Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal had four sons and three daughters. He was fortunate enough to have the sons who were equally capable and almost free from the curse of drunkenness. Aurangzeb was the third son of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan. Early Life of Aurangzeb: Aurangzeb Alamgir was born in Dahad (near Ujjain) in 1615. He died in 1707 in Aurangabad. He was the hero of the Deccan wars, twice became the governor of Deccan. One of the greatest Islamic leaders in history, Aurangzeb was ably assisted by Murshid Quli Khan to implement the land reforms in Deccan. His royal coronation took place on 8th June 1659 in Red Fort (Delhi). He assumed the title ‘Alamgir’ (Lord of the World) and Zindapir. After becoming the Emperor, he issued 14 ordinances. These ordinances were issued with the objective of reviving Muslim power in India which he felt declined during the reign of his predecessors. 1. He asked Mansabdars to repair old forts and construct new ones. 2. He asked Mansabdars to repair old mosques and construct new ones. 3. He granted full power to Muhtasib (Moral Censor Officials) to enforce Islamic laws and to see that all the Muslims observe daily religious duties. 4. He banned intoxicants. 5. He abolished Rahdari (toll tax) and other oppressive taxes. 6. He ordered the measurement of land for revenue assessment. 7. He ordered Kalma not to be en graved on the coins. 8. He instructed the officials to hunt down the Sufi comrades of Dara Shukoh. 9. He declared Ahmadiya Muslim infidels. 10. He ordered Mansabdars to construct madrasas (Education Institutions). 11. He ordered clear instructions to check wasteful expenditure. J.N. Sircar has written in the Mughal Administration: “He lived the life of a pious Muslim nearly to the state of asceticism.” The period of Aurangzeb can be divided into two parts: 1. When Aurangzeb remained in the North and North E3ast (1658-1681) 2. When he fought the Deccan Wars (1682 to 1707) North Eastern Campaigns: Due to the mismanagement during the governorship of Shuja, total chaos prevailed in Bengal. Ahom tribe (a section of Shan tribe of Myanmar) captured Guwahati and several other territories. Aurangzeb sent Mir Jumla in 1661 to lead the campaign against Ahoms. The North Eastern territories came under the Mughal authority for the first time in 1662. Mir Jumla died in 1663 of Malaria and he was succeeded by Shaista Khan (son of Asaf Khan) in the North East. Shaista Khan successfully defended the Mughal territories in the North-East for five years from 1663 to 1667. Ahom Chief Chakradhwaj recaptured all his lost possessions in 1667. It was a big blow to the Mughal prestige. The only consolation was that Shaista Khan was able to defeat the Portuguese in Sondip Valley. Akbar was the first Mughal Emperor to come into conflict with the Portguese. Jahangir was friendly with them while Shah Jahan was against them. In 1679, the Mughal and the British armed conflict at Khandagiri ended without any decisive outcome. In 1686, Aurangzeb became the first Mughal Emperor to lead an expedition against the British. The English East India Company became very aggressive with the advent of the Childe Brothers. In 1686, they seized several s royal ships going to Mecca and Madina. Aurangzeb reacted sharply and ordered Shaista Khan to capture all the British possessions. The British requested for pardon and Aurangzeb committed the blunder of life by pardoning the crimes of East India Company.

