2016-06-13 Mon

Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb also known as Aurangzeb Alamgir, the sixth ruler of the Mughal dynasty was coronated as Emperor on 13th June 1659 at Red fort Delhi.

He was the third son and sixth child of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. And since his childhood Aurangzeb showed signs of military and administrative ability. His ambition to ascend the throne of the richest empire of the India made him rivals with his eldest brother Dara Shikoh, who was designated by Shah Jahan as his successor to the throne.

He defeated Dara at Dharmat near Ujjain (15th April 1658) and then later at Samugarh on 29th May 1658. He had already put his old father Emperor Shah Jahan under a house arrest in the Agra Fort. Finally, in May 1658 Aurangzeb ascended to the throne after a long and bloody battle with his brothers.

Coronation of Aurangzeb was carried out with much zest and festivities. The coronation ceremony was magnificent with fireworks and lots of emeralds, rubies and sapphire being lavishly distributed and gifted by and to the emperor.

Aurangzeb ruled for almost 50 years and his Empire stretched from Kashmir in the north to Jinji in the South, and from the Hindukush in the West to Chittagong in the East. Though during his reign he faced strong opposition from Marathas, Jats, Sikhs and Rajputs, he efficiently ruled the empire. He spent almost half of his rule and the royal treasury trying the crush the Marathas of the Deccan.

Throughout his reign, Aurangzeb engaged constantly in warfare. He extended the Mughal territory further into Punjab and into south by defeating the Adil Shahis of Bijapur and Qutbshahis of Golconda.

He was a religious conservative and banned gambling, alcohol, narcotics etc in the Mughal Empire. Aurangzeb chose not to follow the liberal religious viewpoints of his predecessors. Being religious he encouraged Islamic calligraphy. Aurangzeb is also believed to have handwritten a Quran.

Not interested much in architect, very few constructions were sponsored by Aurangzeb in his reign. Aurangzeb constructed a small marble mosque known as the Moti Masjid in the Red fort. He also commissioned a Badshahi mosque to be built in Lahore and a few others in Kashmir and Banaras.

Aurangzeb was the last great ruler of the Mughal Empire and after his death his son’s failed to consolidate and manage the huge empire and this led to the collapse of the empire in the mid-18th century.