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 Shuja, Aurangzeb, and Murad Bakhsh: Mughal Miniature, 38.7 x 26 cm. c. 1637. Attributed to Balchand. Coll: British Museum. (Click image for a large view.) The four sons of the Mughal Emperor , Shah Jahan, all laid claim to the throne when their father fell seriously ill in 1658. Each had considerable administrative experience and military skills, each commanded a considerable military force, and each had a loyal following. Dara Shikoh (1615-58), the eldest son, was resident at Shah Jahan’s court as the designated heir; Shuja was Governor of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa; Aurangzeb governed the Deccan; and Murad was Governor of Gujarat and Malwa. Dara’s forces were defeated by Aurangzeb, who occupied the imperial capital of Agra; and Aurangzeb took his own father prisoner. Shuja’s army was routed in battle; and Murad was lured into a false agreement and taken prisoner. Dara eventually collected together another force, suffered defeat as before, and once again he fled; but soon he was betrayed by one of his allies, and handed over to his brother. Accused of idolatry and apostasy from Islam, Dara was condemned to death, and the sentence was carried out on the night of 30 August 1659, one year after Aurangzeb took over the Fort at Agra and assumed the throne. Aurangzeb delivered the head of his brother to their father. Aurangzeb Alamgir (“World Conqueror”), whose reign lasted for forty-nine years until his death in 1707, conducted vigorous military campaigns to extend the frontiers of the vast Mughal empire which he had inherited. Both in the northwest and northeast, the imperial armies gained ground, but the losses, which were very considerable, drained the treasury. Already under his father, the revenue of the crops had been raised from a third to a half, and the extensive and interminably long military campaigns he waged required him to keep the peasantry heavily taxed. Some notable victories were likewise achieved in the Deccan. Aurangzeb retained Shahjahanabad as his capital, but after some two decades the capital, in a manner of speaking, shifted to wherever Aurangzeb would set camp during his long military campaigns, which in the Deccan alone lasted some 26 years and perhaps cost him his life. Aurangzeb’s mobile army consisted of some 500,000 camp followers, 50,000 camels, and 30,000 war elephants; and when this gargantuan force moved, bands of Maratha guerrillas would strike the rear, attacking the stragglers and fleeing with booty. A considerable part of Aurangzeb’s energies were consumed in keeping his numerous opponents at bay, and he had to deal with the Rajputs, the disloyalty of his son Akbar, and the Sikhs, whose leader, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was killed at Aurangzeb’s command when he refused to convert to Islam. Neither could Aurangzeb forgive the Sikhs for having supported his brother and principal rival, Dara. (There is another, though related, view of the question of Dara’s relationship to the Sikhs: it is not so much that the Sikhs supported Dara, but rather they sheltered him, given that they were bound to the principle that they were obligated to give asylum to whoever came seeking their assistance). The most effective opposition to Aurangzeb’s rule, however, came from the Marathas, whose chief, Shivaji, could not be contained. Only Shivaji’s premature death at the age of 53, in 1680, appeared to offer the Mughal Emperor some relief, but that very year the Rajputs of Jodhpur and Mewar forged an alliance against Aurangzeb and declared themselves free from his sovereignty. The army that Aurangzeb sent under his son Akbar to subdue them was formidable, but the emperor had perhaps not reckoned with his son’s traitorous conduct. However, Akbar, who had rather vainly declared himself the emperor, was compelled to flee to the Deccan, where he enlisted the help of Shivaji’s son, Sambhaji. Aurangzeb decided to take to the field himself, and eventually drove his own son into exile in Persia, from where Akbar never returned. The Sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda were also reduced to utter submission, and Sambhaji was captured in 1689 and tortured before being murdered. Towards the end of his reign, Aurangzeb’s empire began to disintegrate, a process which would be considerably accelerated in the years after his death, when “successor states” came into existence. Aurangzeb’s harsh treatment of Hindus, and the reversal of the liberal religious policies of his predecessors, particularly Akbar, have been cited as principal reasons for the disintegration of his empire. [For a more detailed consideration, see the accompanying article on “Aurangzeb and the Encounter with Religion.”] More likely, the peasantry was bled to death, and the system of political alliances established by Akbar was allowed to go to seed. The empire had become far too large and unwieldy, and Aurangzeb did not have enough trustworthy men at his command to be able to manage the more far-flung parts of the empire. Many of the his political appointees broke loose and declared themselves independent, and Aurangzeb’s preoccupation with affairs in the Deccan prevented him from meeting political challenges emanating from other parts of the empire. Shortly after the death of Aurangzeb, the Mughal Empire ceased to be an effective force in the political life of India, but it was not until 1857-58, when the Indian Rebellion was crushed and the Emperor Bahadur Shah was put on trial for sedition and treason, that the Mughal Empire was formally rendered extinct. Further Reading:Richards, John. The Muhgal Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993; Indian ed., Delhi: Foundations Books, 1995. New Cambridge History of India, I:5. See also the notes to the accompanying piece, “Aurangzeb, Akbar, and the Communalization of History“.
