Aurangzeb

Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir (Urdu: - -

-, Hindi: ) (4 November
1618 [O.S. 25 October] 3 March 1707 [O.S. 20 February]), more commonly known as Aurangzeb
(Hindi: )[1] or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir (Hindi: ) ("Conquerer of
the World", Urdu: ), was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from
1658 until his death in 1707.[2][3]
Aurangzeb, whose rule lasted for nearly half a century, was the second longest reigning Mughal
emperor after Akbar. During his reign the Mughal Empire reached its zenith with its territories
encompassing over 1.25 million square miles and with more than 150 million subjects, nearly
1/4th of the world's population at that time.[4][5] But after his death in 1707, the Mughal Empire
gradually began to shrink. Major reasons include a weak chain of "Later Mughals", an
inadequate focus on maintaining central administration leading to governors forming their own
empires, a gradual depletion of the fortunes amassed by his predecessors and the growth of
secessionist sentiments among the various communities within the Mughal Empire.
Aurangzeb's communal policies are mixed. On one hand he authorized the Fatawa-eAlamgiri[further explanation needed] over the entire empire, briefly taxed non-Muslims,[6] destroyed
many Hindu temples which were accused of syncretism and executed Guru Tegh Bahadur.[7][8][9]
On the other hand, he increased the number of Hindu administrators and senior court officials
(such as Raja Jai Singh and Swarup Singh of Orchha) and many Hindu and Sikh temples
continued to expand during his reign.[10]

Contents
[hide]

1 Rise to throne
o 1.1 Early life
o 1.2 Education
o 1.3 Following Sufism
o 1.4 Bundela War
2 Mughal Viceroy
o 2.1 War of succession
3 Aurangzeb's reign
o 3.1 Establishment of Islamic law
o 3.2 Expansion of the Mughal Empire
o 3.3 Foreign Relations
o 3.4 Revenue administration
4 Coins Gallery
5 Rebellions
o 5.1 Deccan Wars
o 5.2 Ahom Campaign
o 5.3 Sikhs
o 5.4 The Pashtun rebellion
6 Legacy
7 See also
8 References
o 8.1 Additional references
9 External links

Rise to throne
Early life

A painting from circa 1637 shows the brothers (left to right) Shah Shuja, Aurangzeb and Murad
Baksh in their younger years.
Aurangzeb was born the third son and sixth child of Prince Khurram (later the fifth Mughal
emperor Shah Jahan) and Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bno Begam) in Dahod on the way to
Ujjain.[11] After an unsuccessful rebellion by his father, Aurangzeb and his brother Dara Shikoh
were submitted as hostages in June,1626 under Nur Jahan at his grandfather Jahangir's court in
Lahore.[11] After Shah Jahan was officially declared the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb and Dara
Shikoh returned to live with their parents in Agra on 26 February 1628.[11] As Aurangzeb grew
up his daily allowance was fixed to Rs.500, while he spent his allowance in religious education
and the study of history, he accused his brothers of alcoholism and womanizing.[11]
On May 28, 1633 when Aurnagzeb was 15 years of age he narrowly escaped death in an elephant
fight and successfully defended himself from a stampede. While his other brothers fled from the
arena, Aurnagzeb's valor was well appreciated by his father the mughal Emperor Shah Jahan
who gave him the title Bahadur (Hero) and had him weighed in Gold and presented him gifts
worth Rs 2 lakhs. This heroic deed was celebrated in Persian and Urdu verses.[11]

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![11]

Aurangzeb to Shah Jahan taunting Dara Shikoh's cowardice , Ahkam-i-Alamgiri - Hamidullah Khan

He visited Kashmir with Shah Jahan and was presented with the parganah of Lukh-bhawan in
September,1634.[11] On 13 December 1634 he was given his first command of 10000 horse, with
an additional 4000 troopers.[11] He was allowed to use the Red tent, an imperial prerogative,
indeed Shah Jahan had big plans for him particularly in the Mughal military.[11]

Education

The manuscript of the Quran - parts of which are believed to have been inscribed by Aurangzeb.
It measures 14.5cm x 24cm, with lavish gold insets and is made of paper handcrafted from rice
and natural materials. The script is written in ink made from valuable minerals, and is inlaid with
ruby, lapis lazuli, gold, silver and garnet.[12][13]
Sadullah Khan (later wazir to Shah Jahan), Mir Muhammad Hashim of Gilan and Muhammad
Saleh Kamboh were a few of his childhood teachers.[11] Aurangzeb had a keen mind and quickly
learnt what he read. He mastered the Quran and the hadith and readily quoted from them.[11] He
spoke and wrote Arabic and Persian like a scholar.[11] He also learnt Chagtai Turki when he
served in Kandahar.[11]

He wrote Arabic with a vigorous naskh hand and used to copy the Quran in it.[11] Two richly
bound and illuminated manuscripts of his exist in Mecca and Medina, with another copy
preserved in Nizamuddeen Aoliya.[11]
Aurangzeb was a prolific writer of letters and commented on petitions in his own hand. [11] He
frequently quoted Islamic verses but had no special taste for poetry.[11]

