Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2007)
|
|
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2007) |
| Aurangzeb | |
| Al-Sultan al-Azam wal Khaqan al-Mukarram Abul Muzaffar Muhiuddin Muhammad Aurangzeb Bahadur Alamgir I, Padshah Ghazi | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Reign | 1658 - 1707 |
| Full name | Abul Muzaffar Muhiuddin Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir |
| Born | November 14, 1618 |
| Birthplace | Dahod |
| Died | March 3, 1707 (aged 88) |
| Place of death | Ahmednagar |
| Buried | Valley of Saints |
| Predecessor | Shah Jahan |
| Successor | Bahadur Shah I |
| Wives | Nawab Raj Bai Begum Dilras Bano Begam Udaipuri Mahal Aurangabadi Mahal |
| Offspring | (w. Dilras Bano Begam) Zeb-un-Nissa, Zinat-un-Nissa, Muhammad Azam Shah, Mehr-un-Nissa, Muhammad Akbar, (w. Nawab Raj Bai Begum) Sultan Muhammad, Bahadur Shah I, Badr-un-Nissa, (w. Aurangabadi Mahal) Zabdat-un-Nissa, (w. Udaipuri Mahal) Muhammad Kam Baksh, |
| Dynasty | Timurid |
| Father | Shah Jahan |
| Mother | Mumtaz Mahal |
| Religious beliefs | Islam |
Aurangzeb (Persian: اورنگزیب (full title: Al-Sultan al-Azam wal Khaqan al-Mukarram Abul Muzaffar Muhiuddin Muhammad Aurangzeb Bahadur Alamgir I, Padshah Ghazi) (November 4, 1618 – March 3, 1707), also known by his chosen Imperial title Alamgir I (Conqueror of the Universe) (Persian: عالمگیر), was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1658 until his death. He was the sixth Mughal ruler. His name literally means "Adorning the Crown".
Aurangzeb ruled India for 48 years, bringing a larger area under Mughal rule than ever before [1]. He is generally regarded as the last Great Mughal ruler. His constant wars, however, left the empire dangerously overextended, isolated from its strong Rajput allies, and with a population that (except for the orthodox Sunni Muslim minority) was resentful, if not outright rebellious, against his reign. His last twenty five years were spent fighting in the Deccan till his death in 1707.
After his death, the Mughal Empire was shrunken, having lost most of its northwest and being replaced by the Hindu Maratha Empire in large areas of India. Aurangzeb's successors, the "Later Mughals", lacked his strong hand and the great fortunes amassed by his predecessors. It is generally believed that Aurangzeb's policies weakened the empire resulting in its disintegration.
Contents |
Aurangzeb was the third son of the fifth emperor Shah Jahan and Arjumand Bānū Begum (also known as Mumtaz Mahal). After a rebellion by his father, part of Aurangzeb's childhood was spent as a virtual hostage at his grandfather Jahangir's court.
After Jahangir's death in 1626, Aurangzeb returned to live with his parents. Shah Jahan followed the Mughal practice of assigning authority to his sons, and in 1634 made Aurangzeb Subahdar (governor) of the Deccan. He moved to Kirki, which in time he renamed Aurangabad. In 1637, he married Rabia Durrani. During this period the Deccan was relatively peaceful. In the Mughal court, however, Shah Jahan began to show greater and greater favouritism to his eldest son Dara Shikoh.
In 1644, Aurangzeb's sister Jahanara Begum was accidentally burned in Agra. This event precipitated a family crisis which had political consequences. Aurangzeb suffered his father's displeasure when he returned to Agra three weeks after the event, instead of immediately on hearing of the accident. Shah Jahan dismissed him as the governor of the Deccan. Aurangzeb later claimed (1654) that he had resigned in protest of his father favoring Dara. In 1645, he was barred from the court for seven months. Later, Shah Jahan appointed him governor of Gujarat. He performed well and was rewarded. In 1647, 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 forces. Aurangzeb's military skill proved successful.
He was appointed governor of Multan and Sindh began a protracted military struggle against the Safavid army in an effort to capture the city of Kandahar. He failed, and fell again into his father's disfavour.
In 1652, Aurangzeb was re-appointed governor of the Deccan. In an effort to extend boundaries of the Mughal empire, Aurangzeb attacked the border kingdoms of Golconda (1657), and Bijapur (1658). Both times, Shah Jahan called off the attacks near the moment of Aurangzeb's triumph. In each case Dara Shikoh interceded and arranged a peaceful end to the attacks.
