Imagine This...
It's March 3, 1707. A military camp somewhere in the Deccan plateau.
An 88-year-old man lies on a bare floor. No silk cushions, no jeweled throne. He has refused luxury for decades — this is a man who sewed prayer caps and copied the Quran by hand to earn his own living expenses, even as emperor.
Outside, his army stretches for miles. He's been fighting in the Deccan for 25 straight years. Chasing Marathas through mountains. Besieging forts that fall and then get recaptured within months. Spending treasure faster than he can collect it.
His last letter to his son reads:
"I came alone and I go as a stranger. I do not know who I am, nor what I have been doing... I have sinned terribly, and I do not know what punishment awaits me."
He dies. And the largest empire in Indian history begins to collapse like a house of cards.
Within 50 years, the Mughal Emperor will be a puppet. Within 150 years, there will be no Mughal Empire at all. Every major power that will dominate India for the next two centuries — Marathas, Sikhs, the East India Company — rises from the wreckage Aurangzeb left behind.
The One-Minute Version
If you only have 60 seconds, here's the story:
1658 Aurangzeb seizes power by imprisoning his own father
and killing his brothers
|
1659 Crowned Emperor. Inherits the LARGEST Mughal Empire ever.
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1669 Begins demolishing Hindu temples. Reimposing jizya tax.
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1675 Executes Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur
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1680 Shivaji dies — but Marathas keep fighting, harder than ever
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1681 Aurangzeb moves ENTIRE court to the Deccan
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1689 Captures + executes Sambhaji (Shivaji's son). Brutal.
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1690s 25-year Deccan war drains treasury, kills soldiers
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1707 AURANGZEB DIES at 88. Empire exhausted.
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1707-1719 Succession wars. 4 emperors in 12 years.
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1720s Empire fragments into 20+ successor states.
Regional powers — Marathas, Nizam, Nawabs — rule.
Europeans fill the cracks.
One man held the empire together by force. When he died, so did the empire.
Did You Know?
- Aurangzeb ruled for 49 years (1658–1707) — the longest reign of any Mughal emperor
- He expanded the empire to its maximum extent — 4 million square km, 150+ million people — yet left it weaker than he found it
- He personally memorized the entire Quran and was a skilled calligrapher
- He sewed prayer caps and sold them to earn money — refusing to use state funds for personal expenses
- He killed or imprisoned all three of his brothers to take the throne, and imprisoned his own father Shah Jahan (builder of the Taj Mahal) for 8 years until he died
- The Deccan campaigns cost the Mughal treasury an estimated 100 million rupees per year — a financial black hole
- After his death, 4 emperors came and went in just 12 years (1707–1719) — most killed by their own nobles
- Within 50 years of his death, the Mughal Emperor was a pensioner of the Marathas, then of the British
The Man Behind the Collapse
Who Was Aurangzeb?
He was a contradiction in human form:
AURANGZEB — THE PARADOX:
Personally devout Yet killed his own brothers for power
Lived like an ascetic Yet spent fortunes on endless wars
Brilliant military mind Yet couldn't defeat a guerrilla enemy
Expanded the empire Yet destroyed it from within
Memorized the Quran Yet alienated every non-Muslim subject
Worked 18-hour days Yet the empire crumbled under his watch
The Path to Power (1657–1658)
Aurangzeb wasn't supposed to be emperor. He was the third son. But when his father Shah Jahan fell ill in 1657, all four sons went to war.
THE WAR OF SUCCESSION:
Shah Jahan (ill)
|
Four sons fight:
|
Dara Shikoh (eldest, liberal, father's favorite)
Shah Shuja (second, governor of Bengal)
AURANGZEB (third, cunning, patient, ruthless)
Murad Bakhsh (youngest, naive)
|
Aurangzeb allies with Murad
|
Defeats Dara at Battle of Samugarh (1658)
|
Imprisons Shah Jahan in Agra Fort
(he'll die there 8 years later, staring at the Taj Mahal)
|
Executes Dara Shikoh on heresy charges
Executes Murad (his own ally)
Shah Shuja disappears (presumed dead)
|
AURANGZEB IS EMPEROR — by blood, not by love.
He won the throne through fear. He would rule the same way.
The Three Mistakes That Broke the Empire
Mistake 1: Religious Intolerance
Akbar (ruled 1556–1605) had built the empire on inclusion — no religious taxes, interfaith debate, Hindus in senior positions. This was the glue that held a multi-religious empire together.
