Full title and a seal of Aurangzeb, on an imperial firman'' of Aurangzeb . The painting was probably painted by the court painter,
Bichitr The epithet Aurangzeb means 'Ornament of the Throne'. Aurangzeb's full imperial title was:
Al-Sultan al-Azam wal Khaqan al-Mukarram Hazrat Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Bahadur Alamgir I,
Badshah Ghazi,
Shahanshah-e-Sultanat-ul-Hindiya Wal Mughaliya. Aurangzeb had also been attributed various other titles including
Caliph of The Merciful,
Monarch of Islam, and
Living Custodian of God.
Bureaucracy Aurangzeb's imperial bureaucracy employed significantly more Hindus than that of his predecessors. Between 1679 and 1707, the number of Hindu officials in the Mughal administration rose by half to 31.6% due to an increased recruitment of
Marathas for the purpose of Deccan campaign. In the second half of his rule, the Marathas outnumbered
Rajputs in his administration. Nevertheless, he tried to decrease the number of non-Muslim nobles in his court and encouraged high ranking Hindu officials to convert to Islam.
Economy Under his reign, the Mughal Empire contributed to the world's GDP by nearly 25%, surpassing
Qing China. This made it the world's largest economy and biggest manufacturing power. At the time, it was more than the entirety of Western Europe, and signalled
proto-industrialisation.
Religious policy in
Ajmer,
Rajasthan. in 1913. Aurangzeb was an orthodox Muslim ruler. Subsequent to the policies of his three predecessors, he endeavoured to make
Islam a dominant force in his reign. However, several groups were opposed to these policies. Aurangzeb was a follower of the
Mujaddidi Order and a disciple of the son of the Punjabi saint,
Ahmad Sirhindi. He sought to establish Islamic rule as instructed and inspired by him.
Sheikh Muhammad Ikram stated that after returning from Kashmir, Aurangzeb issued order in 1663, to ban the practice of
Sati, a Hindu practice to burn a widow whenever her husband died. Ikram recorded that Aurangzeb issued the decree: Although Aurangzeb's orders could be evaded with payment of bribes to officials, adds Ikram, later European travellers record that
sati was not much practised in Mughal empire, and that sati was "very rare, except it be some Rajah's wives, that the Indian women burn at all" by the end of Aurangzeb's reign. As a political and religious conservative, Aurangzeb chose not to follow the secular-religious viewpoints of his predecessors after his ascension. He made no mention of the Persian concept of kinship, the Farr-i-Aizadi, and based his rule on the Quranic concept of kingship. Shah Jahan had already moved away from the liberalism of
Akbar, although in a token manner rather than with the intent of suppressing Hinduism, and Aurangzeb took the change still further. Though the approach to faith of Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan was more syncretic than
Babur, the founder of the empire, Aurangzeb's position is not so obvious. His emphasis on
sharia competed, or was directly in conflict, with his insistence that
zawabit or secular decrees could supersede sharia. The chief qazi refusing to crown him in 1659, Aurangzeb had a political need to present himself as a "defender of the sharia" due to popular opposition to his actions against his father and brothers. Despite claims of sweeping edicts and policies, contradictory accounts exist. Historian Katherine Brown has argued that Aurangzeb never imposed a complete ban on music. He sought to codify
Hanafi law by the work of several hundred jurists, called
Fatawa 'Alamgiri. He learnt that at
Multan,
Thatta, and particularly at
Varanasi, Hindu
Brahmins belonging to "established schools" were teaching "false books" and had attracted numerous Hindus and Muslims. He ordered the
subahdars of these provinces to demolish the schools and the temples of non-Muslims. From this order Eaton notes the Mughal court was keen to stamp out "a certain kind of teaching" although it is unknown exactly what teachings or books the order references. Aurangzeb had also banned the celebration of the Zoroastrian festival of Nauroz along with other un-Islamic ceremonies, and encouraged conversions to Islam; instances of persecution against particular Muslim factions were also reported.
Yohanan Friedmann has reported that according to many modern historians and thinkers, the puritanical thought of
Ahmad Sirhindi inspired the religious orthodoxy policy of Aurangzeb.