Following Sufism
Aurangzeb was a strict follower of Sufism and used to carry out his personal expenses by
stitching caps which are still worn by Muslims while conducting their prayers, and by writing
The Holy Quran.
Aurangzeb was a Sufi and followed the Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi method of Sufism. He was a
disciple of Khwaja Muhammad Masoom, the third son and successor of the founder of
Mujaddidi order Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi. His letters to Shayk and the replies from him show that
he was highly devoted to him and followed him in every matter of his life and rule.[14] Though
the Shaykh was not involved in politics, Aurangzeb established Islamic law inspired and
instructed by him.
Soon after coronation, he wrote to Shaykh that due to the duties of the empire, he was unable to
attend his shaykh's company, therefore he should send one of his noble sons to the capital for
spiritual and Islamic guidance to Aurangzeb. The shaykh sent his son, Khwaja Saif ad-Din
Sirhindi (5th son) who was a scholar and Sufi shaykh by himself and only 27 years old. He not
only guided Aurangzeb to observe the Islamic law properly, he was also the source of most of
the Islamic rules Aurangzeb implemented in the empire. One of those is the ban on musical
instruments throughout the country, which was initially suggested by Khwaja Saif ad-Din in
accordance with the Sharia law.
Many other famous Sufis also revered Aurangzeb, including the Punjab Sufi Sultan Bahu (ca
1628 - 1691), who wrote a book with spiritual secrets specially for him. The book was written in
Persian and titled "Aurang-i-Shh", to resemble the name of the emperor. The author has praised
the emperor with titles such as The Just King.[15]

Bundela War
To contain the Bundela rebellion led by the renegade Jhujhar Singh, the Mughal Emperor Shah
Jahan planned a campaign to strike the rebellious territory known as Bundelkhand and its capitol
Orchha from 3 sides: Syed Khan-i-Jahan with 10,500 men from Badaun, Abdullah Khan
Bahadur Firuz Jang with 6000 men from the north and Khan-i-Dauran with 6000 men from the
south-west.[11] The three generals were of equal rank and hence Shah Jahan and Inayat Khan,[16]
ensured unity and co-operation amongst them, Aurangzeb, then a 16 year old commander of
10,000, escorted by 1000 archers and 1000 horses, was made the (nominal) commander-inchief.[11] He was to stay in the rear, away from the fighting and take the advice of his generals as
the Mughal Army gathered and commenced the Siege of Orchha in the year 1635.[11]

If the campaign was meant to be

Aurangzeb's baptism of fire, we must
say the baptism was performed at a
great distance from the fire![11]

Dow's account of the war

The campaign was known for its spectacular usage of Artillery according to Mughal accounts
more than 220 Cannons were combined with Mughal armies of 32,000 men, that ultimately
captured the Bundela capital during the combined Siege of Orchha, on October 4, 1635.
Aurangzeb then raised the Mughal flag on the highest terrace of the Jahangir Mahal and installed
Devi Singh as the new administrator, while Jhujhar Singh had escaped.[11] After a flurry of
events, the Gonds killed Jhujhar and his son in their sleep and sent their heads to the Mughal
Emperor Shah Jahan in December 1635.[11] Aurangzeb then went to Dhamuni where Shah Jahan
paid him a visit.[11] There, he ordered the demolition of Bir Singh Dev's temple and had a
Mosque constructed.[11] Aurangzeb returned from Dhamuni to wait for his father at Orchha and
together they traveled through the country.[11]

Mughal Viceroy
On the way to Sironj they reached Daulatabad where Aurangzeb on July 14, 1636 took formal
leave of the emperor to take up his new post as the Viceroy of the Deccan.[11][17] At this time, he
began building a new city near the former capital of Khirki which he named Aurangabad after
himself. After Shah Jahan's vassals had been devastated by the alarming expansion of
Ahmadnagar during the reign of the Nizam Shahi boy prince named Murtaza Shah III, the
Mughal Emperor dispatched his son the Subedar of the Deccan Aurangzeb, who in the year 1636
brought the Nizam Shahi dynasty to an end. Pleased by Aurangzeb's efforts in the Deccan his
father Shah Jahan presented him a magnificent Talwar called Alamgir.[18] In 1637, Aurangzeb
married Rabia Durrani. During this period the Deccan was relatively peaceful. In the Mughal
court, however, Shah Jahan began to show greater favour to his eldest son Dara Shikoh.
In 1644, Aurangzeb's sister Jahanara was accidentally burned when the chemicals in her perfume
got close to a lamp while in Agra. This event precipitated a family crisis with political
consequences. Aurangzeb suffered his father's displeasure when he returned to Agra three weeks

