Aurangzeb (Alamgir I)

Abu al-Muzaffar Muhammad Muhyi al-Din Aurangzib 'Alamgir Badshah-i Ghazi was the third son of Shahjahan and Mumtaz Mahal, a daughter of Asaf Khan. He was born at Dhod in Malwa on 15 Dhu al-Qa'da 1027 AH (3 November 1618). He received a good education, and throughout his life could hold his own in disputation with the 'ulama and with men of letters; his Persian compositions were respected. ¹

In 1044 AH (1635) he was made a commander of ten thousand. In 1045 AH (1636) he was appointed Viceroy of the Deccan, but he resigned in 1053 AH (1644), either out of religious fervour or from bitterness against his elder brother Dara, whom Shahjahan seems to have chosen as successor. He then governed Gujarat, and in 1055 AH (1646) was moved to the command at Balkh, but the Uzbeks were too strong and he had to give Balkh up. As governor of Multan from 1057 AH (1648) he was ordered to recapture Kandahar from the Persians; he besieged it twice, in 1058 AH (1649) and 1061 AH (1651), without success. He was Viceroy of the Deccan a second time from 1062 AH (1652), when his revenue official Murshid Quli Khan did much to restore the devastated territory. In 1065 AH (1655) he besieged Golkonda and could have ended the kingdom, but the Emperor ordered him to accept tribute and make peace; in 1066 AH (1657) he attacked Bijapur and took Bidar and Kalyani before being recalled to make peace. ²

Shahjahan fell ill on 27 Dhu al-Qa'da 1067 AH (about 9 September 1657), and his four sons prepared to fight for the throne. Aurangzib's conduct in that war shows him at his best as a general and an administrator, a standard he never reached again. Dara Shukoh, the heir designate at Agra, had the prestige of imperial authority, but lacked both organising ability and strategy. Shuja', the second son and governor of Bengal, proclaimed himself king and advanced on the capital, but was decisively beaten at Bahadurpur on 14 February 1658 by the imperial army under Raja Jai Singh and Sulayman Shukoh. Dara's southern army under Jaswant Singh was crushed by Aurangzib and Murad at Dharmat on 15 April 1658, and at Samugarh, eight miles from Agra, on 29 May 1658 Dara was defeated decisively. Aurangzib interned his father in the Agra fort, arrested Murad near Mathura, and sent him to Gwalior, where he was executed in 1072 AH (1661-2). ³