It is said that in 1644 he lived the life of a Faqir for several months in the wild region of Western Ghats.
Shah Jahan fell ill in 1653, but was not recognized until year 1657, and was widely reported to have died. With this news, the struggle for the succession began. Aurangzeb's eldest brother, Dara Shikoh, was regarded as heir apparent, but the succession proved far from certain. When Shah Jahan supposedly died, his second son, Shah Shuja (Mughal) declared himself emperor in Bengal. Imperial armies sent by Dara and Shah Jahan soon restrained this effort, and Shuja retreated.
Soon after, Shuja's youngest brother Murad Baksh, with secret promises of support from Aurangzeb, declared himself emperor in Gujarat. Aurangzeb, ostensibly in support of Murad, marched north from Aurangabad, gathering support from nobles and generals. Following a series of victories, Aurangzeb declared that Dara had illegally usurped the throne. Shah Jahan, determined that Dara would succeed him, handed over control of his empire to Dara. A Rajput lord opposed to Aurangzeb and Murad, Maharaja Jaswant Singh, battled them both at Dharmatpur near Ujjain, leaving them heavily weakened. Aurangzeb eventually defeated Singh and concentrated his forces on Dara. A series of bloody battles followed, with troops loyal to Aurangzeb battering Dara's armies at Samugarh. In a few months, Aurangzeb's forces surrounded Agra. Fearing for his life, Dara departed for Delhi, leaving behind Shah Jahan. The old emperor surrendered the Agra Fort to Aurangzeb's nobles, but Aurangzeb refused any meeting with his father, and declared that Dara was no longer a Muslim.
In a sudden reversal, Aurangzeb then had Murad arrested after intoxicating him and later executed him;[2] Murad's former supporters, instead of fighting for Murad, defected to Aurangzeb. Meanwhile, Dara gathered his forces, and moved to the Punjab. The army sent against Shuja was trapped in the east, its generals Jai Singh I and Diler Khan, submitted to Aurangzeb, but allowed Dara's son Suleman to escape via the Himalayan foothills and join his father in the Punjab. Aurangzeb offered Shuja the governorship of Bengal. This move had the effect of isolating Dara and causing more troops to defect to Aurangzeb. Shuja, however, uncertain of Aurangzeb's sincerity, continued to battle his brother, but his forces suffered a series of defeats at Aurangzeb's hands. At length, Shuja went into exile in Arakan (in present-day Myanmar) where he disappeared, and was presumed to be dead.
Actually Shuja and followeres were Massacred in Arakan
Shah Shuja lost to his brother and fled with his family and army to Arakan. The Arakan King Sandathudama (1652-1687 AD), allowed him to settle there. He wanted to buy ships to go to Mecca and was willing to pay with silver and gold. But the Arakan king asked for his daughter and also became greedy for his wealth. At last after an alleged unsuccessful attempt at rebellion, the sultan Shuja and all his followers were killed. Those men seen to have a beard, the symbol of Islam, were beheaded. Women and children were put into prison and let them die with hunger. Therefore, the massacre was targeted at Muslim refugees from India not only because of their religion, Islam, but for an economic or political reason.[3][4][5][6][7][8]
With Shuja and Murad disposed of, and with his father Shah Jahan confined in Agra, Aurangzeb pursued Dara, chasing him across the north-western bounds of the empire. After a series of battles, defeats and retreats, Dara was betrayed by one of his generals, who arrested and bound him. In 1659, Aurangzeb arranged a formal coronation in Delhi. He had Dara openly marched in chains back to Delhi; when Dara finally arrived, he had his brother executed. Legends about the cruelty of this execution abound, including stories that Aurangzeb had Dara's severed head sent to the dying Shah Jahan. With his succession secured, Aurangzeb kept Shah Jahan under house arrest at the Agra Fort. Twice he allegedly sent poison to the ailing Shah Jahan with the Hakims treating him. On both occasions, the loyal Hakims took the cup to Shah Jahan but themselves drank the poison. It is also said that he had the window of the Agra Fort from where Shah Jahan would look at Taj Mahal, sealed.
|
Aurangzeb
Born: 4 November 1618 Died: 3 March 1707 |
||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Shah Jahan |
Mughal Emperor 1658-1707 |
Succeeded by Bahadur Shah I |
|
||||||||||||||