after the event, instead of immediately. Shah Jahan had been nursing Jahanara back to health in
that time and thousands of vassals had arrived in Agra to pay their respects to the Mughal
Emperor Shah Jahan and his injured daughter the Mughal princess Jahanara.[11] 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, Aurnagzeb was also no longer
allowed to use Red tents (an imperial prerogative, which Shah Jahan handed over to Dara
Shikoh) or associate himself with the official military standard of the Mughal Emperor.[11]
In 1645, he was barred from the court for seven months and mentioned his grief to fellow
Mughal commanders. Thereafter, Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan appointed him governor of
Gujarat where he served well and was rewarded for bringing stability. In 1647, the Mughal
Emperor Shah Jahan made him governor of Balkh and Badakhshan (in modern Afghanistan and
Tajikistan), replacing Aurangzeb's ineffective brother Murad Baksh. These areas were, at the
time, under attack from various tribal oriented forces and Aurangzeb's tough military skills
proved useful to deter their threats. He was appointed governor of Multan and Sindh where he
gained fame during the Mughal-Safavid War, a protracted military struggle against the Safavid
army over the city of Kandahar. Aurangzeb himself led many assaults and learned from his
mistakes by writing a lengthy memorandum as a guide for the Mughal Army, which Shah Jahan
himself praised.[19]
In 1652, Aurangzeb was re-appointed governor of the Deccan. In a bold effort to extend the
Mughal Empire, Aurangzeb gathered an army of 40,000 and attacked the Qutb Shahi dynasty at
Golconda in the year 1657, and Bijapur in the year 1658. Although Aurangzeb almost came
close to achieving total victory both times, the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan ordered the Mughals
to withdraw, most probably due to the woes of Dara Shikoh who then interceded and arranged
for a peaceful end to the war and gained the support and favor of the Qutbshahis of Golconda
and the Adil Shahi of Bijapur.

War of succession

Sepoy's loyal to the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, maintain their positions around Agra, in the
year 1658.
Shah Jahan fell ill in 1657, and because he was the most famous Mughal commander,
Aurangzeb's elder sister Roshanara appropriated his seal to ensure that he would not authorize,

initiate or involve himself in any possible war of succession.[20][verification needed] When Shah Jahan's
second son Shah Shuja declared himself emperor in Bengal. Imperial armies sent by the heir
apparent Dara Shikoh and Shah Jahan were quick to restrain this effort, and Shah Shuja retreated
to Bengal.
Soon after, Shah Shuja's youngest brother Murad Baksh, with secret promises of support from
Aurangzeb, declared himself emperor in Gujarat. Aurangzeb, ostensibly in support of Murad
Baksh, and marched north from Aurangabad, gathering support from his allied nobles and
generals. Following a series of victories, Aurangzeb declared that Dara Shikoh had illegally
usurped the throne. Shah Jahan, determined that Dara Shikoh would succeed him, handed over
control of the empire to him. A Rajput named Raja Jaswant Singh, was defeated by Aurangzeb at
Dharmatpur near Ujjain and then concentrated his forces and attention on defeating his elder
brother Dara Shikoh. A series of bloody battles followed, with troops loyal to Aurangzeb
defeating Dara Shikoh's armies particularly during the Battle of Samugarh. In a few months,
Aurangzeb's forces surrounded the Mughal capitol city of Agra. Fearing for his life, Dara Shikoh
departed for Delhi, leaving Shah Jahan behind. After Aurangzeb shut down the Sakia that
supplied water to the city, the aged emperor surrendered the Agra Fort to the besieging forces,
but Aurangzeb refused any meeting with his father and instead met with the recently arrived
Ottoman ambassador Manzada Husein Agha, explaining his rise to the throne, the ambassador
propitated Aurangzeb to bring an end to the internal conflict among the Mughals.[21]
Later, Aurangzeb declared that his brother and Mughal heir apparent Dara Shikoh was no longer
a Muslim, Aurangzeb also accused Dara Shikoh of poisoning the Mughal Grand Vizier
Saadullah Khan, during the reign of Shah Jahan, both of these statements however remained
contrary to any factual evidence. After being betrayed by his own commander, Dara Shikoh and
his son Suleiman Shikoh were captured by Mughal forces and then paraded in silver chains
inside the city of Agra causing considerable distress among the locals, later both of them were
executed by the orders of the new Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
In a sudden reversal, Aurangzeb arrested his brother and long time ally Murad Baksh, whose
supporters defected to Aurangzeb in return for rich gifts.[22] Meanwhile, Dara gathered his forces,
and moved to the Punjab. The army sent against Shuja was trapped in the east, its generals Jai
Singh and Dilir Khan, submitted to Aurangzeb, but Dara Shikoh'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 Mughal Emperor in Bengal began to annex more territory prompting 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 armored War elephants were routed by the forces loyal to
Aurangzeb. Shah Shuja then fled to Arakan (in present-day Burma), where he was executed by
the local rulers.[23] Murad Baksh was finally executed, ostensibly for the murder of his former
divan clerk named Ali Naqi, in 1661.[24]
With Shuja and Murad disposed of, and with his father Shah Jahan immured in Agra, Aurangzeb
pursued Dara Shikoh, chasing him across the north-western bounds of the empire. After a series
of battles, defeats and retreats, Dara Shikoh was betrayed by one of his generals, who arrested
and bound him. In 1659, Aurangzeb arranged his formal coronation in Delhi. He had Dara

Shikoh openly marched in chains back to Delhi where he had him executed on arrival on the
30th of August, 1659. Having secured his position, Aurangzeb kept his frail father Shah Jahan at
the Agra Fort where Shah Jahan died in 1666 and was denied a state funeral.