Taxation policy Shortly after coming to power, Aurangzeb remitted more than 80 long-standing taxes affecting all of his subjects. In 1679, Aurangzeb chose to reimpose
jizya, a military tax on non-Muslim subjects in lieu of military service, after an abatement for a span of a hundred years, in what was critiqued by many Hindu rulers, family members of Aurangzeb, and Mughal court officials. The specific amount varied with the socioeconomic status of a subject and tax-collection was often waived for regions hit by calamities. Rajput and Maratha state officials, Brahmins, women, children, elders, the handicapped, the unemployed, the ill, and the insane were all perpetually exempted. The collectors were mandated to be Muslims. Aurangzeb enforced a higher tax burden on Hindu merchants at the rate of 5%, as against 2.5% on Muslim merchants, which led to considerable dislike of Aurangzeb's economic policies, a sharp turn from Akbar's uniform tax code. According to Marc Jason Gilbert, Aurangzeb ordered the jizya fees to be paid in person, in front of a tax collector, where the non Muslims were to recite a verse in the Quran that referred to their inferior status as non-Muslims. This decision led to protests and lamentations among the masses as well as Hindu court officials. In order to meet state expenditures, Aurangzeb had ordered increases in land taxes. The burden of which fell heavily upon the Hindu Jats. The reimposition of the jizya encouraged Hindus to flee to areas under East India Company jurisdiction, under which policies of religious sufferance and pretermissions of religious taxes prevailed. Aurangzeb issued land grants and provided funds for the maintenance of shrines of worship but also often ordered their destruction. Modern historians reject the thought-school of colonial and nationalist historians about these destructions being guided by religious zealotry. Rather, the association of temples with sovereignty, power and authority is emphasised upon. While constructing mosques was considered an act of royal duty to subjects, there are also several
firmans in Aurangzeb's name supporting temples,
maths, Chishti shrines, and
gurudwaras, including the
Mahakaleshwar temple of
Ujjain, a gurudwara at Dehradun, Balaji temple of
Chitrakoot,
Umananda Temple of
Guwahati and the
Shatrunjaya Jain temples, among others. Contemporary court chronicles mention hundreds of temples that were demolished by Aurangzeb or his chieftains upon his order. In around 1679, he ordered the destruction of several prominent temples, including those of Khandela, Udaipur, Chittor, and Jodhpur, which were patronised by rebels. In an order specific to Benaras, Aurangzeb invokes Sharia to declare that Hindus will be granted state protection and temples won't be razed (but prohibits construction of any new temple); other orders to similar effect can be located. Eaton notes numerous new temples were built in other areas of the empire during this time. Richard Eaton, upon a critical evaluation of primary sources, counts 15 temples to have been destroyed during Aurangzeb's reign. He had an annual yearly revenue of $450 million, more than ten times that of his contemporary
Louis XIV of France.
Coins File:Half rupee coin of Aurangzeb (Detailed).png|A half rupee,
Surat File:Silver Rupee of Aurangazeb AH1096 (Detailed).png|A rupee coin showing Aurangzeb's full name,
Khambhat File:047aur13 (Detailed).png|A rupee with a square area,
Junagadh File:Copper coin of Aurangazeb, issue from Surat (Detailed).png|A copper dam, Surat Aurangzeb felt that verses from the
Quran should not be stamped on coins, as done in former times, because they were constantly touched by the hands and feet of people. His coins had the name of the mint city and the year of issue on one face, and, the following couplet on other:
Law Sambhaji, the Maratha king, was captured in 1688. He was brought to where Aurangzeb was encamped by the
Bhima River. There a panel of Islamic jurists sentenced him to death for having slain and captured good Muslims. He was hacked to death and fed to dogs. In 1675, the Sikh leader
Guru Tegh Bahadur was arrested on orders by Aurangzeb, found guilty of blasphemy by a
Qadi's court and executed. The 32nd Da'i al-Mutlaq (Absolute Missionary) of the
Dawoodi Bohra sect of Musta'lī Islam Syedna Qutubkhan Qutubuddin was executed by Aurangzeb, then governor of Gujarat, for heresy; on 27 Jumadil Akhir 1056 AH (1648 AD), Ahmedabad, India. File:Tulapur arch.jpg|In 1689, according to Mughal accounts,
Sambhaji was tried, found guilty, and executed. File:Aurangzeb sitting on his throne, receiving the news of the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur and the Guru’s companions, Bhai Mati Das and Bhai Dayala Das at Delhi’s Chandi Chowk.jpg|
Guru Tegh Bahadur was publicly executed in 1675 on the orders of Aurangzeb in Delhi. File:Indian - Single Leaf of Shah Sarmad and Prince Dara Shikoh - Walters W912.jpg|
Sarmad Kashani, a Jewish convert to Islam and
Sufi mystic was accused of heresy and executed.
Military '' It is reported that Aurangzeb inspected his cavalry contingents every day, during these inspections he used to test the cutlasses on sheep carcass, brought before him without the entrails and neatly bound up. In 1663, during his visit to
Ladakh, Aurangzeb established direct control over that part of the empire and loyal subjects such as Deldan Namgyal agreed to pledge tribute and loyalty. Deldan Namgyal is also known to have constructed a Grand Mosque in
Leh, which he dedicated to Mughal rule. .
