Aurangzeb

Abul Muzaffar Muhiuddin Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir (November 3, 1618 - March 3, 1707), also known as Alamgir I, was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1658 until 1707. He is commonly considered the last of the great Mughal emperors.

Aurangzeb (from Persian اورنگ‌زیب meaning "suitable for the throne") was the third son of the previous emperor Shah Jahan. His eldest brother, Dara Shikoh, was favored for succession. Aurangzeb challenged his father and the succession. He was eventually victorious in the battles that occurred between him and his brothers. He killed his brothers, imprisoned his father in Agra Fort, and in July 1658, took the Peacock Throne.

Aurangzeb became fascinated with conservative interpretations of the Quran, which he set about codifying. According to Aurangzeb's interpretation, Islam did not allow music, so he banished court musicians, dancers and singers. Further, based on Muslim precepts forbidding images, he stopped the production of representational artwork, including the Persianate Mughal miniature painting that had reached its zenith before his rule.

Until Aurangzeb, Indian Islam had been informed by mystical Sufi precepts. But based on his conservative interpretation of Islamic principles, Aurangzeb propogated -- often forcefully -- a less mystical, more didactic form of Islam.

Unlike his more ecumenical predecessors, Aurangzeb dealt harshly with non-Muslims. He reimposed the unpopular jizya (a tax on non-Muslims). He encouraged the destruction of sculptures and paintings in Hindu temples. He even razed some temples. He destroyed the important Hindu shrines at Mathura, Ayodhya, and Varanasi, and built enormous mosques in their place, even using stones scavenged from the former temples. Those mosques remain sites of controversy and violence up to this day.

In 1675, Aurangzeb publicly executed the ninth Sikh Master, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji for not converting to Islam. This marked a turning point for Sikhism. His successor, Guru Gobind Singh further militarised his followers (see Khalsa). After Aurangzeb killed four sons of four of Gobind Singh's sons, Gobind Singh sent Aurangzeb the Zafarnama (Notification of Victory). Sikhs believe this document caused Aurangzeb to realize his mistakes and lose the will to live, finally ending in his death.

A Sunni Muslim, Aurganzeb's intolerance also led him to acts violence against India's minority Shia Muslims when they refused to renounce their beliefs.

Aurangzeb's harsh treatment of non-Muslims led to uprisings in the western Deccan plateau, especially by the Marathi rebel Shivaji. So fierce were these conflicts around the Deccan that Aurangzeb eventually left the Mogul capital Delhi to take up residence in nearby Kirki, now known as Aurangabad, and he remained there until the end of his reign.

Unlike his predecessors, Aurangzeb left few buildings. He created a modest mausoleum for his first wife, sometimes called the mini-Taj, in Aurangabad. It pales in comparison to his father's masterpiece, being made with cheaper material and clumsy decoration. He also built in Lahore what was at the time the largest mosque outside Mecca: the Badshahi Masjid ('Imperial' Mosque, sometimes called the 'Almagir' Mosque'). He also added a small marble mosque known as the Moti Masjid ( Pearl Mosque) to the Red Fort complex in Delhi.

Living a relatively simple life, Aurangzeb outlived many of his children. In his final years, his writings express regret about the shape of his life and sorrow at the failings of humanity, and especially his children.

He died in Ahmednagar in 1707 at the age of 90.

Throughout his life, Aurangzeb had knitted haj caps and copied out the Qu'ran. He sold these works in the marketplace anonymously. He used the proceeds, and only these, to fund his modest resting place. Aurangzeb is the only Great Mughal whose tomb is not marked with a large mausoleum. In conformance with his view of Islamic principles, his body rests in an open-air grave in Kuldabad, near Aurangabad.

After Aurangzeb's death, his son Bahadur Shah I took over the throne, and the Mughal Empire, strained by Aurangzeb's constant military campaigns, entered a long decline.