Aurangzeb's reign
Establishment of Islamic law

A prized copy of the Quran, its calligraphy is believed to have been inscribed by Aurangzeb
himself.
Soon after his ascension, Aurangzeb abandoned the liberal religious viewpoints of his
predecessors.[25] Though Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan's approach to faith was more syncretic
than the empire's founder, Aurangzeb's position is not so obvious though his conservative
interpretation of Islam and belief in the Sharia (Islamic law) is well documented. Despite claims
of sweeping edicts and policies, contradictory accounts exist.[26] Specifically, his compilation of
the Fatawa-e-Alamgiri, a digest of Muslim law, was either intended for personal use, never
enforced, or only poorly done. While some assert the lack of broad adoption was due to an
inherent flaw,[27] Hanafi law was sought to be codified under Aurangzeb but the work of several
hundred jurists, called Fatawa-e-Alamgiri[28] While it is possible the war of succession and a
continued incursions combined with Shah Jahan's spending made cultural expenditure
impossible,[29] Aurangzeb's orthodoxy is also used to explain his infamous "burial" of music. The
scene describing the "death of music"(and all other forms of performance) is paradoxically
dramatic.

Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb standing and holding a sword.

Immediately after becoming the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb enforced morals, and strictly
banned the consumption, usage and practices of: alcoholism, gambling, prostitution, sati,
castration, servitude, eunuchs, music, nautch and narcotics in the Mughal Empire.[citation needed] He
learnt that at Sindh, Multan, Thatta and particularly at Varanasi, the Hindu Brahmins attracted
large numbers of indigenous local Muslims to their discourses. He ordered the Subahdars of
these provinces to demolish the schools and the temples of non-Muslims.[30] Aurangzeb also
ordered Subahdars to punish Muslims who dressed like non-Muslims, regardless of their ethnic
backgrounds. However newer temples continued to be built and expanded in both Varanasi and
Amritsar.
The Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded because he objected to Aurangzeb's forced
conversions. Francois Bernier, traveled and chronicled Mughal India during the war of
succession, notes both Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb's distaste for Christians. This led to the
demolition of Christian settlements near the British/European Factories and enslavement of
Christian converts by Shah Jahan. Furthermore, Aurangzeb stopped all aid to Christian
Missionaries (Frankish Padres) initiated by Akbar and Jahangir.[31][page needed]
Aurangzeb destroyed several non-Islamic shrines. Belgian historian-author Koenraad Elst claims
that according to chronicles of Muslim rulers themselves, Aurangzeb destroyed thousands of
Hindu temples across India, the count being in four, if not five digits.[32][33] However, another
historian Richard M. Eaton contested this claim and stated that a total of 15 Hindu temples were
destroyed during Aurangzeb's reign.[30] After the Jat rebellion in Mathura, Aurangzeb ordered
destruction of the city's Keshava Deva temple and built an Islamic idgah in its place. In 1679, he
ordered destruction of several prominent temples that had become associated with his enemies:
these included the temples of Khandela, Udaipur, Chittor and Jodhpur.[34]
Ram Puniyani states that Aurangzeb was not always fanatically anti-Hindu, and kept changing
his policies depending on the needs of the situation. He banned the construction of new temples,

but permitted the repair and maintenance of existing temples. He also made generous donations
of jagirs to several temples to win the sympathies of his Hindu subjects. There are several
firmans (orders) in his name, supporting temples and gurudwaras, including Mahakaleshwar
temple of Ujjain, Balaji temple of Chitrakoot, Umananda Temple (Guwahiat) and the
Shatrunjaya Jain temples.[35]

Expansion of the Mughal Empire

From the start of his reign up until his death, Aurangzeb engaged in almost constant warfare. He
built up a massive army, and began a program of military expansion along all the boundaries of
his empire. Aurangzeb pushed north-west into the Punjab and what is now Afghanistan; he also
drove south, conquering three Muslim kingdoms: Nizams of Ahmednagar, Adilshahis of Bijapur
and Qutbshahis of Golconda these new territories were administered by the Mughal Nawabs
loyal to the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb seated on a golden throne holding a Hawk in the Durbar.
In 1636 while Aurangzeb was the Mughal viceroy of Deccan his forces defeated the Nizam
Shahi's of Ahmednagar during various Cavalry skirmishes and finally annexed their capitol of
Ahmadnagar.[36]
In the year 1685 the Mughal Emperor 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 led by Muhammad Azam Shah could
not make any advancements upon Bijapur Fort mainly due to the superior usage of cannon
batteries on both sides. Outraged by the stalemate Aurangzeb himself arrived on September 4,
1686 and commanded the Siege of Bijapur after eight days of fighting the Mughals were
victorious.
Only one remaining ruler Abul Hasan Qutb Shah the Qutbshahi ruler of Golconda refused to
surrender, he and his servicemen fortified themselves at Golconda, and fiercely protected the
Kollur Mine (then, the worlds only diamond mine). In the year 1687 the Mughal Emperor
Aurangzeb led his grand Mughal army against the Deccan Qutbshahi fortress during the Siege of