Aurangzeb ripped that glue apart:
AKBAR'S POLICY vs AURANGZEB'S POLICY:
AKBAR (1556-1605) AURANGZEB (1658-1707)
-------------- -------------------
Abolished jizya tax REIMPOSED jizya on Hindus (1679)
Protected Hindu temples DEMOLISHED major temples
Hindus in top positions Removed Hindus from senior roles
Interfaith debates One religion supreme
Married Hindu princesses Marriages for conversion
Result: STABILITY Result: REBELLION EVERYWHERE
Specific provocations:
- 1669: Orders destruction of Hindu temples — including the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi and the Keshava Deo temple in Mathura
- 1675: Executes Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, in Delhi — this single act turned the Sikhs from a peaceful community into a warrior nation under Guru Gobind Singh
- 1679: Reimposed the jizya (tax on non-Muslims) — reversed 100 years of Akbar's policy. Alienated Rajputs, Jats, Sikhs, and Marathas simultaneously
He didn't just create enemies — he manufactured rebellions.
Mistake 2: The 25-Year Deccan Obsession (1681–1707)
In 1681, Aurangzeb made a decision that doomed his empire: he moved the entire Mughal court — army, treasury, administration — to the Deccan to personally crush the Marathas.
He never went back to Delhi. For 25 years.
THE DECCAN TRAP:
1681 Aurangzeb arrives with 500,000 troops
"I will finish the Marathas in one campaign"
|
1689 Captures Sambhaji (Shivaji's son)
Tortures and executes him brutally
Thinks: "Marathas are finished"
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1690s Marathas don't break — they MULTIPLY
Guerrilla raids increase. Every captured fort
is recaptured within months.
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1700 Aurangzeb has captured 25+ forts...
...but the Marathas just keep coming.
Like cutting heads off a hydra.
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1705 Army exhausted. Treasury empty.
Soldiers unpaid for MONTHS.
Aurangzeb is 87, sick, broken.
|
1707 Dies in camp. 25 years wasted.
The Marathas are STRONGER than before.
The cost:
- Estimated 100 million rupees per year — the Deccan wars consumed the empire's wealth
- Hundreds of thousands of soldiers dead — from battle, disease, and starvation
- The administration of North India was neglected for 25 years — governors became independent
- The treasury that Akbar and Shah Jahan had built over a century was completely emptied
Mistake 3: No Succession Plan
Aurangzeb had seized power by killing his brothers. He knew his sons would do the same. And he did nothing to prevent it.
When he died in 1707, three of his surviving sons immediately went to war:
AFTER AURANGZEB (1707-1719):
1707 Bahadur Shah I (won succession war, died 1712)
1712 Jahandar Shah (puppet of nobles, murdered in 1 year)
1713 Farrukhsiyar (controlled by Sayyid Brothers, blinded + killed)
1719 Rafi ud-Darjat (lasted 3 months)
1719 Rafi ud-Daulah (lasted 4 months)
1719 Muhammad Shah (survived — but only as a figurehead)
4 emperors murdered or deposed in 12 years.
The Mughal throne became a DEATH SENTENCE.
THE MUGHAL DYNASTY — COLLAPSE VISUALIZED:
AKBAR (1556-1605) Strong foundation. Tolerant. Prosperous.
|
JAHANGIR (1605-1627) Stable. Arts flourished. Decadent.
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SHAH JAHAN (1627-1658) Built Taj Mahal. Golden age of architecture.
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AURANGZEB (1658-1707) 49 years. Expanded. BROKE EVERYTHING.
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+---> Bahadur Shah I (1707-1712) Last competent emperor
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+---> Jahandar Shah (1712-1713) Murdered
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+---> Farrukhsiyar (1713-1719) Blinded + killed
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+---> 3 emperors in 1719 alone
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+---> Muhammad Shah (1719-1748)
"Rangila" (Colorful)
Lost the Peacock Throne
to Nadir Shah (1739)
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+---> [figureheads
all the way
to 1857]
From Akbar to Aurangzeb: 4 great emperors in 150 years.
From Aurangzeb to extinction: 17 emperors in 150 years.
Most of them puppets. Many of them murdered.
The Fragmentation — Who Got What
After 1707, the empire didn't disappear overnight. It dissolved — like sugar in water. Regional governors simply stopped obeying Delhi.
THE MUGHAL EMPIRE BREAKS INTO:
POWER REGION STATUS
------ ------ ------
Marathas Western/Central EXPANDING (strongest)
Nizam of Hyderabad Deccan Independent by 1724
Nawab of Bengal East India Independent (richest)
Nawab of Awadh North Central Independent
Sikhs Punjab Rising fast
Rajputs Rajputana Autonomous again
Jats Around Delhi Aggressive raiders
Rohillas Rohilkhand Afghan settlers, armed
Mysore (Hyder Ali) South Rising fast
MUGHAL EMPEROR Delhi Figurehead. Controls
Delhi and barely that.
GEOGRAPHIC VIEW — INDIA AFTER 1720:
AFGHANISTAN
|
.---------+--------.
