Mughal emperor aurangzeb biography graphic organizers

The Mubarak Manzil in Agra served as his riverside residence after his victory at Samugarh. Its architecture displays clear inspiration from the Taj Mahal. Aurangzeb was more heavily involved in the repair and maintenance of previously existing structures. The most important of these were mosques, both Mughal and pre-Mughal, which he repaired more of than any of his predecessors.

The textile industry in the Mughal Empire emerged very firmly during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and was particularly well noted by Francois Bernier, a French physician of the Mughal Emperor. Francois Bernier writes how Karkanahs , or workshops for the artisans, particularly in textiles flourished by "employing hundreds of embroiderers, who were superintended by a master".

He further writes how "Artisans manufacture of silk, fine brocade, and other fine muslins, of which are made turbans, robes of gold flowers, and tunics worn by females, so delicately fine as to wear out in one night, and cost even more if they were well embroidered with fine needlework". He also explains the different techniques employed to produce such complicated textiles as Himru whose name is Persian for "brocade" , Paithani whose pattern is identical on both sides , Mushru satin weave and how Kalamkari , in which fabrics are painted or block-printed, was a technique that originally came from Persia.

Francois Bernier provided some of the first, impressive descriptions of the designs and the soft, delicate texture of Pashmina shawls also known as Kani , which were very valued for their warmth and comfort among the Mughals, and how these textiles and shawls eventually began to find their way to France and England. Aurangzeb sent diplomatic missions to Mecca in and , with money and gifts for the Sharif.

He also sent alms in and to be distributed in Mecca and Medina. Historian Naimur Rahman Farooqi writes that, "By , Aurangzeb's ardour for the Sharifs of Mecca had begun to wane; their greed and rapacity had thoroughly disillusioned the Emperor Aurangzeb expressed his disgust at the unethical behavior of the Sharif who appropriated all the money sent to the Hijaz for his own use, thus depriving the needy and the poor.

Subhan Quli Khan , Balkh 's Uzbek ruler was the first to recognise him in and requested for a general alliance, he worked alongside the new Mughal Emperor since , when Aurangzeb was the Subedar of Balkh. Safavid Iran and the Mughal Empire had long clashed over Kandahar, an outpost on the distant frontier of their two empires. Control of the city swung back and forth.

Mughal attempts died down after amidst internal rivalries. Upon ascending the throne, Aurangzeb was eager to obtain diplomatic recognition from the Safavids to bolster the legitimacy of his rule. Abbas II of Persia sent an embassy in Aurangzeb received the ambassador warmly and they exchanged gifts. Tensions over Kandahar rose again. There were cross border raids, but hostilities subsided after Abbas II's death in Suleiman rescued him from the Imam of Musqat , but refused to assist him in any military adventures against Aurangzeb.

In response to the letter, Aurangzeb issued a firman allowing the French to open a factory in Surat. The Sultan wished to gain his support in possible future expulsions of Dutch and English trading ships, as he was concerned with how they might impact the economy of the Maldives. However, as Aurangzeb did not possess a powerful navy and had no interest in providing support to Ibrahim in a possible future war with the Dutch or English, the request came to nothing.

Like his father, Aurangzeb was not willing to acknowledge the Ottoman claim to the caliphate. He often supported the Ottoman Empire's enemies, extending cordial welcome to two rebel Governors of Basra, and granting them and their families a high status in the imperial service. Sultan Suleiman II 's friendly postures were ignored by Aurangzeb. In , the East India Company , which had unsuccessfully tried to obtain a firman that would grant them regular trading privileges throughout the Mughal Empire, initiated the Anglo-Mughal War.

The ships, commanded by Sidi Yaqub , were manned by Indians and Mappilas. The company's envoys prostrated themselves before the emperor, agreed pay a large indemnity, and promise to refrain from such actions in the future. In September , English pirate Henry Every conducted one of the most profitable pirate raids in history with his capture of a Grand Mughal grab convoy near Surat.