Golconda. Golconda itself was the only diamond producing city in the world at that time. The
Qutbshahi's had constructed massive fortifications throughout successive generations on a
granite hill over 400 ft high with an enormous 8mile wall enclosing the city. The main gates of
Golconda had the ability to repulse any War elephant attack. In fact of the 18 most famous
diamonds in the world 13 came from the Golconda Kollur Mine ruled by the then Qutbshahi
dynasty the city was also home to the most famous diamond cutters. For the Mughal Emperor
Aurangzeb the conquest of Qutbshahi ruled Golconda was crucial to the legitimacy of his reign
throughout the realm. Although the Qutbshahi's maintained impregnable efforts defending their
walls, at night the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and his infantry usually assembled and erected
complex scaffolding 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
Bahadur. But finally the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and forces his managed to penetrate the
walls by capturing a gate their entry into the fort led Abul Hasan Qutb Shah to surrender
peacefully and hand over the precious Nur-Ul-Ain Diamond, Great Stone Diamond, Kara
Diamond, Darya-e-Nur, The Hope Diamond, the Wittelsbach Diamond and the The Regent
Diamond making the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb the richest monarch in the world.
This combination of military expansion and religious intolerance had deeper consequences.
Though he succeeded in expanding Mughal control, it was at an enormous cost in lives and
treasure. And, as the empire expanded in size, Aurangzeb's chain of command grew weaker.
With much of his attention on military matters, Aurangzeb's political power against his
rebellious enemies apparently began to wane, and his provincial Nawabs grew in authority.

Foreign Relations

Franois Bernier, was a French physician and traveler, who for 12 years was the personal
physician of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. He described his experiences in Travels in the
Mughal Empire.
As soon as he became Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb sent some of the finest ornate gifts such as
carpets,[37] lamps, tiles and others to the Islamic shrines at Mecca and Medina, immediately after
his emergence to the throne he also ordered the construction of very large ships in Surat that
would transport these gifts and even pilgrims to the Hijaz. These annual expeditions organized
by Aurangzeb were led by Mir Aziz Badakhshi who died in Mecca of natural causes but
managed to deliver more than 45,000 gold and silver coins, Jewels and several thousand Kaftans
of honor.[21][38]

Subhan Quli, Balkh's Uzbek ruler was the first to recognize 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. Aurangzeb warmly received the embassy of Shah Abbas II of Persia in
1660 and returned them with gifts.
In the year 1688 the desperate Ottoman Sultan Suleiman II urgently requested for assistance
against the rapidly advancing Austrians, during the OttomanHabsburg War however the
Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and his forces were heavily engaged in the Deccan Wars to commit
any formal assistance to their desperate Ottoman allies.[39]
In 1686 English East India Company which had unsuccessfully tried to obtain a firman, an
imperial directive that would grant England regular trading privileges throughout the Mughal
empire, initiated so-called Child's War with the empire which ended in disaster for the English.
In 1690 the company sent envoys to Aurangzeb's camp to plead for a pardon. The company's
envoys had to prostrate themselves before the emperor, pay a large indemnity, and promise better
behavior in the future.
In September 1695, English pirate Henry Every perpetrated one of the most profitable pirate
raids in history with his capture of a Grand Mughal convoy near Surat. The Indian ships had
been returning home from their annual pilgrimage to Mecca when the pirates struck, capturing
the Ganj-i-Sawai, reportedly the greatest ship in the Muslim fleet, and its escorts in the process.
When news of the piracy reached the mainland, a livid Aurangzeb nearly ordered an armed
attack against the English city of Bombay, though he finally agreed to compromise after the East
India Company promised to pay financial reparations, estimated at 600,000 by the Mughal
authorities.[40] Meanwhile, Aurangzeb shut down four of the East India Company's factories,
imprisoned the workers and captains (who were nearly lynched by a rioting mob), and threatened
to put an end to all English trading in India until Every was captured.[40] The Privy Council and
East India Company offered a massive bounty for Every's apprehension, leading to the first
worldwide manhunt in recorded history.[41] However, Every successfully eluded capture.

Revenue administration

In the year 1690 all the rebellions in the Mughal Empire had been briefly reverted, and
Aurangzeb was acknowledged as: "The Mughal Emperor whose realm spanned from Kabul to
Cape Comorin".[42]
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.[43] A pound sterling was
exchanged at 10 rupees then.
No. Province
- Total
1 Bijapur
2 Golconda
3 Bengal
4 Gujarat
5 Lahore
6 Agra
7 Ajmere
8 Ujjain
9 Deccan
10 Berar
11 Delhi
12 Behar
13 Khandesh
14 Rajmahal

Land Revenue (1697) Notes

38,624,680
5,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
2,339,500
2,330,500
2,220,355
2,190,000
2,000,000
1,620,475
1,580,750
1,255,000
1,215,000
1,110,500
1,005,000

15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

Malwa
990,625
Allahabad
773,800
Nande (Nandair) 720,000
Baglana
688,500
Thatta (Sindh) 600,200
Orissa
570,750
Multan
502,500
Kashmir
350,500
Kabul
320,725
Sukkur
240,000

Coins Gallery

Half rupee

Rupee coin showing full name

Rupee with square area

A copper dam of Aurangazeb

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 feets of people.[11] His coins had
the name of the mint city and the year of issue on one face, and, the following couplet on other

King
Aurangzeb
Alamgir
Stamped coins , in the world , like the
bright full moon.[11]

Mir Abdul Baqi Suhbai

Rebellions
Since Aurangzeb's reign is marked by numerous rebellions in the distant provinces of the
Mughal Empire, many historians believe that Mughal Nawabs were incapable of bridging the
gap between the rulers and the people; therefore many new identities emerged along with it
armed rebellion.

In 1669, the Jat peasants of Bharatpur around Mathura revolted and created Bharatpur
state, fomenting a fierce rebellion around the Mughal capital.

