The ruthless emperor who expanded an empire but fractured its soul
He defeated his brothers, imprisoned his father, and pushed the Mughal Empire to its greatest territorial extent. Yet, the very policies that secured his absolute power—religious taxation and military expansion—are often cited as the catalysts for the empire's eventual dissolution.
Ascending the throne in 1658 after a violent war of succession, Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707) was a figure of profound contradiction. A skilled military commander, he had previously served as viceroy in the Deccan and governor in Gujarat. His rise to power was marked by ruthless determination; he defeated his eldest brother, the liberal-minded Dara Shikoh, at the Battle of Samugarh in May 1658, and subsequently imprisoned his father, Shah Jahan, in the Agra Fort.
Under his leadership, the Mughal Empire reached its greatest geographical extent, spanning much of the Indian subcontinent. During the first half of his reign, he functioned as a seasoned statesman, maintaining a mixed Hindu-Muslim empire and even briefly reconciling with the Maratha leader Shivaji. At its peak, the Mughal economy was a global titan, even surpassing Qing China as the world's largest manufacturing power.
However, his legacy is deeply contested. Historians note a shift in policy around 1680, where the 'seasoned statesman' was replaced by a 'pious ruler' of an Islamic state. He reimposed the jizya—a tax on non-Muslims that had been suspended for a century by his great-grandfather Akbar—and oversaw the destruction of various non-Muslim temples and schools. While some view him as an orthodox exemplar, others argue his conservative religious policies and relentless military campaigns against the Marathas, Sikhs, and Rajputs sowed the seeds of the empire's decline.
Source: Aurangzeb
