PERSONALITY OF AURANGZEB

Aurangzeb, who was given the title "Alamgir" or "world-seizer," by his father, was known for aggressively expanding the empire's frontiers and for his acceptance of orthodox Sunni Islam. During his reign, the Mughal empire reached its greatest extent (the Bijapur and Golconda Sultanates which had been reduced to vassalage by Shah Jahan were formally annexed). Although he was an outstanding general and a rigorous administrator, Mughal fiscal and military standards declined as security and luxury increased. Land rather than cash became the usual means of remunerating high-ranking officials, and divisive tendencies in his large empire further undermined central authority. In 1679, Aurangzeb reimposed the jizyah tax on Non-Muslims. This action by the emperor, incited rebellion among Hindus and others in many parts of the empire notably the Jats, Sikhs, and Rajputs forces in the north and Maratha forces in the Deccan. The emperor managed to crush the rebellions in the north. Aurangzeb was compelled to move his headquarters to Aurangabad in the Deccan to mount a costly campaign against Maratha guerrilla fighters led by Shivaji and his successors, which lasted twenty-six years until he died in 1707 at the age of seventy nine. In the century and a half that followed, effective control by Aurangzeb's successors weakened. The mansabdari system gave way to the zamindari system, in which high-ranking officials took on the appearance of aristocracy who were hereditary land barons with powers of collecting rents. As Delhi's control waned, other contenders for power emerged and clashed, thus preparing the way for the eventual British takeover. Aurangzeb, as is his father before him, is remembered as a builder-emperor. The Badshahi Masjid (Imperial Mosque) in Lahore was constructed in 1673 on his orders. It was not only the largest mosque ever built by a Mughal emperor but was at that point the largest mosque in the world. He also constructed the Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort, which is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Moti Masjid inside Delhi's Red Fort was also finalized by him. Aurangzeb was a great ruler who led by example. He was of the view that royal treasury does not belong to king but common man. He did not use any of the royal treasuries for him and his family. In fact, he used to write holy Quran and earn money and his wife used to weave caps and copies of the holy Quran to support his earnings.

RULE OF AURANGZEB
Aurangzeb's 48-year reign is often cited as a "Golden Age" of the Mughal Empire, but it was rife with trouble and rebellions. Although Mughal rulers from Akbar the Great through Shah Jahan practiced a remarkable degree of religious tolerance and were great patrons of the arts, Aurangzeb reversed both of these policies. He practiced a much more orthodox, even fundamentalist version of Islam, going so far as to outlaw music and other performances in 1668. Both Muslims and Hindus were forbidden to sing, play musical instruments or to dance - a serious damper on the traditions of both faiths in India. Aurangzeb also ordered the destruction of Hindu temples, although the exact number is not known. Estimates range from under 100 to tens of thousands. In addition, he ordered the enslavement of Christian missionaries. Aurangzeb expanded Mughal rule both north and south, but his constant military campaigns and religious intolerance rankled many of his subjects. He did not hesitate to torture and kill prisoners of war, political prisoners, and anyone he considered unIslamic. To make matters worse, the empire became over-extended, and Aurangzeb imposed ever-higher taxes in order to pay for his wars. The Mughal army was never able to completely quash Hindu resistance in the Deccan, and the Sikhs of the northern Punjab rose up against Aurangzeb repeatedly throughout his reign. Perhaps most worryingly for the Mughal emperor, he relied heavily on Rajputs warriors, who by this time formed the backbone of his southern army, and were faithful Hindus. Although they were displeased with his policies, they did not abandon Aurangzeb during his lifetime, but they revolted against his son as soon as the emperor died. Perhaps the most disastrous revolt of all was the Pashtun Rebellion of 1672-74. The founder of the Mughal Dynasty, Babur, came from Afghanistan to conquer India, and the family had always relied upon the fierce Pashtun tribesmen of Afghanistan and what is now Pakistan to secure the northern borderlands. Charges that a Mughal governor was molesting tribal women sparked a revolt among the Pashtuns, which led to a complete break-down of control over the northern tier of the empire and its critical trade routes.