In 1670, Shivaji, assassinated the Adil Shahi commander Afzal Khan and later, nearly
killed the Mughal Viceroy Shaista Khan, while waging war against Aurangzeb. Shivaji
and his forces ravaged the Deccan, Janjira and Surat and tried to gain control of vast
territories. However by 1689 Aurangzeb's armies had captured Shivaji's, son Sambhaji
alive and executed him after he had sacked Burhanpur.[44]

In 1672, the Satnami, a sect concentrated in an area near Delhi, under the leadership of
Bhirbhan and some Satnami, took over the administration of Narnaul, but they were
eventually crushed upon Aurangzeb's personal intervention with very few escaping
alive.[45][46]

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
were forced to retreat after the respected Mughal Admiral Munnawar Khan was killed in
action.

Deccan Wars

Aurangzeb spent more than 20years of his life fighting major and minor rebellions throughout
the Mughal Empire.
Territorial conflicts between the Mughal Empire and the Deccan Sultanates caused much
instability in the region including a powerful urge for the Deccan Sultanates to conscript a new
infantry, which consisted of Marathas. One of the earliest Maratha who rose to prominence in the
Deccan Sultanates was Shahaji, in 1635 he set up a Nizam Shahi boy prince named Murtaza
Shah III as a subject to his authority and as the nominal Sultan of Ahmadnagar.[47] Together they
occupied and defeated the territories of the vassals of the Mughal Empire. When the Mughal
Emperor Shah Jahan's Mughal Army led by Prince Aurangzeb, captured Ahmadnagar and
overthrew Murtaza Shah III in the year 1637, the fleeing Shahaji entered the service of the Sultan
of Bijapur and was a major figure in their campaign in the Carnatic.
Shahaji's son Shivaji was raised in Puna but unlike his other brothers he refused to enter the
service of the Sultan of Bijapur but instead gathered his own following of Marathas. By the age
of eighteen Shivaji seized his fathers estate and began to expand his territories and initiated the
capture of hill fortresses,[48] in a region that was known to be associated with fugitive Rajputs
and even Thugees.[49] In the year 1657 the new Sultan of Bijapur, Ali Adil Shahi sent his most
prestigious commander Afzal Khan with an elite army of 10,000.[48] Shivaji and his Marathas
were decisively defeated in the prelimanry battles, but he decided to lure the powerful Afzal
Khan to a private conference and then murdered him with his dagger.[50] The leaderless troops of
Bijapur were thenceforth consequently routed by Shivaji's soldiers.
In the year 1659, Shivaji began to annex territories of the Mughal Empire, in the year that
followed the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, dispatched his maternal uncle Shaista Khan to subdue
the Maratha threat. Shaista Khan and his Mughal forces quickly occupied Puna and after four
months of siege they captured Chakan and the Mughal cavalry routed the remaining Marathas in
the countryside. In the night of April 5, 1663, the Marathas led by Shivaji attacked Shaista
Khan's encampment at Puna, and although the viceroy escaped, his son was killed, he was then
recalled by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.[51]
In January 1664, Shivaji led 4,000 Maratha soldiers to sack the city Surat, the most important
Mughal imperial port, home to over 200,000 people. The Mughal faujdar Inayat Khan and the
5000 soldiers in his command deserted the city and fled to the safety of the fort. [52] the Marathas
then sacked the city, and looted the wealth from trading centers and houses belonging to rich

merchants such as Virji Vora.[53] Only the well organized British led by George Oxenden and the
Portuguese survived the onslaught, but the city itself never recovered. The enraged Mughal
Emperor Aurangzeb then sent Dilir Khan and Raja Jai Singh, with his son, Prince Muazzam, to
the Deccan. Before the arrival of the imperial forces Shivaji is even known to have presented the
head of Afzal Khan and the fingers of Shaista Khan to his mother Jijabai, symbolizing victory
against the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.[54]
Mughal commanders forced Shivaji to sue for peace after initiating the two month Siege of
Purandhar, he also surrendered twenty three fortresses and the territories that he had annexed. In
1666 he attended the court at Agra, but insulted at being given the rank of Mansabdar of only
five thousand horsemen, he made his displeasure public. He was kept under surveillance, but he
escaped and reached Puna. On his return Shivaji formally assumed the title of Maharaja and for
the next four plundered a vast territory in the Deccan spanning from Khandesh to Kanara. The
Mughals continuously pursued and engaged the raiders but with mixed success and in response
Aurangzeb, ordered the armament of the Daulatabad Fort with two bombards, the fort itself was
utilized as a Mughal bastion.[55]
After Shivaji's death in 1680, his son Sambhaji fought the Mughals in eccan] In 1682 Shambhuji
raided Burhanpur, the local Qadi alleged that Sambhaji committed cruelties on the Muslim
population and sent a letter praising Aurangzeb's efforts against the Marathas as a just-cause,
which needed immediate attention.[56] Sambhaji himself harmed the Mughals by disrupting and
killing those who worked on the supply routes and fought the Mughal commander Kilich Khan
Bahadur, later on during the Siege of Bijapur. Meanwhile Aurangzeb, setup encampments on the
third week of March, 1682 at Ahmadnagar and was concerned about the Deccan since his rebel
son, Prince Akbar, decided to go south and join Muslim rebels associated with the Deccan
Sultanates, unable to make any major changes Prince Akbar and his allies fled to Persia.[57]
After Bijapur and Golconda, were annexed in 1686 and 1687, and Sambhaji and his men were
captured by Muqarrab Khan and his contingent of 25,000 and executed in early 1689.[58] Despite
such advancements battles and skirmishes against the Maratha continued to be fought under the
command of Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung. It was during these battles that Aurangzeb brought
up Sambhuji's son, Shahu, at the court he entered the service of Prince Muazzam and was later
released from service honorably in the year 1707. But Meanwhile Sambhaji's younger brother,
Rajaram, took over the Maratha leadership and in the year 1700, his widow, Tara Bai, was
chosen to lead the Maratha.[59]
The Mughals achieved many successes against the Marathas, but these proved temporary. But
even though Aurangzeb had conquered most of the Maratha forts, he was unable to suppress the
powerful roving Maratha bands that challenged Mughal authority whenever they got an
opportunity. In 1699, they carried their raids on Malwa, Hyderabad and Jinji, Surat, Murud
Janjira[60] and in 1706 they sacked Baroda. Mughal commanders such as Zulfiqar Ali Khan made
every attempt to halt the spread of the Maratha, but their shortcomings prompted the frail 89 year
old Aurangzeb to launch his final campaign against the Maratha against whom he was engaged
in continuous war in the Deccan for more than two decades. Even though the Mughal Emperor
Aurangzeb was known to have had more than 500,000 men there was no resolution to the

