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Aurungzeb

Aurangzeb
The Emperor Aurangzeb on Horseback ca. 1690–1710 The Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg
c. 1690 – c. 1710 painting of Aurangzeb on horseback
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
Born Muḥī al-Dīn Muḥammad
(1618-11-03)3 November 1618 (N.S.)
Dahod, Mughal Empire
Died 3 March 1707 (N.S.) (aged 88)
Ahmednagar, Mughal Empire
Burial Tomb of Aurangzeb, Khuldabad
Consort Dilras Banu Begum
Wives Nawab Bai
Aurangabadi Mahal
Issue
Full name
Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad
Regnal name
Alamgir
House Timurid
Father Shah Jahan
Mother Mumtaz Mahal
Religion Sunni Islam
Full name
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

Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad (3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the sobriquet Aurangzeb (Persian: "Ornament of the Throne") or by his regnal title Alamgir (Persian: "Conqueror of the World"), was the sixth, and widely considered the last effective Mughal emperor. His reign lasted for 49 years from 1658 until his death in 1707.

Aurangzeb was a notable expansionist and during his reign, the Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent, ruling over nearly all of the Indian subcontinent. During his lifetime, victories in the south expanded the Mughal Empire to 4 million square kilometres, and he ruled over a population estimated to be over 158 million subjects, with an annual yearly revenue of $450 million (more than ten times that of his contemporary Louis XIV of France), or £38,624,680 (2,879,469,894 rupees) in 1690. Under his reign, India surpassed China to become the world's largest economy, worth over $90 billion, nearly a quarter of world GDP in 1700.

Aurangzeb is considered one of India's most controversial kings. Some historians argue that his policies abandoned his predecessors' legacy of pluralism and religious tolerance, citing his destruction of Hindu temples and execution of a Sikh guru, while other historians question this, arguing that his destruction of temples has been exaggerated and were politically motivated, and noting that he built more temples than he destroyed, also destroyed Islamic mosques, paid for the maintenance of temples, employed significantly more Hindus in his imperial bureaucracy than his predecessors did, and opposed bigotry against Hindus and Shia Muslims.

It was at the end of his reign that the downfall of the Mughal Empire began. Rebellions and wars eventually 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.


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