The Indian ships had been returning home from their annual pilgrimage to Mecca when the pirate struck, capturing the Ganj-i-Sawai , reportedly the largest ship in the Muslim fleet, and its escorts in the process. However, Every successfully eluded capture. George for more than three months. Ethiopian Emperor Fasilides dispatched an embassy to India in —65 to congratulate Aurangzeb upon his accession to the throne of the Mughal Empire.

The delegation reportedly presented several valuable offerings to the Mughal Emperor, such as slaves, ivory, horses, a set of intricately adorned silver pocket pistols, a zebra and various other exotic gifts. After , the Tibetans invaded Ladakh , which was in the Mughal sphere of influence. Aurangzeb intervened on Ladakh's behalf in , but his troops retreated before Dzungar reinforcements arrived to bolster the Tibetan position.

At the same time, however, a letter was sent from the governor of Kashmir claiming the Mughals had defeated the Dalai Lama and conquered all of Tibet, a cause for celebration in Aurangzeb's court. Aurangzeb received an embassy from Muhammad Amin Khan of Chagatai Moghulistan in , seeking assistance in driving out "Qirkhiz infidels" meaning the Buddhist Dzungars , who "had acquired dominance over the country".

In Aurangzeb received his envoy, Semyon Malenkiy, and allowed him to conduct free trade. After staying for six years in India, and visiting Surat , Burhanpur , Agra, Delhi and other cities, Russian merchants returned to Moscow with valuable Indian goods. Traditional and newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as the Marathas, Rajputs, Hindu Jats , Pashtuns , and Sikhs , gained military and governing ambitions during Mughal rule, which, through collaboration or opposition, gave them both recognition and military experience.

In , Hindu Jats began to organise a rebellion that is believed to have been caused by the re-imposition of jizya and destruction of Hindu temples in Mathura. By the year 20, Jat rebels were quelled and the Mughal Army took control of Tilpat, Gokula's personal fortune amounted to 93, gold coins and hundreds of thousands of silver coins. Gokula was caught and executed.

But the Jats once again attempted rebellion. Raja Ram Jat , in order to avenge his father Gokula's death, plundered Akbar's tomb of its gold, silver and fine carpets, opened Akbar's grave and dragged his bones and burned them in retaliation. On 4 July , Raja Ram Jat was captured and beheaded. His head was sent to Aurangzeb as proof of his beheading.

However, after Aurangeb's death, Jats under Badan Singh later established their independent state of Bharatpur. Due to the Jat rebellion, the temples of Pushtimarg , Gaudiya , and Radha vallabh Vaishnavs in Braj were abandoned and their icons were taken to different regions or into hiding. In , while Aurangzeb attacked Golconda and Bijapur in the Deccan, the Hindu Maratha warrior, Shivaji , used guerrilla tactics to take control of three Adil Shahi forts formerly under his father's command.

With these victories, Shivaji assumed de facto leadership of many independent Maratha clans. The Marathas harried the flanks of the warring Adil Shahis, gaining weapons, forts, and territory. In , Aurangzeb sent his trusted general and maternal uncle Shaista Khan, the Wali in Golconda to recover forts lost to the Maratha rebels. Shaista Khan drove into Maratha territory and took up residence in Pune.

But in a daring raid on the governor's palace in Pune during a midnight wedding celebration, led by Shivaji himself, the Marathas killed Shaista Khan's son and Shivaji maimed Shaista Khan by cutting off three fingers of his hand. Shaista Khan, however, survived and was re-appointed the administrator of Bengal going on to become a key commander in the war against the Ahoms.

Aurangzeb next sent general Raja Jai Singh to vanquish the Marathas. Jai Singh besieged the fort of Purandar and fought off all attempts to relieve it. Foreseeing defeat, Shivaji agreed to terms. Their meeting at the Mughal court did not go well, however. Shivaji felt slighted at the way he was received, and insulted Aurangzeb by refusing imperial service.

