The Bloody Path to Power

In 1658, Aurangzeb Alamgir seized the Mughal throne through one of history’s most ruthless succession wars. The third son of Emperor Shah Jahan, he defeated and executed his elder brother Dara Shikoh (the crown prince), his second brother Shah Shuja, and imprisoned their youngest brother Murad. Most shockingly, he confined his own father in Agra Fort until Shah Jahan’s death eight years later.

Aurangzeb justified these fratricidal actions as self-defense in letters to his former tutor, citing the Mughal tradition of bloody succession struggles dating back to Timur. Yet his brutality extended beyond necessity – after defeating Dara’s forces, he paraded the captured prince through Delhi in chains before having him executed. The new emperor’s 1659 coronation at Delhi’s Red Fort marked the beginning of a 49-year reign that would both expand the empire to its greatest territorial extent and plant the seeds of its dissolution.

The Paradoxical Reformer and Zealot

A seasoned ruler in his forties upon accession, Aurangzeb initially projected an image of pious reform. He abolished dozens of taxes (including the inland transit tax) and prohibited corrupt practices like forced labor (begar). Contemporary chroniclers like Bhimsen Saxena noted these decrees were largely performative – provincial governors continued extortion while the emperor turned a blind eye.

A devout Sunni Muslim of the Naqshbandi order, Aurangzeb radically departed from his great-grandfather Akbar’s pluralistic policies. Where Akbar had abolished the jizya (tax on non-Muslims) in 1564 and promoted Hindu-Muslim unity, Aurangzeb reinstated it in 1679 despite vehement protests from his Hindu nobility. His finance minister’s remarkable protest petition survives: “This discriminatory tax impoverishes the realm and violates the ancient laws of Hindustan… God belongs equally to all faiths.” The emperor ignored such counsel.

The Temple Destroyer and His Enemies

Aurangzeb’s 1669 edict ordering the destruction of Hindu temples and banning religious education marked a turning point. While implementation varied regionally, thousands of temples were demolished from Mathura to Banaras, their materials often reused for mosques. The iconic Kashi Vishwanath Temple was razed in 1669, with the Gyanvapi Mosque erected atop its foundations – a flashpoint in Indian politics to this day.

This provoked the Rajputs, the Mughals’ longtime Hindu allies. When Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Marwar died in 1678, Aurangzeb attempted to forcibly convert his infant heirs in Delhi. The babies’ Rajput guards fought to the death defending them, sparking a 30-year rebellion in Rajasthan. The emperor’s simultaneous persecution of Sikhs (executing Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1675) and Marathas created multiple fronts of resistance.

The Deccan Quagmire

Aurangzeb’s 1681 march southward began what became a 25-year military catastrophe. Initially targeting the Maratha Confederacy after Shivaji’s death (1680), the campaign ballooned into a futile attempt to conquer the entire Deccan. His armies besieged Bijapur for 15 months (1685-86) and Golconda for 8 months (1687), victories that drained the treasury for minimal gain.

The Marathas adopted guerrilla tactics perfected by Shivaji – ambushing supply lines, attacking during monsoons, and disappearing into the Western Ghats. Italian traveler Niccolao Manucci described the Mughal camp: “A moving city of 500,000 people stretching 30 miles, with 250 bazaars. So cumbersome it could scarcely fight.” By 1700, Maratha light cavalry under Tarabai was raiding north of the Narmada River.

The Rebel Prince

Aurangzeb’s family mirrored his empire’s disintegration. In 1681, his favorite son Akbar rebelled, allying with Rajputs against his father. Their exchange of letters reveals the dynasty’s moral collapse. Aurangzeb called the Rajputs “devil-faced beasts”; Akbar retorted: “You rebelled against your father first… Our ancestor Akbar won India with Rajput help. Now you make them enemies.”

The prince’s rebellion failed when Aurangzeb forged letters suggesting Akbar had surrendered, dividing his allies. The emperor later imprisoned another son, Muazzam, for sympathizing with Deccan enemies. Such familial betrayals became routine – three grandsons would later fight over his corpse.

Deathbed Regrets

By 1707, the 88-year-old emperor had spent a quarter-century in the Deccan, watching his empire unravel. His final letters reveal rare introspection:

“I know not who I am, where I go, or what awaits this sinner… My sons must not fight and spill the blood of God’s creatures… I came as a stranger and leave as one. I know not what punishment awaits me.”

Aurangzeb died in Ahmadnagar on March 3, 1707, requesting burial in a simple grave at Khuldabad. His modest sandstone tomb stands in stark contrast to the Taj Mahal built by his father.

The Contradictory Legacy

Aurangzeb’s reign presents history’s paradoxes:

– The empire reached its greatest size (4 million sq km) yet became administratively bankrupt
– A pious Muslim who copied the Quran by hand yet broke Islamic laws against fratricide
– A capable general whose wars created the Maratha Empire that would destroy Mughal power
– An austere ruler whose court expenditure exceeded Shah Jahan’s

Modern India still grapples with his legacy. Hindu nationalists cite his temple destruction as historical grievance; Pakistani textbooks hail him as an Islamic hero. Yet historians like Audrey Truschke argue his policies were more pragmatic than purely bigoted – political calculations often outweighed religious zeal.

The emperor’s death triggered a succession war that accelerated imperial decline. Within decades, the Marathas would reach Delhi, Persian invader Nadir Shah would sack the capital (1739), and the British East India Company would emerge as kingmakers. Aurangzeb’s reign thus marks both the Mughal zenith and the beginning of India’s colonial era.