Aurangzeb Biography

Aurangzeb was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India. His reign lasted for almost half a century (from 1658 to 1707) and was marked by several conquests and the vast expansion of the Mughal Empire. The empire reached its greatest extent under him, even though temporarily; during his lifetime the extent of Mughal empire was more than 3.2 million square kilometres. The third son of Emperor Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb was made the viceroy of the Deccan when he was just 18 and he went on to aid his father in expanding the empire by undertaking several military campaigns. A very aggressive person, he desperately craved for power and had his father imprisoned when he fell ill. Then he defeated his own brothers to claim the throne for himself and crowned himself emperor of India, assuming the title Alamgir (Conqueror of the World). He proved to be a very cruel and authoritarian ruler even though a highly capable warrior. His cruelty and discriminatory policies led the Marathas, Jats, Sikhs, and the Rajputs to rebel against him. Even though he was able to quell the revolts, the victories came at a great price—these rebellions and wars led to the exhaustion of the imperial Mughal treasury and army. Following his death the Mughal Empire disintegrated rapidly and collapsed in the mid-18th century.