For this affront he was detained, but managed to effect a daring escape. Shivaji returned to the Deccan, and crowned himself Chhatrapati or the ruler of the Maratha Kingdom in Shivaji was succeeded by his son, Sambhaji. On the other hand, Aurangzeb's third son Akbar left the Mughal court along with a few Muslim Mansabdar supporters and joined Muslim rebels in the Deccan.

Aurangzeb in response moved his court to Aurangabad and took over command of the Deccan campaign. The rebels were defeated and Akbar fled south to seek refuge with Sambhaji, Shivaji's successor. More battles ensued, and Akbar fled to Persia and never returned. In , Aurangzeb's forces captured and executed Sambhaji. His successor Rajaram , later Rajaram's widow Tarabai and their Maratha forces fought individual battles against the forces of the Mughal Empire.

Territory changed hands repeatedly during the years — of interminable warfare. As there was no central authority among the Marathas, Aurangzeb was forced to contest every inch of territory, at great cost in lives and money. Even as Aurangzeb drove west, deep into Maratha territory — notably conquering Satara — the Marathas expanded eastwards into Mughal lands — Malwa and Hyderabad.

The Marathas also expanded further South into Southern India defeating the independent local rulers there capturing Jinji in Tamil Nadu. Aurangzeb waged continuous war in the Deccan for more than two decades with no resolution. He travelled a long distance to the Deccan to conquer the Marathas and eventually died at the age of 88, still fighting the Marathas.

Aurangzeb's shift from conventional warfare to anti-insurgency in the Deccan region shifted the paradigm of Mughal military thought. The Mughal Empire's port city of Surat was sacked twice by the Marathas during the reign of Aurangzeb and the valuable port was in ruins. The Mughals set out in November Within weeks they occupied the capital of Kuch Behar, which they annexed.

Leaving a detachment to garrison it, the Mughal army began to retake their territories in Assam. The ruler, Raja Sutamla , had fled before his approach. The Mughals captured 82 elephants, , rupees in cash, ships, and stores of rice. The battle of Saraighat was the last battle in the last major attempt by the Mughals to extend their empire into Assam.

Though the Mughals managed to regain Guwahati briefly after a later Borphukan deserted it, the Ahoms wrested control in the battle of Itakhuli in and maintained it till the end of their rule. In May , the Satnami sect, obeying the commands of an old toothless woman according to Mughal accounts , organised a revolt in the agricultural heartlands of the Mughal Empire.

The Satnamis were known to have shaved off their heads and even eyebrows and had temples in many regions of Northern India. They began a large-scale rebellion 75 miles southwest of Delhi. The Satnamis believed they were invulnerable to Mughal bullets and believed they could multiply in any region they entered. The Satnamis initiated their march upon Delhi and overran small-scale Mughal infantry units.

Aurangzeb responded by organising a Mughal army of 10, troops, artillery, and a detachment of his imperial guards. Aurangzeb wrote Islamic prayers and drew designs that were sewn into the army's flags. His army crushed the Satnami rebellion. The ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur , like his predecessors was opposed to forced conversion of the local population as he considered it wrong.

Mughal emperor aurangzeb biography graphic organizers

Approached by Kashmiri Pandits to help them retain their faith and avoid forced religious conversions , Guru Tegh Bahadur sent a message to the emperor that if he could convert Teg Bagadur to Islam, every Hindu will become a Muslim. He was then brought to Delhi and tortured so as to convert him. On his refusal to convert, he was beheaded in In response, Guru Tegh Bahadur's son and successor, Guru Gobind Singh , further militarised his followers, starting with the establishment of Khalsa in , eight years before Aurangzeb's death.

The Pashtun revolt in under the leadership of the warrior poet Khushal Khan Khattak of Kabul, [ ] [ ] was triggered when soldiers under the orders of the Mughal Governor Amir Khan allegedly molested a Parachi woman affiliated with the Safi in modern-day Kunar Province of Afghanistan. The Safi tribes retaliated against the soldiers. This attack provoked a reprisal, which triggered a general revolt of most of tribes.