/ SIKHS (Punjab) \
/ Guru Gobind --> \
/ Banda Bahadur \
.----+-----------. .-----------+----.
| RAJPUTS | | ROHILLAS |
| (Rajputana) | | (Rohilkhand) |
| Autonomous | | Armed Afghans |
'-------+--------' '-------+--------'
| DELHI |
| [Mughal Emperor] |
| = figurehead |
.-------+--------. .--------+--------.
| MARATHAS | | NAWAB OF AWADH |
| (Western + | | (North Central) |
| Central India) | | Independent |
| DOMINANT POWER | '--------+--------'
'-------+---------' |
| .-------+--------.
.-------+---------. | NAWAB OF BENGAL|
| NIZAM OF | | (East India) |
| HYDERABAD | | Richest region |
| (Deccan) | | EIC TARGET |
'-------+---------' '--------+-------'
| |
.-------+---------. |
| MYSORE | |
| (Hyder Ali) | |
| Rising fast | |
'-----------------' |
COASTLINE
(European trading posts
dot the entire coast)
By the 1750s, the "Mughal Emperor" needed Maratha permission to sit on his own throne.
The Power Vacuum That Changed Everything
This fragmentation is the single most important event in understanding how the British conquered India:
- The EIC didn't defeat a united empire. They defeated isolated, warring fragments — one at a time.
- Plassey (1757) only happened because Bengal was independent and its generals were bribable.
- The Marathas were the last power that could have unified India against the Europeans. Their defeat at Panipat (1761) ended that possibility.
- Divide and rule only works when a country is already divided. Aurangzeb's policies created those divisions.
THE CHAIN REACTION:
Aurangzeb's intolerance
|
--> Sikh rebellion (Punjab becomes a war zone)
--> Maratha expansion (they fill the Mughal vacuum)
--> Rajput alienation (key allies lost)
--> Jat revolts (unrest around Delhi itself)
|
All of this FRAGMENTS India into 20+ states
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Europeans (EIC, French) play states against each other
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EIC conquers India PIECE BY PIECE
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1857: It's all over. India is British.
Aurangzeb didn't lose India to the British. He shattered it into pieces small enough for the British to swallow.
The Comparison That Matters
THE MUGHAL EMPIRE: BEFORE AND AFTER AURANGZEB
1658 (Start) 1707 (Death)
---------- ----------
Territory: Large LARGEST EVER
Treasury: Full EMPTY
Army morale: High Broken
Religious harmony: Functional Destroyed
Succession: Brutal but resolved Complete chaos
Provincial loyalty: Strong Governors = kings
Major threats: Manageable Marathas, Sikhs,
Jats, Europeans
Emperor's power: Absolute Soon = figurehead
He made the empire bigger on the map and weaker in every way that mattered.
The Real Legacy
What Aurangzeb's Reign Created
The collapse after 1707 didn't just affect politics — it reshaped the entire subcontinent:
- Maratha Supremacy — The Marathas became India's dominant power by the 1740s. Shivaji's dream, realized by the Peshwas.
- Sikh Militarization — Guru Gobind Singh transformed the Sikhs into the Khalsa (1699) specifically because of Aurangzeb's persecution. The Sikh Empire would later control all of Punjab.
- The EIC's Opportunity — A fragmented India was an exploitable India. The EIC went from traders in Surat to rulers of Bengal within 50 years of Aurangzeb's death.
- Nadir Shah's Invasion (1739) — The Persian king invaded because the Mughal Empire was visibly weak. He sacked Delhi and carried away the Peacock Throne and the Koh-i-Noor diamond. The ultimate humiliation.
- The Debate That Continues — Was Aurangzeb a devout ruler doing his religious duty, or a fanatic who destroyed India's greatest empire? Historians still argue. The answer matters because it shapes how 1.4 billion people understand their past.
The Final Irony
Aurangzeb spent 49 years trying to make the Mughal Empire permanent. His religious policies, his wars, his ruthlessness — all in service of an empire that he believed God wanted him to build.
Instead, he built the conditions for its destruction.
The Mughal Empire after Aurangzeb wasn't conquered. It wasn't invaded. It simply stopped working. The center couldn't hold because Aurangzeb had alienated everyone who was supposed to hold it together.
Within one generation of his death, the empire he exhausted himself expanding would be divided, bankrupt, and begging for protection from the very foreigners he had once ignored.
The most powerful man in the world left behind the most spectacular failure in Indian history.
Watch & Learn
"Rise and Fall of the Mughal Empire" — a visual overview of how the empire went from Babur's conquest to post-Aurangzeb collapse.
"Aurangzeb — The Most Controversial Emperor" — a balanced look at his reign, policies, and the debate that still rages today.
Part of the India Knowledge Map series. This article covers the third event in the Mughal Decline & European Arrival era timeline.
Have a correction or addition? This is open-source knowledge — contributions welcome.
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