conflict, he died due to natural causes during the campaign in the year 1707.[60][61] After
Aurangzeb's death, the Marathas became a major factor in the downfall of the Mughal Empire.[61]

Ahom Campaign
While Aurangzeb and his brother Shah Shuja had been fighting against each other (during the
Mughal wars of succession, particularly during the Battle of Khajwa), 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, but in 1660 Mir Jumla II, the viceroy
of Bengal, was ordered to recover the lost territories.[62]
The Mughals set out in November, 1661, and within weeks occupied the capital of Kuch Behar
after a few fierce skirmishes. The Kuch Behar was annexed, and the Mughal Army reorganized
and began to retake their territories in Assam. Mir Jumla II's forces captured Pandu, Guwahati,
and Kajali practically unopposed. In February 1662, Mir Jumla II initiated the Siege of
Simalugarh and after the Mughal cannon breached the fortifications, the Ahoms abandoned the
fort and escaped. Mir Jumla II then proceeded towards Garhgaon the capital of the Ahom
kingdom, which was reached on March 17, 1662, although the ruler Raja Sutamla fled and the
victorious Mughals captured 100 elephants, about 300,000 coins of gold and silver, 8000 shields,
1000 ships, and 173 massive stores of rice.[62]
When the Mughal navy from Lakhau and Dacca led by Munnawar Khan armed with Gunboats
began to take control of the Brahmaputra River, the Ahoms concluded a treaty at Ghilajharighat
in January 1663 and ceded western Assam to the Mughals, promised a war indemnity of 300,000
gold and silver coins and 100 elephants. In addition to that Raja Sutamla had to deliver his only
child and daughter Ramani Gabharu, as well as his niece, the daughter of the Tipam Raja to the
Harem in Agra. Thus, according to the treaty Raja Sutamla returned the territories in Kamrup to
the possession of the Mughals and promised to pay a heavy war indemnity. After the Mughals
received a heavy tribute they further captured some forts and towns in the cultivated districts
near the frontier of Bengal and Assam.[63]
Later that year in December 1663, the aged Mir Jumla II died on his way back to Dacca of
natural causes, but 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 the year 1667, but they continued to hold and
maintain presence along their the eastern territories even after the Battle of Saraighat in the year
1671.[64]

Sikhs
Early Sikhism was resented strongly by the Brahmans, in fact the third Guru Amar Das, pleaded
the Mughal Emperor Akbar for assistance. Akbar himself had visited the third guru and granted
him land in Amritsar on which the Golden Temple was built.[65]

