Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb (14 October 1618

20 February 1707),
commonly known as Aurangzeb Alamgir and by his imperial title Alamgir ("world-s
eizer" or "universe-seizer") and simply referred to as Aurangzeb was the sixth M
ughal Emperor and ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent during some parts o
f his reign. 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 tem
porarily reached its greatest extent. During his lifetime, victories in the sout
h expanded the Mughal Empire to more than 3.2 million square kilometres and he r
uled over a population estimated as being in the range of 100 150 million subjects
, with an annual yearly tribute of 38,624,680 in 1690 (the highest in the world a
t that time).
Aurangzeb's policies partly abandoned the legacy of pluralism, which remains a v
ery controversial aspect of his reign. 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, and centralized control of the empire declined rapidly.
Aurangzeb was born on 4 November 1618, in Dahod, Gujarat. He was the third son a
nd sixth child of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. His father was a governor of Guja
rat at that time. In June 1626, after an unsuccessful rebellion by his father, A
urangzeb and his brother Dara Shikoh were kept as hostages under their grandpare
nts' (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 an
d Persian. His daily allowance was fixed at Rs. 500 which he spent on religious
education and the study of history. He also accused his brothers of alcoholism a
nd womanising.[citation needed]
On 28 May 1633 Aurangzeb escaped death when a powerful war elephant stampeded th
rough the Mughal Imperial encampment. He rode against the elephant and struck it
s trunk with a lance,[1] and successfully defended himself from being crushed. A
urangzeb's valour was appreciated by his father who conferred him the title of B
ahadur (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:[2]
If the (elephant) fight had ended fatally for me, it would not have been a matte
r of shame. Death drops the curtain even on Emperors; it is no dishonor. The sha
me lay in what my brothers did!
Early military campaigns and administration[edit]
Bundela War[edit]
The Mughal Army under the command of Aurangzeb recaptures Orchha in October 1635
.
On 15 December 1634, Aurangzeb was given his first command, comprising 10,000 ho
rse and 4000 troopers. He was allowed to use the red tent, which was an imperial
prerogative.[citation needed]
Subsequently, Aurangzeb was nominally in charge of the force sent to Bundelkhand
with the intent of subduing the rebellious ruler of Orchha, Jhujhar Singh, who
had attacked another territory in defiance of Shah Jahan's policy and was refusi
ng to atone for his actions.[3] By arrangement, Aurangzeb stayed in the rear, aw
ay from the fighting, and took the advice of his generals as the Mughal Army gat
hered and commenced the Siege of Orchha in 1635.[citation needed] The campaign w
as successful and Singh was removed from power.[3]
Viceroy of the Deccan[edit]