Emperor Aurangzeb of India's Mughal Dynasty (November 3, 1618–March 3, 1707) was a ruthless leader who, despite his willingness to take the throne over the bodies of his brothers, went on to create a "golden age" of Indian civilization. An orthodox Sunni Muslim, he reinstated taxes and laws penalizing Hindus and imposing Sharia law. At the same time, however, he greatly expanded the Mughal empire and was described by his contemporaries as being disciplined, pious, and intelligent.
Aurangzeb was born on November 3, 1618, the third son of Prince Khurram (who would become Emperor Shah Jahan) and the Persian princess Arjumand Bano Begam. His mother is more commonly known as Mumtaz Mahal, "Beloved Jewel of the Palace." She later inspired Shah Jahan to build the Taj Mahal. During Aurangzeb's childhood, however, Mughal politics made life difficult for the family. Succession did not necessarily fall to the eldest son. Instead, the sons built armies and competed militarily for the throne. Prince Khurram was the favorite to become the next emperor, and his father bestowed the title Shah Jahan Bahadur, or "Brave King of the World," on the young man. In 1622, however, when Aurangzeb was 4 years old, Prince Khurram learned that his stepmother was supporting a younger brother's claim to the throne. The prince revolted against his father but was defeated after four years. Aurangzeb and a brother were sent to their grandfather's court as hostages. When Shah Jahan's father died in 1627, the rebel prince became Emperor of the Mughal Empire. The 9-year-old Aurangzeb was reunited with his parents at Agra in 1628. The young Aurangzeb studied statecraft and military tactics, the Quran, and languages in preparation for his future role. Shah Jahan, however, favored his first son Dara Shikoh and believed that he had the potential to become the next Mughal emperor. The 15-year-old Aurangzeb proved his courage in 1633. All of Shah Jahan's court was arrayed in a pavilion and watching an elephant fight when one of the elephants ran out of control. As it thundered toward the royal family, everyone scattered except Aurangzeb, who ran forward and headed off the furious pachyderm. This act of near-suicidal bravery raised Aurangzeb's status in the family. The following year, the teenager got command of an army of 10,000 cavalry and 4,000 infantry; he soon was dispatched to put down the Bundela rebellion. When he was 18, the young prince was appointed viceroy of the Deccan region, south of the Mughal heartland. When Aurangzeb's sister died in a fire in 1644, he took three weeks to return home to Agra rather than rushing back immediately. Shah Jahan was so angry about his tardiness that he stripped Aurangzeb of his viceroy of Deccan title. Relations between the two deteriorated the following year, and Aurangzeb was banished from court. He bitterly accused the emperor of favoring Dara Shikoh. Shah Jahan needed all of his sons in order to run his huge empire, however, so in 1646 he appointed Aurangzeb governor of Gujarat. The following year, the 28-year-old Aurangzeb also took up the governorships of Balkh (Afghanistan) and Badakhshan (Tajikistan) on the empire's vulnerable northern flank. Although Aurangzeb had a lot of success in extending Mughal rule north and westward, in 1652 he failed to take the city of Kandahar, Afghanistan from the Safavids. His father again recalled him to the capital. Aurangzeb would not languish in Agra for long, though; that same year, he was sent south to govern the Deccan once more. In late 1657, Shah Jahan became ill. His beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal had died in 1631 and he never really got over her loss. As his condition worsened, his four sons by Mumtaz began to fight for the Peacock Throne. Shah Jahan favored the eldest son Dara, but many Muslims considered him too worldly and irreligious. Shuja, the second son, was a hedonist who used his position as governor of Bengal as a platform for acquiring beautiful women and wine. Aurangzeb, a much more committed Muslim than either of the elder brothers, saw his chance to rally the faithful behind his own banner. Aurangzeb craftily recruited his younger brother Murad, convincing him that together they could remove Dara and Shuja and place Murad on the throne. Aurangzeb disavowed any plans to rule himself, claiming that