Chester Beatty Library In 1664, Aurangzeb appointed
Shaista Khan subedar (governor) of Bengal. Shaista Khan eliminated Portuguese and
Arakanese pirates from the region, and in 1666 recaptured the port of
Chittagong from the Arakanese king,
Sanda Thudhamma. Chittagong remained a key port throughout Mughal rule. In 1685, Aurangzeb dispatched his son,
Muhammad Azam Shah, with a force of nearly 50,000 men to capture
Bijapur Fort and defeat
Sikandar Adil Shah (the ruler of Bijapur) who refused to be a vassal. The Mughals could not make any advancements upon Bijapur Fort, mainly because of the superior usage of cannon batteries on both sides. Outraged by the stalemate Aurangzeb himself arrived on 4 September 1686 and commanded the
siege of Bijapur; after eight days of fighting, the Mughals were victorious. Only one remaining ruler,
Abul Hasan Qutb Shah (the
Qutbshahi ruler of
Golconda), refused to surrender. He and his servicemen fortified themselves at Golconda and fiercely protected the
Kollur Mine, which was then probably the world's most productive diamond mine, and an important economic asset. In 1687, Aurangzeb led his grand Mughal army against the Deccan Qutbshahi fortress during the
siege of Golconda. The Qutbshahis had constructed massive fortifications throughout successive generations on a
granite hill over 400 ft high with an enormous eight-mile long wall enclosing the city. The main gates of Golconda had the ability to repulse any war elephant attack. Although the Qutbshahis maintained the impregnability of their walls, at night Aurangzeb and his infantry erected complex
scaffolding that allowed them to scale the high walls. During the eight-month siege the Mughals faced many hardships including the death of their experienced commander
Kilich Khan Bahadur. Eventually, Aurangzeb and his forces managed to penetrate the walls by capturing a gate, and their entry into the fort led Abul Hasan Qutb Shah to surrender. He died after twelve years of Mughal imprisonment. One of the most impressive Mughal cannons is known as the Zafarbaksh, which is a very rare
composite cannon, that required skills in both wrought-iron forge welding and
bronze-casting technologies and the in-depth knowledge of the qualities of both metals. The
Ibrahim Rauza was a famed cannon, which was well known for its multi-barrels.
François Bernier, the personal physician to Aurangzeb, observed Mughal gun-carriages each drawn by two horses, an improvement over the bullock-drawn gun-carriages used elsewhere in India. During the rule of Aurangzeb, in 1703, the Mughal commander at
Coromandel,
Daud Khan Panni spent 10,500 coins to purchase 30 to 50 war elephants from
Ceylon.
Art and culture Aurangzeb was noted for his religious piety; he
memorised the entire Quran, studied
hadiths and stringently observed the rituals of Islam, and "transcribe[d] copies of the Quran." Aurangzeb had a more austere nature than his predecessors, and greatly reduced imperial patronage of the figurative
Mughal miniature.
Calligraphy The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb is known to have patronised works of
Islamic calligraphy; the demand for Quran manuscripts in the
naskh style peaked during his reign. Having been instructed by
Syed Ali Tabrizi, Aurangzeb was himself a talented calligrapher in
naskh, evidenced by Quran manuscripts that he created.