Religious Policy of Aurangzeb Aurangzeb’s Religious Edicts: Aurangzeb was the representative of the fanatic Sunni nobility and Ulama. He ascended the throne with their support. He had no other choice but to move forward their agenda. He tried to preserve the economic and political interests of the dominant Sunni nobility and Ulama. J.N. Sircar has written: “Aurangzeb through his Rajput and religious policy transformed Mughal state from a nationalistic state to an alien state.” In 1669, he ordered his officials to demolish Hindu temples. Thus, Keshavrai temple in Mathura and Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi were demolished. In 1574, Tulsi Das composed Ram Charitmanas (Tulsi Ramayana) in Awadhi during Aurangzeb’s reign. In 1671, he ordered all the Hindus to be expelled from state revenue department but administrative compulsions forced him to annul this order in 1674. In 1674, Aurangzeb reimposed Jaziya. He also banned the celebrations of Hindu festivals in the royal court. All the land grants issued to the Hindu officials and intellectuals were confiscated in 1674. In 1677, he introduced fiscal structural reforms and imposed 5% custom duties on Hindus and 2% custom duty on Muslims. He also imposed 5% excise on Hindus and absolutely no excise on Muslims. The Emperor reimposed Jaziya in 1679. Religio-Agrarian Revolts: The immediate reaction of Aurangzeb’s religious policy was the terrible revolts of Jats, Satnamis and Sikhs: 1. Jat Revolt (1669) This revolt was agrarian in origin. The Jats were agrarian tribe near Mathura. A few Mughal revenue collectors were killed during a dispute with the Jat peasants. Aurangzeb sent massive campaigns against the Jats. Thousands of Jats were under the command of Gokul rebelled and were executed. The agrarian revolts were transformed into religious conflicts between the Jats and the Mughals. The Jats continued their struggle under the leadership of Raja Ram and Churamal. 2. Satnami Revolt (1672) The Satnamis were a peaceful sect living in the modern Narnaul region. The Satnami peasants held grudges against the Mughal revenue collectors because they were corrupt and very strict in collecting land revenue. Several Satnamis were killed by the Mughal army. 3. Sikh Revolt (1675): The 9th Guru of the Sikh faith, Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed in Delhi because he protested against the religious persecution of the Kashmiri Pundits. Gurudwara Sis Ganj was later constructed at the site of is execution. Thus, the religious policy of Aurangzeb was the first important reason of the disintegration of Mughal Empire. It alienated the Jats, the Sikhs and the Rajputs in North India. Aurangzeb’s Rajput Policy: Aurangzeb completely reversed his predecessor’s policy of friendship and reconciliation. Breach with the Rajputs: Aurangzeb recruited the largest number of Rajputs as Mansabdars. Jahangir was the first Emperor to recruit Marathas in his army. Aurangzeb had the largest number of Hindu Mansabdars in his court. The bulks were Marathas and Rajputs. Aurangzeb had two Rajput generals in his court: 1. Raja Jai Singh of Amber 2. Raja Jaswant Singh of Marwar Aurangzeb tolerated Rajput generals till 1667. After he fully established himself, he felt important to get rid of his Rajput generals. He had a personal grudge against them as they fought on behalf of Dara in the War of Succession. His conviction was that they were not as loyal to him as they were to his father. Jai Singh was poisoned to death in 1667. In 1678, he ordered Jaswant Singh to proceed to Northwest frontier province with a small army with the motive that he would be killed there. Annexation of Marwar: Jaswant Singh died fighting on 10th December 1678 neat Jamraud. The Emperor sent his son Akbar to march to Marwar and annex it. Inder Singh was appointed the administrator of Marwar. He promised to pay an annual tribute of Rupees 36,00,000. But Aurangzeb made a strategic mistake when he tried to capture the widow and the minor son (Ajit Singh) of late Jaswant Singh. Whole Marwar rose in revolt against the Emperor under the command of Durga Das. He offered stiff resistance to the Mughals. In 1708, Bahadur Shah accepted Ajit Singh as the sovereign ruler of Marwar and conferred the title Maharaja on him. Durga Das created mutual bitterness between Aurangzeb and his son Muhammad Akbar. Akbar went over to join Rajputs. Had Akbar acted with statesmanship and invaded Ajmer camp where Aurangzeb was staying with a small military force, he could have deposed his father. But he missed the golden opportunity and a large force arrived from Delhi to aid the Emperor. Muhammad Akbar and Durga Das Rathore fled to Maharashtra and from there to Persia where he died in 1704. Mewar: Mewar had a matrimonial alliance with Marwar. The sister of Raja Raj Singh was married to Raja Jaswant Singh. Raja Jai Singh provided huge military assistance to Durga Das Rathore. Raj Singh died in 1680 and was succeeded by Jai Singh. Jai Singh was an incompetent ruler. Aurangzeb at that time was busy in Deccan. Thus, he was unable to take any decisive action against Jai Singh. Aurangzeb and Mewar signed a treaty of peace in 1681. The terms of the treaty are as follows: 1. Jai Singh was restored all of his lost territories. He had to pay annual tribute of Rupees 2,00,000 to the Mughals and surrendered Bidnapore and Sambhalpur to the Mughals. 2. He agreed not to assist Marwar and Marathas against the Mughals. 