to rule over such a large land as a result unifying the entirety of the Indian Subcontinent (South Asia) under one ruler after two millennia. His empire had the world's largest economy, valued at 27% of the world's GDP. He was the last of the greatest and most powerful ruler of the Mughal dynasty. After his death, the power of the Mughal Empire declined quickly due to weak and ineffective successors. His administration of the Mughal Empire led to its apex in terms of territory and wealth. He defeated the British in their fruitless attempt to colonize India as matter of fact after the humiliating defeat of Brits (EIC), they had to prostrate on a mat before the emperor and begged for forgiveness but were forgiven later after paying a large sum in compensation and promise never to dare such insolence. Emperor Aurangzeb's exchequer raised a record £100 million in annual revenue through various sources like taxes, customs and land revenue, et al. from 24 provinces. He had annual yearly revenue of $450 million, more than ten times that of his contemporary {Louis XIV of France}. Aurangzeb was well educated and ambitious. He compiled the Fatawa Alamgiri, which served as the Islamic law of India.[1][2]

Aurangzeb killed his father Shah Jahan and his other brothers due to their claims to the throne. He also wanted to spread Islam and wanted people of his nation to follow the rules and regulations of Islam Strictly no matter if they were Muslims or Hindus.

His full name was Abdul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Mohammad Aurangzeb. His imperial title was Alamgir, which means 'The World Conqueror'.[3][4]

Aurangzeb's Reforms

He reintroduced the practice of Jaziya (which is 2.5 per cent of an individual's annual savings) and banned the old Hindu practice of suttee. He banned the consumption of alcohol and singing in court.

He was popular with traders as he abolished more than 80 sorts of local taxes levied by the previous rulers

Conflicts with the Rajputs

Aurangzeb had to deal with the Rajput rulers of Marwar, Mewar and Jaipur. Raja Jai Singh of Jaipur was sent to the Deccan, where he died in 1666. Raja Jaswant Singh of Marwar was deputed to the north-western frontier where he and his children died fighting the Afghan rebels(1678). With no successor to it, Aurangzeb occupied the throne of Marwar. However, a posthumous son of Rana Jaswant Singh named Ajit Singh was born and appeared to claim the throne. Aurangzeb refused to accept or acknowledge Ajit Sign as the successor. This began the Rajput Struggle against the Mughals till Aurangzeb's successor recognized Ajit SIgn as the ruler of Marwar. Rana Raj Singh of Mewar was also angered by Aurangzeb's anti-Rajput behaviour and supported Ajit Singhs cause.

References

  1. ↑ Brown, Katherine Butler (January 2007). "Did Aurangzeb Ban Music? Questions for the Historiography of his Reign". Modern Asian Studies. 41 (1): 79. doi:10.1017/S0026749X05002313. S2CID 145371208.
  2. ↑ "Aurangzeb". History & Information. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  3. ↑ Dictionary of Wars. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. 2013. p. 387. ISBN 9781135954949.
  4. ↑ Thackeray, Frank W. (2012). John E. Findling (ed.). Events that formed the modern world : from the European Renaissance through the War on Terror. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p. 248. ISBN 9781598849011.

External links

Aurangzeb
Born: 4 November 1618 Died: 3 March 1707
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Shah Jahan 		Mughal Emperor
1658–1707 		Succeeded by
Bahadur Shah I


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