Emperor Aurangzeb

and fall of Mughal

Empire
Aurangzeb was the third son of the fifth emperor Shah Jahan and
Arjumand Banu 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.
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 into the north-west — into the Punjab and
what is now Afghanistan.
He also drove south, conquering Bijapur and Golconda, his old
enemies. He attempted to suppress the Maratha territories,
which had recently been liberated by Chhatrapati Shivaji.
But the combination of military expansion and religious
intolerance had far deeper consequences.
Though he succeeded in expanding Mughal control, it was at an
enormous cost in lives and to the treasury. And, as the empire
expanded in size, the chain of command grew weaker.
The Sikhs of the Punjab grew both in strength and numbers in
rebellion against Aurangzeb's armies.
When the weakened Muslim kingdoms of Golconda and Bijapur fell
beneath Aurangzeb's might, the Marathas waged a war with
Aurangzeb which lasted for 27 years.
Even Aurangzeb's own armies grew restive — particularly the fierce
Rajputs, who were his main source of strength. Aurangzeb gave a
wide berth to the Rajputs, who were mostly Hindu.
While they fought for Aurangzeb during his life, on his death they
immediately revolted against the Empire, an essential after-effect
of Aurangzeb's Islamic fundamentalist policies.
With much of his attention on military matters, Aurangzeb's
political power waned, and his provincial governors and generals
grew in authority.
Although his father's rule was generally peaceful, the empire was
experiencing challenges by the end of his reign.
Shah Jahan reversed this trend by putting down a [Islamic]
rebellion in Ahmednagar, repulsing the Portuguese in Bengal,
capturing the Rajput kingdoms of Baglana and Bundelkhand to the
west and the northwest beyond the Khyber Pass.
Shah Jahan's military campaigns drained the imperial treasury.
[citation needed] Under his rule, the state became a huge military
machine and the nobles and their contingents multiplied almost
fourfold, as did the demands for more revenue from the
peasantry.
It was however a period of general stability — the administration
was centralised and court affairs systematised.
Historiography and the arts increasingly became instruments of
propaganda, where beautiful artworks or poetry expressed
specific state ideologies which held that central power and
hierarchical order would create balance and harmony.
The empire continued to expand moderately during his reign but
the first signs of an imperial decline were seen in the later years.
Many subjects rebelled against Aurangzeb's policies, among them
his own son, Prince Akbar.
In 1667, the Yusufzai Pashtuns revolted near Peshawar and were
crushed.
In 1669, the Jats around Mathura revolted and led to the formation
of Bharatpur state after his death.
In 1670, Chhatrapati Shivaji had opened the war against the
Mughals. He opposed Aurangzeb with full strength and stopped
him from entering the Deccan.
In 1672 the Satnamis, a Kabirpanthi sect concentrated in an area
near Delhi, staged an armed revolt, taking over the administration
of Narnaul, and defeating Mughal forces in an advance on Delhi.
Aurangzeb sent an army of ten thousand, including his Imperial
Guard, and put the rebellion down.
Soon afterwards the Afridi Pashtuns in the north-west also
revolted, and Aurangzeb was forced to lead his army personally to
Hasan Abdal to subdue them.
When Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur died in 1679, a conflict
ensued over who would be the next Raja. Aurangzeb's choice of a
nephew of the former Maharaja was not accepted by other
members of Jaswant Singh's family and they rebelled, but in vain.
Aurangzeb seized control of Jodhpur.
He also moved on Udaipur, which was the only other state of
Rajputana to support the rebellion.
There was never a clear resolution to this conflict, although it is
noted that the other Rajputs, including the celebrated Kachhwaha
Rajput clan of Raja Jai Singh, the Bhattis, and the Rathores,
remained loyal.
On the other hand, Aurangzeb's own third son, Prince Akbar, along
with a few Muslim Mansabdar supporters, joined the rebels in the
hope of dethroning his father and becoming emperor.
The rebels were defeated and Akbar fled south to the shelter of the
Maratha Chhatrapati Sambhaji, Chhatrapati Shivaji's successor.
Aurangzeb ruled India for 48 years. He was the only Mughal emperor
to be seen at par with the Ottoman emperors in wealth and power.
He brought a larger area under Mughal rule than ever before.
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.
H.M Aurangzeb Alamgir led an extremely simple and pious life.
He followed Muslim precepts with his typical determination, and
even memorized the entire Qur'an.
He knitted Haj caps and copied out the Qur'an throughout his life
and sold these anonymously.
He used only the proceeds from these to fund his modest resting
place.
He died in Ahmednagar on Friday, February 20 1707 at the age of
88, having outlived many of his children.
His modest open-air grave in Khuld abad expresses his strict and
deep interpretation of Islamic beliefs.
 His reign saw several rebellion movements like the SIKH
REBELLION AND THE PASHTUN REBELLION. War against the
MARAHTAS was also one of the most significant events of his
reign.

REASONS FOR THE DECLINE OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE

The Mughal Empire which had reached its zenith, began to decline
after the reign of Aurangzeb. There were many causes for the
downfall of the Mughal Empire
Aurangzeb’s responsibility: Aurangzeb was largely responsible for
the downfall of the Mughal Empire.
His predecessors did a lot to win over the loyalty of his subjects,
but Aurangzeb being a extremist could not tolerate the non-
Muslims.
He imposed jaziya and forbade the celebrations of Hindu Festivals.
He thus lost friendship and loyalty with the Rajputs.
His execution of the Sikh guru and his enmity with the Marathas
forced them to raise forces against him.
His excessive obsession with the Deccan destroyed Mughal army,
treasure and also affected his health.
Aurangzeb being a extreme Sunni Muslim, could not even tolerate
the Shias.
He laid too much of stress on simplicity and was against singing,
dancing and drinking which were common habits of the Muslim
nobles.
Aurangzeb, thus ‘himself gave a green signal to the forces of
enemies’.
 After the death of Aurangzeb, the mighty empire disintegrated
into smaller states.
Weak successors: The successors of Aurangzeb were both weak
and incompetent.
They spent more time on their harems and pleasure and soon lost
control of the state,
No Definite Law of Succession: There was no definite law of
succession during the Mughal Empire.
After the death of every Emperor, there ensued a bloody war of
succession amongst his sons.
Each one, used nobles and members of the royal household to get
the throne. This created anarchy. This made the Mughal power
weak and vulnerable.
Poor Economy: The Economic condition of the Mughal Empire was
ruined because of constant wars.
They spent money lavishly on buildings and monuments.
Finally the foreign invasions completely shattered the economy.
Moral Degradation of Soldiers: The Mughal soldiers had wealth
and luxury, which made them lazy, corrupt and inefficient.
They were pleasure-giving and easygoing.
Often they were also disloyal. They sometimes fought only for
money and easily got overcome by bribes.
Rise of New Powers: New Powers such as the Sikhs, the Jhats and
the Marathas came onto the scene.
They broke off from the Mughal domination and established their
independent states.
Coming of Europeans: The Europeans, especially British played a
major role in putting an end to the Mughal Empire.
They obtained a permission to trade with India.
Gradually, they started interfering with Indian politics, gradually
they established a British Empire in India which lasted for about
200 years.
Foreign Invasions: The invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah
Abdali proved fatal to the Mughal Empire.
India also became an easy prey for foreign rulers.