The Mughal Empire

1. The Great Mughal Empire
(Aurangzeb)
AURANGZEB

2. Introduction
 Under the Mughals, India was the heart of a great Islamic
empire and a prolific center of Islamic culture and
learning.
 Dynasty was the greatest, richest and longest lasting Muslim
dynasty to rule India.
 The Great Mughal Emperors were:
 Babur (1526-1530) The First of the Mughals
 Humayun (1530-1556) The Luckless Leader
 Akbar (1556-1605) The Great
 Jahangir (1605-1627) The Paragon of Stability
 Shah Jahan (1627-1658) The Master Builder
 Aurangzeb (1658-1707) The Intolerant

3. Aurangzeb Aurangzeb (1618-1707), was an emperor who ruled what is now
India and Pakistan from 1658 until his death. During his reign as
monarch of the Mughal Empire, he conquered several states in
southern India.
Aurangzeb, a devout Muslim, tried to make all his people follow
the doctrines of Islam, the Muslim religion. He differed from
Akbar in consciously tolerating Hindus rather than treating them
as equals. He placed special taxes on Hindus and destroyed Hindu
temples and images, such as the destruction of Kashi Vishwanath
temple and erection of a mosque in its place. Aurangzeb also
destroyed many works of art because he feared that they might
be worshipped as idols.
Aurangzeb was born in Dohad, near Ahmadabad. In a struggle for
the throne, Aurangzeb murdered his three other brothers,
including the crown prince Dara Shukoh, and deposed Shah Jahan,
the reigning emperor, to seize the throne for himself. Shah Jahan
died a prisoner in the fortress of Agra. Aurangzeb's reign was one
of the longest in the history of the Mughal dynasty. His rebellion
and acts of cruelty toward his family at first aroused public

4. Aurangzeb
 Aurangzeb over expanded the empire and strained
his resources.
 Large sums of money and manpower were lost.
 He lost the support of the Hindu people.
 The over expansion of his empire weakened his
administration.
 Aurangzeb died in 1707
His son Bahadur Shah succeeded him. Bahadur
was so old by the time he ascended the throne, he
only managed to live a few more years. But at
this point in time, the government was so unstable
and so weak, the empire become an easy target of
invasion and exploitation, first by the Persians,
and then by the British.
 The death of Aurangzeb and the short reign of his

5. Aurangzeb
The new emperor, Aurangzeb, was a strict Muslim. To begin with, he followed the policy of making peace with the non-Muslim peoples he conquered and
bringing them into the imperial service. But the policy broke down, and in the latter part of his reign, Aurangzeb imposed a much stricter form of Islamic
rule. In 1679, he reintroduced the jiziya, a poll tax on non-Muslims. Militarily, Aurangzeb set out to protect his northern borders and subdue the
independent Muslim kingdoms in the Deccan and south India. By 1690, the whole of the Indian subcontinent lay within the Mughal Empire.
Aurangzeb won swift political and military success, through his abilities as a soldier and politician. But his conquests brought him great trouble toward the
end of his reign. The wars were expensive and the military officers were rewarded for their service by the grant of new jagirs. The jagir-holders taxed the
peasants mercilessly, causing many to flee from the villages. Much land was left uncultivated as a result.
Aurangzeb's reign was troubled by developments in west and south India. As early as the 1660's, Shivaji, a Hindu chief of western India, had built up a
strong private army and begun to raid Mughal towns and cities. He captured and sacked the great port of Surat. Shivaji's followers, known as the Marathas,
were very good cavalry fighters. They took all the strong fortresses from the Mughal governors. Aurangzeb had to fight the Marathas, and many other local
chiefs in the south, who were constantly rebelling against Mughal rule and trying to re-establish their independence.

6. Aurangzeb’s Architectural Legacy
 Built nearly 50 years
apart, the Taj Mahal
and the Bibi la Maqbara
are very similar in
architectural style.
Aurangzeb’s other
architectural legacy
included:
• Moti Masjid (Delhi
Fort), Delhi (1659)
• Buri-I-Shamali (Delhi
Fort), Delhi
Bibi ka Maqbara, Aurangbab 1678
Aurangzeb

7. • Known for manuscripts and Persian
miniature paintings.
• Very symbolic.
• Involved a lot of nature (birds,
flowers, animals, etc.)
• Very colorful and detailed.
•In 1680 Emporer Shah Jahan
banned music and painting from his
court, but he allowed architectural
art, such as the Pearl Mosque and
the Taj Mahal.

8. • Nearly 400 monuments have
survived a time-span of 132
years.
•White marble and red
sandstone was favored.
•Semi-precious gemstones
were popular (jade, crystal,
etc.)
• Used arches sparingly.
• Symmetry and balance

9. Effect of Aurangzeb
Imposed Jizya or poll tax again
Trampled all who protested
25 year military campaign to stop rebels
Drained national treasury
1707 death, bitter old man who regretted
the destruction he had caused
Persians sweep in 1739;
1862 last Mughal dies in British prison

10. • Centralized government
system.• Persian art/culture merged
with native Indian art/culture.
• New trade routes with Arabs and
Turks.
• New architectural style.
• Landscape gardening.
• Urdu language
developed from the
fusion of Indian and
Islamic culture.• Urdu = Persian + Arabic +
Turkish