Architecture Aurangzeb was not as involved in architecture as his father. Under Aurangzeb's rule, the position of the Mughal Emperor as chief architectural patron began to diminish. However, Aurangzeb did endow some significant structures. Catherine Asher terms his architectural period as an "Islamisation" of
Mughal architecture. One of the earliest constructions after his accession was a small marble mosque known as the
Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque), built for his personal use in the Red Fort complex of Delhi. He later ordered the construction of the
Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, which is today one of the largest mosques in the Indian subcontinent. The mosque he constructed in Srinagar is still the largest in
Kashmir. Aurangzeb had a palace constructed for himself in Aurangabad, which was extant till a few years ago. Most of Aurangzeb's building activity revolved around mosques, but secular structures were not neglected. The
Mubarak Manzil in Agra served as his riverside residence after his victory at Samugarh. The Bibi Ka Maqbara in Aurangabad, the mausoleum of Rabia-ud-Daurani, was constructed by his eldest son
Azam Shah upon Aurangzeb's decree. Its architecture displays clear inspiration from the Taj Mahal. Aurangzeb also provided and repaired urban structures like fortifications (for example a wall around Aurangabad, many of whose
gates still survive), bridges,
caravanserais, and gardens. Aurangzeb was more heavily involved in the repair and maintenance of previously existing structures. The most important of these were mosques, both Mughal and pre-Mughal, which he repaired more of than any of his predecessors. He patronised the
dargahs of Sufi saints such as
Bakhtiyar Kaki, and strived to maintain royal tombs. He also explains the different techniques employed to produce such complicated textiles as
Himru (whose name is Persian for "brocade"),
Paithani (whose pattern is identical on both sides),
Mushru (satin weave) and how
Kalamkari, in which fabrics are painted or block-printed, was a technique that originally came from Persia. Francois Bernier provided some of the first, impressive descriptions of the designs and the soft, delicate texture of
Pashmina shawls also known as
Kani, which were very valued for their warmth and comfort among the Mughals, and how these textiles and shawls eventually began to find their way to France and England. File:Caspar David Friedrich - Frau mit Umschlagtuch (1804).jpg|
Shawls manufactured in the Mughal Empire had highly influenced other cultures around the world. File:Muslim-shawl-makers-kashmir1867.jpg|
Shawl makers in the Mughal Empire. File:Floorspread LACMA M.79.9.6 (1 of 3).jpg|Mughal imperial carpet
Foreign relations . Aurangzeb sent diplomatic missions to
Mecca in 1659 and 1662, with money and gifts for the
Sharif. He also sent alms in 1666 and 1672 to be distributed in Mecca and
Medina. Historian Naimur Rahman Farooqi writes that, "By 1694, Aurangzeb's ardour for the Sharifs of Mecca had begun to wane; their greed and rapacity had thoroughly disillusioned the Emperor ... Aurangzeb expressed his disgust at the unethical behavior of the Sharif who appropriated all the money sent to the
Hijaz for his own use, thus depriving the needy and the poor." According to English traveller named John Fryar, Aurangzeb considered that despite his enormous power on land, it was cheaper to establish a reciprocal relation with the naval forces of the Portuguese empire, to secure the sea interest of ships in Mughal territory, so he did not built large naval forces.
Relations with Aceh For decades, the Malabari
Mappila Muslims which representing the Mughal empire are already patronised
Aceh Sultanate. Aurangzeb, and his brother, Dara Shikoh, participated with Aceh trade and Aurangzeb himself also exchanging presents with the Sultan of Aceh in 1641. When the VOC, or
Dutch East India Company trying to disrupt the trade in Aceh to make their own Malaka trade lucrative, Aurangzeb threatened the Dutch with retaliation against any losses in Gujarat due to Dutch intervention. The
Firman issued by Aurangzeb caused the VOC to back down and allowed Indian sailors to pass into Aceh,
Perak, and
Kedah, without any restrictions.
Relations with the Uzbek Subhan Quli Khan,
Balkh's Uzbek ruler was the first to recognise him in 1658 and requested for a general alliance, he worked alongside the new Mughal Emperor since 1647, when Aurangzeb was the Subedar of Balkh.
Relations with the Safavid dynasty Safavid Iran and the Mughal Empire had long clashed over Kandahar, an outpost on the distant frontier of their two empires. Control of the city swung back and forth. Aurangzeb led two unsuccessful campaigns to recapture it 1649 and 1652. Mughal attempts died down after 1653 amidst internal rivalries. Upon ascending the throne, Aurangzeb was eager to obtain diplomatic recognition from the Safavids to bolster the legitimacy of his rule.
Abbas II of Persia sent an embassy in 1661. Aurangzeb received the ambassador warmly and they exchanged gifts. A return embassy sent by Aurangzeb to Persia in 1664 was poorly treated. Tensions over Kandahar rose again. There were cross border raids, but hostilities subsided after Abbas II's death in 1666. Aurangzeb's rebellious son,
Prince Akbar, sought refuge with
Suleiman I of Persia. Suleiman rescued him from the
Imam of
Musqat, but refused to assist him in any military adventures against Aurangzeb.
Relations with the French In 1667, the French East India Company ambassadors Le Gouz and Bebert presented
Louis XIV's letter which urged the protection of French merchants from various rebels in the Deccan. In response to the letter, Aurangzeb issued a
firman allowing the French to open a factory in
Surat. File:Avreng-zebe, Roy Des Indes by Nicolas de Larmessin (Detailed) (2).png|
Avreng-zebe, Roy Des Indes (Aurangzeb, King of the Indies) by File:Pomp and Ceremony of the March of the Great Mogol.jpg|
March of the Great Moghul (Aurangzeb) File:Voyage de Francois Bernier by Paul Maret 1710.jpg|
François Bernier, was a French physician and traveller, who for 12 years was the personal physician of Aurangzeb. He described his experiences in
Travels in the Mughal Empire.