However, troubles soon began in the year 1573 during the Mughal Emperor Jahangir's reign
when Guru Arjun Dev had given assistance and support to the revolt led by the rebellious Prince
Khusrau. After subduing the rebellion Jahangir and his advisors stated that the Sikhs intended to
destabilize the Mughal Empire.[66]
The Sikhs began to organize themselves on semi-military lines, which led ultimately led to
conflict in te year 1628, during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, these Sikhs
ambushed and defeated a small force of Mughal Sowars and when the Mughals organized a
massive retaliation, almost all the Sikhs, including Guru Hargobind and his mercenaries fled.[67]
Aurangzeb's, tensions towards the Sikhs began even before he was coronated Mughal Emperor;
perticularly when the Sikh, Guru Har Rai supported Aurangzeb's elder brother Dara Shikoh.
Guru Har Rai, however cleverly withdrew his support for Dara Shikoh after he had been defeated
by Aurangzeb during the Battle of Samugarh.[68] The ninth guru, Tegh Bahadur, who in 1664,
served in the Mughal army on the Assam frontier for some years under the command of Mir
Jumla II, but later returned to eastern Punjab and settled down at Anandpur. His followers began
to refer to him as the "Sacha Badshah" (True King), probably because he continued to arm the
Sikh community. Mughal officials such as Nur Muhammad Khan of Rupnagar, Dilawar Khan
the Faujdar of Sirhind and Wazir Khan had him arrested and he was taken to Delhi and put to
death by Aurangzeb in 1675. However, when Aurangzeb was questioned by a group of Qadis
regarding the reasons for the execution, the Mughal Emperor could not clearly explain the causes
for the order of the penalty.[69]
His successor was Guru Govind Singh, gave the Sikhs their very distinctive symbolsthe uncut
hair, the steel bangle, the sword. He soon initiated conflict against local Hindu rivals in the
Punjab such as Kirpal Chand, Raja of Kangra and Raja Dayal of Bijarwal. After ceaseless battles
local Hindu landlords allied themselves to the Mughal governor Wazir Khan, who himself
requested assistance from the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb when the local Muslim populace was
consecutively attacked by the Sikh rebels.[70][71]
Aurangzeb agreed to send forces to assist them in besieging Govind Singh in his stronghold at
Anandpur. The guru himself escaped, but his children were executed. As he fed from the
pursuing Mughal Army, Guru Govind Singh addressed their Emperor, Aurangzeb in a long
Persian poem, known as Zafarnama. The poem complained against the Mughal Emperor
Aurnagzeb, but appealed for peace in the name of humanity and of Islam and its teachings.
According to certain Sikh accounts, Aurangzeb invited the guru to visit him in the Deccan and
thereafter allowed Guru Govind Singh to live in peace.[72]

The Pashtun rebellion

The Pashtun tribesmen of the Empire were considered the bedrock of the Mughal Army. They
were the Empire's from the threat bulwark in the North-West as well as the main fighting force
against the Sikhs and Marathas. The Pashtun revolt in 1672 under the leadership of the warrior
poet Khushal Khan Khattak[73] was triggered when soldiers under the orders of the Mughal
Governor Amir Khan allegedly attempted to molest women of the Safi tribe in modern day
Kunar. 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.
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.
The anarchy that became endemic on the Empire's North-Western frontier as a consequence
ensured that Nadir Shah's invading forces, half a century later, faced little resistance on the road
to Delhi.

Legacy

17th century Badshahi Masjid built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore

One of the thirteen gates at the Lahore Fort, this one built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and
named Alamgiri Gate
By the year 1689, almost all of Southern India was a part of the Mughal Empire and after the
conquest of Golconda the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb may have been the most richest and
powerful man alive, Mughal victories in the south expanded the Mughal Empire to 1.25million
square miles, ruling over 150million subjects, nearly 1/4th of the worlds population. But this
supremacy was short-lived.

Aurangzeb's vast imperial campaigns against rebellion-affected areas of the Mughal Empire,
caused his opponents to exaggerate the "importance" of their rebellions. The results of his vast
campaigns were made worse by the incompetence of his regional Nawabs.[74]
Muslim views regarding Aurangzeb vary, most Muslim historians believe that the Mughal
Emperor Aurangzeb was the last powerful ruler of an empire inevitably on the verge of decline.
The major rebellions organized by the Sikhs and the Marathas were long embedded and had deep
roots in the remote regions of the Mughal Empire.
Unlike his predecessors, Aurangzeb considered the royal treasury to be held in trust for the
citizens of his empire. He made caps and copied the Quran to earn money for his use. He did not
use the royal treasury for personal expenses or extravagant building projects excepting perhaps
the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, which, for 313 years remained the world's largest mosque and
still remains to this day the 5th largest mosque in the world. He also added a small marble
mosque known as the Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) to the Red Fort complex in Delhi. His
constant warfare especially with the Marathas, however, drove his empire to the brink of
bankruptcy just as much as the wasteful personal spending and opulence of his predecessors.
Aurangzeb knew he would not return to the throne after his final campaign against the Maratha
in the year 1706, in which, he was joined by newly emerging commanders in the Mughal Army
such as Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha, Saadat Ali Khan and Asaf Jah I.

Aurangzeb reading the Quran.

Stanley Wolpert writes in his New History of India that:
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 - a city of tents 30 miles in
circumference, with some 250 bazaars, with a 12 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... Not only famine but bubonic plague arose...Even Aurangzeb, had ceased to
understand the purpose of it all by the time he was nearing 90... "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 in February 1707.[75]

Aurangzeb's tomb in Khuldabad, in 1890s

He died in Ahmednagar on Friday, 20 February 1707 at the age of 88, having outlived many of
his children. His modest open-air grave in Khuldabad expresses his deep devotion to his Islamic
beliefs. The tomb lies within the courtyard of the shrine of the Sufi saint Shaikh Burham-u'd-din
Gharib (died 1331), who was a disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi.[76]
After Aurangzeb's death, his son Bahadur Shah I took the throne. The Mughal Empire, both due
to Aurangzeb's over-extension and Bahadur Shah's weak military and leadership qualities,
entered a period of terminal decline. Immediately after Bahadur Shah occupied the throne, the
Maratha Empire which Aurangzeb had held at bay, inflicting high human and monetary costs
consolidated and launched effective invasions of Mughal territory, seizing power from the
weak emperor. Within a century of Aurangzeb's death, the Mughal Emperor had little power
beyond the walls of Delhi.