Attempting to reassert his authority, Amir Khan led a large Mughal Army to the Khyber Pass , where the army was surrounded by tribesmen and routed, with only four men, including the Governor, managing to escape. Aurangzeb's incursions into the Pashtun areas were described by Khushal Khan Khattak as "Black is the Mughal's heart towards all of us Pathans".

Aurangzeb also proceeded to use bribery to turn the Pashtun tribes against each other, with the aim that they would distract a unified Pashtun challenge to Mughal authority, and the impact of this was to leave a lasting legacy of mistrust among the tribes. After that the revolt spread, with the Mughals suffering a near total collapse of their authority in the Pashtun belt.

The closure of the important Attock - Kabul trade route along the Grand Trunk road was particularly disastrous. By , the situation had deteriorated to a point where Aurangzeb camped at Attock to personally take charge. Switching to diplomacy and bribery along with force of arms, the Mughals eventually split the rebels and partially suppressed the revolt, although they never managed to wield effective authority outside the main trade route.

By , the conquest of Golconda and Mughal victories in the south expanded the Mughal Empire to 4 million square kilometres, [ ] with a population estimated to be over million. The Indologist Stanley Wolpert says that:. The conquest of the Deccan, to which Aurangzeb devoted the last twenty-six years of his life, was in many ways a Pyrrhic victory, costing an estimated hundred thousand lives a year during its last decade of fruitless, chess-game warfare The expense in gold and rupees can hardly be imagined or accurately estimated.

Alamgir's moving capital alone-a city of tents thirty miles in circumference, two hundred and fifty bazaars, with half a million camp followers, fifty thousand camels, and thirty thousand elephants, all of whom had to be fed, stripped peninsular India of any and all of its surplus grain and wealth Not only famine, but bubonic plague arose Even Alamgir had ceased to understand the purpose for it all by The emperor was nearing ninety by then I do not know who I am, nor what I have been doing," the dying old man confessed to his son in February Even when ill and dying, Aurangzeb made sure that the populace knew he was still alive, for if they had thought otherwise then the turmoil of another war of succession was likely.

He had only rupees with him which were later given to charity as per his instructions and he prior to his death requested not to spend extravagantly on his funeral but to keep it simple. It is sited in the courtyard of the shrine of the Sufi saint Shaikh Burhan-u'd-din Gharib, who was a disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi. Brown writes that after his death, "a string of weak emperors, wars of succession, and coups by noblemen heralded the irrevocable weakening of Mughal power".

She notes that the populist but "fairly old-fashioned" explanation for the decline is that there was a reaction to Aurangzeb's oppression. His sons failed to reach a satisfactory agreement and fought against each other in a war of succession. Aurangzeb's immediate successor was his third son Azam Shah , who was defeated and killed in June at the battle of Jajau by the army of Bahadur Shah I , the second son of Aurangzeb.

Immediately after Bahadur Shah occupied the throne, the Maratha Empire — which Aurangzeb had held at bay, inflicting high human and monetary costs even on his own empire — consolidated and launched effective invasions of Mughal territory, seizing power from the weak emperor. Within decades of Aurangzeb's death, the Mughal Emperor had little power beyond the walls of Delhi.

Aurangzeb's rule has been the subject of both praise and controversy. Some critics assert that the persecution of Shias , Sufis and non-Muslims to impose practices of orthodox Islamic state, such as imposition of sharia and jizya religious tax on non-Muslims, doubling of custom duties on Hindus while abolishing it for Muslims, executions of Muslims and non-Muslims alike, and destruction of temples eventually led to numerous rebellions.

Moin Shakir and Sarma Festschrift argue that he often used political opposition as pretext for religious persecution, [ ] and that, as a result, groups of Jats , Marathas , Sikhs , Satnamis and Pashtuns rose against him. Multiple interpretations of Aurangzeb's life and reign over the years by critics have led to a very complicated legacy. Some argue that his policies abandoned his predecessors' legacy of pluralism and religious tolerance, citing his introduction of the jizya tax and other policies based on Islamic ethics ; his demolition of Hindu temples ; the executions of his elder brother Dara Shikoh , King Sambhaji of Maratha [ ] [ ] and Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur [ ] [ ] [ l ] and the prohibition and supervision of behaviour and activities that are forbidden in Islam such as gambling, fornication, and consumption of alcohol and narcotics.