BATTLES OF AURANGZEB
The 15-year-old Aurangzeb proved his courage in 1633. All of Shah Jahan's court was arrayed in a pavilion, watching an elephant fight, when one of the elephants ran out of control. As it thundered towards the royal family, everyone scattered - except Aurangzeb, who ran forward and headed off the furious pachyderm. This act of near-suicidal bravery raised Aurangzeb's status in the family. The following year, the teenager got command of an army of 10,000 cavalry and 4,000 infantry; he soon was dispatched to put down the Bundela rebellion. When he was 18, the young prince was appointed viceroy of the Deccan region, south of the Mughal heartland. In 1644 he took three weeks to return home to Agra rather than rushing back immediately. Shah Jahan was so angry about his tardiness that he stripped Aurangzeb of the Viceroyalty of Deccan. Relations between the two deteriorated the following year, and Aurangzeb was banished from court. He bitterly accused the emperor of favoring Dara Shikoh. Shah Jahan needed all of his sons in order to run his huge empire, however, so in 1646, he appointed Aurangzeb Governor of Gujarat. The following year, the 28-year-old Aurangzeb also took up the governorships of Balkh (Afghanistan) and Badakhshan (Tajikistan) on the empire's vulnerable northern flank. Although Aurangzeb had a lot of success in extending Mughal rule north and westward, in 1652, he failed to take the city of Kandahar (Afghanistan) from the Safavids. His father again recalled him to the capital. Aurangzeb would not languish in Agra for long, though - that same year, he was sent south to govern the Deccan once more. Aurangzeb craftily recruited his younger brother Murad, convincing him that together they could remove Dara and Shuja, and place Murad on the throne. Aurangzeb disavowed any plans to rule himself, claiming that his only ambition was to make the hajj to Mecca. Later in 1658, as the combined armies of Murad and Aurangzeb moved north toward the capital, Shah Jahan recovered his health. Dara, who had crowned himself regent, stepped aside. The three younger brothers refused to believe that Shah Jahan was well, though, and converged on Agra, where they defeated Dara's army. Dara fled north, but was betrayed by a Baluchi chieftain and brought back to Agra in June of 1659. Aurangzeb had him executed for apostasy from Islam, and presented the head to their father. Meanwhile, Aurangzeb had Shujas former ally Murad executed on trumped-up murder charges in 1661. In addition to disposing of all of his rival brothers, the new Mughal Emperor placed his father under house arrest in Agra Fort. Shah Jahan lived there for eight years, until 1666. He spent most of his time in bed, gazing out the window at the Taj Mahal.

REFORMS BY AURANGZEB
Immediately after becoming the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb enforced morals, and strictly banned the consumption, usage and practices of: alcoholism, gambling, prostitution, sati, castration, servitude, eunuchs, music, nautch and narcotics in the Mughal Empire. He learnt that at Sindh, Multan, Thatta and particularly at Varanasi, the Hindu Brahmins attracted large numbers of indigenous local Muslims to their discourses. He ordered the Subahdars of these provinces to demolish the schools and the temples of non-Muslims. Aurangzeb also ordered Subahdars to punish Muslims who dressed like non-Muslims, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds. However newer temples continued to be built and expanded in both Varanasi and Amritsar. Another instance of Aurangzeb's notoriety was his policy of temple destruction. Figures vary wildly from 80 to 60,000; However, Aurangzeb's Firmans on behalf of the Balaji or Vishnu Temple, Varanasi indicate that this wanton destruction was not universal. Historian Richard Eaton believes the overall understanding of temples to be flawed. As early as the sixth century, temples became vital political landmarks as well as religious ones. He writes that not only was temple desecration widely practiced and accepted, it was a necessary part of political struggle. Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded because he objected to Aurangzeb's forced conversions. Aurangzeb destroyed several non-Islamic shrines: some Hindu nationalists state the number to be as high as 60,000, but researcher Richard M. Eaton (2000) states that a total of 15 Hindu temples were destroyed during Aurangzeb's reign. After the Jat rebellion in Mathura, Aurangzeb ordered destruction of the city's Keshava Deva temple and built an Islamic eidgah in its place. In 1679, he ordered destruction of several prominent temples that had become associated with his enemies: these included the temples of Khandela, Udaipur, Chittor and Jodhpur.

ADMINISTRATION OF AURANGZEB
As soon as he became Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb sent some of the finest ornate gifts such as carpets, lamps, tiles and others to the Islamic shrines at Mecca and Medina, immediately after his emergence to the throne he also ordered the construction of very large ships in Surat that would transport these gifts and even pilgrims to the Hijaz. These annual expeditions organized by Aurangzeb were led by Mir Aziz Badakhshi who died in Mecca of natural causes but managed to deliver more than 45,000 gold and silver coins, Jewels and several thousand Kaftans of honor. Subhan Quli, Balkh's Uzbek ruler was the first to recognize 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. Aurangzeb warmly received the embassy of Shah Abbas II of Persia in 1660 and returned them with gifts. In the year 1688 the desperate Ottoman Sultan Suleiman II urgently requested for assistance against the rapidly advancing Austrians, during the OttomanHabsburg War however the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and his forces were heavily engaged in the War of 27 years against the Marathas to commit any formal assistance to their desperate Ottoman allies. In 1686 English East India Company which had unsuccessfully tried to obtain a firman, an imperial directive that would grant England regular trading privileges throughout the Mughal empire, initiated so-called Child's War with the empire which ended in disaster for the English. In 1690 the company sent envoys to Aurangzeb's camp to plead for a pardon. The company's envoys had to prostrate themselves before the emperor, pay a large indemnity, and promise better behavior in the future. In September 1695, English pirate Henry Every perpetrated one of the most profitable pirate raids in history with his capture of a Grand Mughal convoy near Surat. The Indian ships had been returning home from their annual pilgrimage to Mecca when the pirates struck, capturing the Ganj-i-Sawai, reportedly the greatest ship in the Muslim fleet, and its escorts in the process. When news of the piracy reached the mainland, a livid Aurangzeb nearly ordered an armed attack against the English city of Bombay, though he finally agreed to compromise after the East India Company promised to pay financial reparations, estimated at 600,000 by the Mughal authorities. Meanwhile, Aurangzeb shut down four of the 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. The Privy Council and East India Company offered a massive bounty for every apprehension, leading to the first worldwide manhunt in recorded history. However, Every successfully eluded capture.