Relations with the Sultanate of Maldives In the 1660s, the Sultan of the Maldives,
Ibrahim Iskandar I, requested help from Aurangzeb's representative, the
Faujdar of
Balasore. The Sultan wished to gain his support in possible future expulsions of Dutch and English trading ships, as he was concerned with how they might impact the economy of the Maldives. However, as Aurangzeb did not possess a powerful navy and had no interest in providing support to Ibrahim in a possible future war with the Dutch or English, the request came to nothing.
Relations with the Ottoman Empire Like his father, Aurangzeb was not willing to acknowledge the Ottoman claim to the
caliphate. He often supported the Ottoman Empire's enemies, extending cordial welcome to two rebel Governors of Basra, and granting them and their families a high status in the imperial service. Sultan
Suleiman II's friendly postures were ignored by Aurangzeb. The Sultan urged Aurangzeb to wage holy war against Christians. However, Aurangzeb were granted as patron of
Sharif of Mecca, and sending the Sherif at that time with richly laden mission, which at that time were under the jurisdiction of Ottoman.
Relations with the English and the Anglo-Mughal War requests a pardon from Aurangzeb during the
Anglo-Mughal war (1686–1690). In 1686, the
East India Company, which had unsuccessfully tried to obtain a
firman that would grant them regular trading privileges throughout the Mughal Empire, initiated the
Anglo-Mughal War. This war ended in disaster for the English after Aurangzeb in 1689 dispatched a large fleet from
Janjira that
blockaded
Bombay. The ships, commanded by
Sidi Yaqub, were manned by Indians and
Mappila. In 1690, realising the war was not going favourably for them, the Company sent envoys to Aurangzeb's camp to plead for a pardon. The company's envoys prostrated themselves before the emperor, agreed pay a large indemnity, and promise to refrain from such actions in the future. In September 1695, English pirate
Henry Every conducted one of the most profitable pirate raids in history with his capture of a Grand Mughal
grab convoy near
Surat. The Indian ships had been returning home from their annual
pilgrimage to Mecca when the pirate struck,
capturing the
Ganj-i-Sawai, reportedly the largest ship in the Muslim fleet, and its escorts in the process. When news of the capture reached the mainland, a livid Aurangzeb nearly ordered an armed attack against the English-governed city of Bombay, though he finally agreed to compromise after the Company promised to pay financial reparations, estimated at £600,000 by the Mughal authorities. to Aurangzeb, 1 January 1699 , 7 January 1702 Meanwhile, Aurangzeb shut down four of the English East India Company's
factories, imprisoned the workers and captains (who were nearly
lynched by a rioting mob), and threatened to put an end to all English trading in India until Every was captured. In 1702, Aurangzeb sent Daud Khan Panni, the Mughal Empire's Subhedar of the
Carnatic region, to besiege and blockade
Fort St. George for more than three months. The governor of the fort
Thomas Pitt was instructed by the East India Company to sue for peace.
Relations with the Ethiopian Empire Ethiopian Emperor Fasilides dispatched an embassy to India in 1664–65 to congratulate Aurangzeb upon his accession to the throne of the Mughal Empire. The delegation reportedly presented several valuable offerings to the Mughal Emperor, such as slaves, ivory, horses, a set of intricately adorned silver pocket pistols, a zebra and various other exotic gifts.
François Bernier, describes the presents as consisting of:
Relations with the Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Dzungars After 1679, the
Tibetans invaded Ladakh, which was in the Mughal sphere of influence. Aurangzeb intervened on
Ladakh's behalf in 1683, but his troops retreated before
Dzungar reinforcements arrived to bolster the Tibetan position. At the same time, however, a letter was sent from the governor of Kashmir claiming the Mughals had defeated the
Dalai Lama and conquered all of Tibet, a cause for celebration in Aurangzeb's court. Aurangzeb received an embassy from
Muhammad Amin Khan of
Chagatai Moghulistan in 1690, seeking assistance in driving out "Qirkhiz infidels" (meaning the Buddhist Dzungars), who "had acquired dominance over the country".
Relations with the Czardom of Russia Russian Czar Peter the Great requested Aurangzeb to open Russo-Mughal trade relations in the late 17th century. In 1696 Aurangzeb received his envoy, Semyon Malenkiy, and allowed him to conduct free trade. After staying for six years in India, and visiting
Surat,
Burhanpur, Agra, Delhi and other cities, Russian merchants returned to Moscow with valuable Indian goods. ==Rebellions==