Muhammad Al-Munajjid has argued that the opinions from Islamic scholarly community towards Aurangzeb were positive because of the emperor's general attitude and actions, such as abolishing Bid'ah celebrations, musics, and the customs of bowing and kissing the ground which were done by his predecessors, practically adhering to the practice of Salafi while still held to Hanafite creed.

In Pakistan , author Haroon Khalid writes that, "Aurangzeb is presented as a hero who fought and expanded the frontiers of the Islamic empire" and "is imagined to be a true believer who removed corrupt practices from religion and the court, and once again purified the empire. Muhammad Iqbal , considered the spiritual founder of Pakistan, admired Aurangzeb.

Iqbal Singh Sevea, in his book on the political philosophy of the thinker, says that "Iqbal considered that the life and activities of Aurangzeb constituted the starting point of Muslim nationality in India ". Jinnah , the founder of Pakistan, to be the greatest Muslim since Aurangzeb. Beyond the individual appreciations, Aurangzeb is seminal to Pakistan's national self-consciousness, as historian Ayesha Jalal , while referring to the Pakistani textbooks controversy , mentions M.

Zafar's A Text Book of Pakistan Studies where we can read that, under Aurangzeb, "Pakistan spirit gathered in strength", while his death "weakened the Pakistan spirit. As of , about towns and villages of India have been named after Aurangzeb. Jawaharlal Nehru wrote that, due to his reversal of the cultural and religious syncretism of the previous Mughal emperors, Aurangzeb acted "more as a Moslem than an Indian ruler", [ ] while Mahatma Gandhi was of the view that there was greater degree of freedom under Mughal rule than the British rule and asks that "in Aurangzeb's time a Shivaji could flourish.

Has one hundred and fifty years of the British rule produced any Pratap and Shivaji? The epithet Aurangzeb means 'Ornament of the Throne'. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read View source View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikisource Wikidata item. Mughal emperor from to This article is about the sixth Mughal emperor.

For the Indian movie of the same name, see Aurangzeb film. Portrait by Bichitr , c. See list. Other governmental responsibilities. Tomb of Aurangzeb , Khuldabad , Maharashtra, India. Dilras Banu Begum. Nawab Bai. Second Deccan governorate. Main article: Mughal war of succession — Ancestors of Aurangzeb 8. Jahangir [ 68 ] 9. Mariam-uz-Zamani [ 70 ] 2.

Shah Jahan I [ 67 ] Udai Singh I [ 71 ] 5. Jagat Gosain [ 68 ] Manrang Devi [ 71 ] 1. Aurangzeb I'timad-ud-Daulah [ 72 ] 6. Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan [ 69 ] Asmat Begam [ 73 ] 3. Mumtaz Mahal [ 67 ] Ghias ud-din 'Ali Asaf Khan [ 74 ] 7. Diwanji Begum [ 69 ]. See also: Religious policy of the Mughals after Akbar. See also: Execution of Sambhaji.

In the year , according to Mughal accounts, Sambhaji was put on trial, found guilty of atrocities [ ] and executed. Guru Tegh Bahadur was publicly executed in on the orders of Aurangzeb in Delhi [ ]. Sarmad Kashani , a Jewish convert to Islam and Sufi mystic was accused of heresy and executed. Seventeenth-century Badshahi Masjid built by Aurangzeb in Lahore.

Shawls manufactured in the Mughal Empire had highly influenced other cultures around the world. Relations with the Safavid dynasty. Relations with the French. He described his experiences in Travels in the Mughal Empire. French map of the Deccan. Relations with the Sultanate of Maldives. Black History Month. Earth Day. Hispanic Heritage Month.