3. He was provided a Mansab of 5000 in the Mughal court. Deccan Policy of Aurangzeb: Aurangzeb was an orthodox Sunni and imperialist par excellence. He could not tolerate the existence of independent Shia kingdoms in Deccan. Bijapur: In 1665, soon after the treaty of Purandhar, Raja Jai Singh invaded Bijapur but Ali Adil Shah II forced Jai Singh to retreat through guerrilla warfare. The second campaign led by Daler Khan was also unsuccessful. In 1683, another expedition was sent under the command of Muazzam and Azam but it was also a failure. In 1683, Emperor Aurangzeb decided to lead the Mughal forces to Deccan personally. Ali Adil Shah had died in 1672 and was succeeded by Sikander Adil Shah. Bijapur was annexed in 1685. Sikander Adil Shah was the last ruler of the Adil Shahi dynasty. Golconda Campaign: Abdullah Shah, the brilliant ruler of Qutub Shahi dynasty died in 1672. He was succeeded by Abul Hassan. Abul Hassan Qutub Shah who appointed Akkana and Madana as his ministers and the whole power went into the hands of two brothers. Aurangzeb ordered Abul Hassan to dismiss the Hindu brothers but he refused to compile. In 1685, the Emperor entrusted the Golconda campaign to Muazzam and Azam. Abdullah Pani, the fort keeper of the fort of Golconda betrayed his master and opened the gates for the Mughal forces. Abul Hassan was forced to sign the treaty of Hyderabad according to which: 1. He agreed to pay Rupees 1.30 crore as war indemnity. 2. He was forced to surrender Hyderabad and Seram to the Mughals. 3. He agreed to dismiss his Hindu minister Akana and Madana from the service. But Aurangzeb was determined to annex Golconda. He refused to accept the treaty of Hyderabad and invaded Golconda. Abdur Razzaq, one of the commanders of Golconda single handedly resisted Mughals for six hours. Golconda was annexed in 1687 and Abul Hassan was annexed at Daultabad. He was the last ruler of Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda. Abdur Razzaq was taken into the Mughal service and was given a Mansab of 5000. Campaigns with the Marathas: In 1663, Shaista Khan fully dominated the Marathas. In 1663, Shaista Khan was defeated by the Marathas under the command of Shivaji. In 1665, the treaty of Purandhar was signed. In 1667, the title of Raja was conferred upon Shivaji. In 1664 and 1670, Surat was plundered twice. Raja Ram converted entire Maratha fatherland into a fort. Thus, the Maratha war of liberation became the national war of liberation. It was the rivalry between Aurangzeb and Shivaji that turned the peasants into battle hardened soldiers. 1. Campaigns in Deccan led to the decline of the Mughal Empire. 2. Over centralization of the Mughal Empire was another cause of the decline. 3. Aurangzeb’s absence in the North led to the collapse of government and administration. 4. Constant warfare exhausted the financial resources. J.N. Sircar has written: “As the Peninsular Wars destroyed Napoleon, the Deccan wars proved to be an incurable ulcer for the Empire of Aurangzeb.” North-West Frontier Policy: In 1585, there took place a huge revolt of Yusafzai tribe. Akbar sent Raja Birbal to crush the revolt but he died fighting. He was succeeded by Raja Todar Mal who successfully crushed the revolt. Thus, perfect peace prevailed in North- West Frontier Province during the reign of Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. There occurred three revolts in the North- West during the reign of Aurangzeb. 1. Yusafzai Tribe: This revolt started in 1672 and was led by Bhagu who made a tribal Man named Muhammad Shah, the ruler of Yusafzai tribe and himself became his prime minister. Aurangzeb sent a campaign under the command of Muhammad Amin Khan and Muhammad Kamin Khan. It took three years to crush the revolt. 2. Afridi Revolt: This revolt started in 1672 and was led by Muhammad Akmal Khan. He defeated the Mughal forces in the battle of Ali Masjid in 1672 in which the Mughals were defeated. It was one of the most pitched battles fought by Aurangzeb. 3. Khatkad Revolt: This revolt started in 1673 and was led by Khushal Khan. He was a talented poet and stirred the sense of nationalism among the frontier tribe through his writing. Aurangzeb marched into the Northwest and stayed there from 1674 to 1675. He followed the policy of suppression and conciliation. The revolt was finally crushed. The North-western campaign drained the royal treasury and the military force. Aurangzeb died in 1707 at Aurangabad. Thus, one of the most controversial and powerful Islamic rulers in India passed into history. Aurangzeb Movies: The character of Aurangzeb has been depicted in several movies and TV serials. The most popular are Discovery of India and Aurangzeb movie (released in 2013). The latter is not specifically based on life of the Mughal Muslim Emperor. There is no Bollywood specific Aurangzeb full movie available. Aurangzeb Book: No autobiography of Aurangzeb is available. It is believed that the last great Emperor did not leave autobiography behind. Maasir-i-Alamgiri by Saqi Mustaid Khan, Alamgir Nama by Muhammad Qazim and Muntkhab-ul-Lubab by Muhammad Khafi Khan were written during and shortly after his reign. Audrey Truschke’s Aurangzeb The Man and the Myth is a popular book about the life and legacy of Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb Coins: The Emperor was of the view that Kalima and Ayats of Holy Quran should not be engraved on the coins. Thus, his coins bear the name of the city where they were minted and the year of their issuance.