his only ambition was to make the hajj to Mecca. Later in 1658 as the combined armies of Murad and Aurangzeb moved north toward the capital, Shah Jahan recovered his health. Dara, who had crowned himself regent, stepped aside. The three younger brothers refused to believe that Shah Jahan was well, though, and converged on Agra, where they defeated Dara's army. Dara fled north but was betrayed by a Baluchi chieftain and brought back to Agra in June 1659. Aurangzeb had him executed for apostasy from Islam and presented his head to their father. Shuja also fled to Arakan (Burma) and was executed there. Meanwhile, Aurangzeb had his former ally Murad executed on trumped-up murder charges in 1661. In addition to disposing of all of his rival brothers, the new Mughal Emperor placed his father under house arrest in Agra Fort. Shah Jahan lived there for eight years, until 1666. He spent most of his time in bed, gazing out the window at the Taj Mahal. Aurangzeb's 48-year reign is often cited as a "Golden Age" of the Mughal Empire, but it was rife with trouble and rebellions. Although Mughal rulers from Akbar the Great through Shah Jahan practiced a remarkable degree of religious tolerance and were great patrons of the arts, Aurangzeb reversed both of these policies. He practiced a much more orthodox, even fundamentalist version of Islam, going so far as to outlaw music and other performances in 1668. Both Muslims and Hindus were forbidden to sing, play musical instruments, or to dance—a serious damper on the traditions of both faiths in India. Aurangzeb also ordered the destruction of Hindu temples, although the exact number is not known. Estimates range from under 100 to tens of thousands. In addition, he ordered the enslavement of Christian missionaries. Aurangzeb expanded Mughal rule both north and south, but his constant military campaigns and religious intolerance rankled many of his subjects. He did not hesitate to torture and kill prisoners of war, political prisoners, and anyone he considered un-Islamic. To make matters worse, the empire became over-extended and Aurangzeb imposed ever higher taxes in order to pay for his wars. The Mughal army was never able to completely quash Hindu resistance in the Deccan, and the Sikhs of northern Punjab rose up against Aurangzeb repeatedly throughout his reign. Perhaps most worryingly for the Mughal emperor, he relied heavily on Rajput warriors, who by this time formed the backbone of his southern army and were faithful Hindus. Although they were displeased with his policies, they did not abandon Aurangzeb during his lifetime, but they revolted against his son as soon as the emperor died. Perhaps the most disastrous revolt of all was the Pashtun Rebellion of 1672–1674. Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, came from Afghanistan to conquer India, and the family had always relied upon the fierce Pashtun tribesmen of Afghanistan and what is now Pakistan to secure the northern borderlands. Charges that a Mughal governor was molesting tribal women sparked a revolt among the Pashtuns, which led to a complete breakdown of control over the northern tier of the empire and its critical trade routes. On March 3, 1707, the 88-year-old Aurangzeb died in central India. He left an empire stretched to the breaking point and riddled with rebellions. Under his son Bahadur Shah I, the Mughal Dynasty began its long, slow decline into oblivion, which finally ended when the British sent the last emperor into exile in 1858 and established the British Raj in India. Emperor Aurangzeb is considered to be the last of the "Great Mughals." However, his ruthlessness, treachery, and intolerance surely contributed to the weakening of the once-great empire. Perhaps Aurangzeb's early experiences of being held hostage by his grandfather and being constantly overlooked by his father warped the young prince's personality. Certainly, the lack of a specified line of succession did not make family life particularly easy. The brothers must have grown up knowing that one day they would have to fight one another for power. In any case, Aurangzeb was a fearless man who knew what he had to do in order to survive. Unfortunately, his choices left the Mughal Empire itself far less able to fend off foreign imperialism in the end. |
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