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Elementary math. Basic operations. Word problems. Mental math. Place value. Math test prep. Middle school math. In contrast, Aurangzeb was seen as more orthodox in his religious beliefs and was determined to assert his claim to the throne. When Shah Jahan fell ill in , a war of succession broke out between his sons. He allied himself with another of his brothers, Murad, and decisively defeated Dara Shikoh at the Battle of Samugarh in This victory allowed Aurangzeb to proclaim himself emperor.

He then moved quickly to consolidate power, imprisoning his father in Agra Fort and eliminating his brothers, including executing Dara Shikoh. Image: A drawing of Aurangzeb with a hawk. Under his leadership, the empire reached its greatest extent, covering nearly all of the Indian subcontinent. However, his reign was also marked by religious conservatism, military campaigns, and growing internal dissent, which ultimately contributed to the weakening of Mughal authority after his death.

Aurangzeb was a military strategist and leader who sought to extend Mughal dominance over the entire Indian subcontinent. He waged numerous campaigns in the north, west, and especially in the Deccan, where the Maratha Confederacy and other regional powers posed challenges to Mughal authority. During his early reign, Aurangzeb successfully subdued many of the Rajput kingdoms, the remnants of the Ahmednagar Sultanate, and various Afghan tribes in the northwest.

Despite capturing several important forts and cities, Aurangzeb faced constant resistance from the Marathas, whose guerrilla warfare tactics frustrated the Mughal forces. He also dealt with rebellions in the north, including revolts by the Jats in the region around Agra, the Sikhs in Punjab, and the Satnamis in central India. Aurangzeb is often remembered for his religious policies, which represented a departure from the more inclusive and tolerant practices of his predecessors.

A devout Muslim, Aurangzeb believed in upholding Islamic law as a guiding principle for governance. In addition, he implemented the Fatawa-i Alamgiri , a comprehensive legal code based on Islamic law, which regulated various aspects of life in the empire. Unlike his predecessors, who had sponsored Hindu temples and other non-Islamic cultural projects, Aurangzeb focused on the construction of mosques and Islamic institutions.

He banned certain cultural practices that he deemed un-Islamic, including music and dance at the court. However, despite his religious conservatism, Aurangzeb employed many Hindus in his administration, particularly in the military and bureaucracy, which suggests that his policies were not as uniformly intolerant as they are sometimes portrayed.

Aurangzeb was a diligent administrator who sought to improve the efficiency and integrity of Mughal governance. He was known for his religious tolerance and interest in other cultures. When he died in , he had expanded the Mughal Empire to cover much of modern day India. The next emperor was the son of Akbar, Jahangir. He was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from until He added little new territory and shortly after becoming emperor he came to struggle with drug and alcohol addictions.

This was unheard of in the Mughal Empire and reveals the impressive achievement and ability of Nur Jahan. Under the guidance of Nur Jahan, the Mughal Empire experienced a time of peace and prosperity. When Jahangir died in , a power struggle broke out among his sons. Shah Jahan, the third son of Jahangir, defeated his younger brother, Shahryar Mirza, in battle.

He went on to execute his other brother, who had tried to claim the throne, before crowning himself emperor at the fort in Agra and would rule the Mughal Empire until Shah Jahan was a strong and wise ruler, he paid his advisors and generals lots of money to make sure they stayed loyal. This meant he had lots of support when he went to war to expand the Mughal Empire in the north and the south.

He ordered many mosques, forts, hospitals, markets and schools to be built — some of which still exist today. Over 20, people were involved in its design and construction. Aurangzeb was born in , the third son of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. Growing up a Mughal prince, he was highly educated but was also skilled in horse riding and the art of leading an army.

At only 16 years old he was sent to fight wars for his father against the Uzbeks and Persians. He was then sent to rule in Gujarat, Multan and Deccan — the last of which he renamed after himself. From his time as a prince, he proved that he was a strong ruler of the local provinces and a strong military leader.