Aurangzeb | |||||||||
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c. 1690 – c. 1710 painting of Aurangzeb on horseback
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6th Mughal Emperor | |||||||||
Reign | 31 July 1658 – 3 March 1707 | ||||||||
Coronation | 13 June 1659 at Shalimar Bagh, Delhi | ||||||||
Predecessor | Shah Jahan | ||||||||
Successor |
Muhammad Azam Shah (titular) Bahadur Shah I |
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Born | Muḥī al-Dīn Muḥammad 3 November 1658 (N.S.) Dahod, Mughal Empire |
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Died | 3 March 1707 (N.S.) (aged 88) Ahmednagar, Mughal Empire |
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Burial | Tomb of Aurangzeb, Khuldabad | ||||||||
Consort | Dilras Banu Begum | ||||||||
Wives |
Nawab Bai Aurangabadi Mahal |
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Issue | |||||||||
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House | House of Timur | ||||||||
Father | Shah Jahan | ||||||||
Mother | Mumtaz Mahal | ||||||||
Religion | Islam |
Full name | |
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Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad | |
Regnal name | |
Alamgir |
Mughal emperors | |
Babur | 1526 – 1530 |
Humayun | 1530 – 1540 1555 – 1556 |
Akbar | 1556 – 1605 |
Jahangir | 1605 – 1627 |
Shahryar (de facto) | 1627 – 1628 |
Shah Jahan | 1628 – 1658 |
Aurangzeb | 1658 – 1707 |
Muhammad Azam Shah (titular) | 1707 |
Bahadur Shah I | 1707 – 1712 |
Jahandar Shah | 1712 – 1713 |
Farrukhsiyar | 1713 – 1719 |
Rafi ud-Darajat | 1719 |
Shah Jahan II | 1719 |
Muhammad Shah | 1719 – 1748 |
Ahmad Shah Bahadur | 1748 – 1754 |
Alamgir II | 1754 – 1759 |
Shah Jahan III (titular) | 1759 – 1760 |
Shah Alam II | 1760 – 1806 |
Jahan Shah IV (titular) | 1788 |
Akbar II | 1806 – 1837 |
Bahadur Shah II | 1837 – 1857 |
Empire abolished and replaced by British Raj |
Abu'l Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad (3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his regnal title Alamgir ("He who seizes the universe"), was the sixth, and widely considered the last effective Mughal Emperor. He ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent during some parts of his reign, which lasted for 49 years from 1658 until his death in 1707.
Aurangzeb was a notable expansionist and during his reign, the Mughal Empire temporarily reached its greatest extent. During his lifetime, victories in the south expanded the Mughal Empire to more than 3.2 million square kilometres and he ruled over a population estimated as being in the range of 100–150 million subjects, with an annual yearly tribute of £38,624,680 (2,879,469,894 rupees) in 1690. During his reign, 4.6 million people were said have died due to war and devastation.
Aurangzeb's policies partly abandoned the legacy of pluralism, which remains a very controversial aspect of his reign and led to the downfall of the Mughal Empire. Rebellions and wars led to the exhaustion of the imperial Mughal treasury and army. He was a strong-handed authoritarian ruler, and following his death the expansionary period of the Mughal Empire came to an end. Nevertheless, the contiguous territory of the Mughal Empire still remained intact more or less until the reign of Muhammad Shah.
Aurangzeb was born on 3 November 1618, in Dahod, Gujarat. He was the third son and sixth child of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. In June 1626, after an unsuccessful rebellion by his father, Aurangzeb and his brother Dara Shikoh were kept as hostages under their grandparents' (Nur Jahan and Jahangir) Lahore court. On 26 February 1628, Shah Jahan was officially declared the Mughal Emperor, and Aurangzeb returned to live with his parents at Agra Fort, where Aurangzeb received his formal education in Arabic and Persian. His daily allowance was fixed at Rs. 500 which he spent on religious education and the study of history. On 28 May 1633, Aurangzeb escaped death when a powerful war elephant stampeded through the Mughal Imperial encampment. He rode against the elephant and struck its trunk with a lance, and successfully defended himself from being crushed. Aurangzeb's valour was appreciated by his father who conferred him the title of Bahadur (Brave) and had him weighed in gold and presented gifts worth Rs. 200,000. This event was celebrated in Persian and Urdu verses and Aurangzeb said: