Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb was born on 24th oOctober1618 AD at Dohad in Madhya Pradesh as the sixth son of Shah Jahan. His conduct was straightforward and Shah Jahan applauded him many times in the court. He learned the skills of war and famous for dealing the tragic incidents. At the age of 27, became the chief commander and suppressed much rebellion in the Mughal empire. Shah Jahan sent him to the Deccan territory as the viceroy. There he settled many rebellion agitations and settled the newly conquered territories. King Aurangzeb brought many reforms in agriculture methods and tax collections. He stayed there till 1644 AD and proved himself as the good administrator.
War of Succession
Shah Jahan had four sons, all were very skilled in military activities and each commanded a considerable military force. The eldest son was Dara Shikoh, he was the designated heir to Mughal emperor and resident at Shah Jahan’s court. Second So Shuja, the governor of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. Murad, the third one was the Governor of Gujarat and Malwa. Aurangzeb was the governor of the Deccan. At first, Aurangzeb defeated the forces of Dara Shikoh and occupied Agra city, the capital of Mughal emperor. As soon as he defeated his brother Dara Shikoh and taken Shah Jahan as the prisoner and kept him in Agra Fort. Again Murad also defeated in the hands of Aurangzeb, again he collected another force and fight against the Mughal army. But the second time he suffered a lot and betrayed by one of his allies and handed over to Aurangzeb. Then Dara condemned to death due to apostasy from Islam. The sentence of death carried out on 30th August 1659. In the way, he defeated all his brothers and finally took over the Fort and assumed as the Emperor of Mughal.
As Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb
After he became the Emperor of Mughal Empire, he faced many struggles from various kings around the kingdom. He struggled from Rajputs, Sikhs, Marathas and his own Son Akbar. Sikhs assisted to Aurangzeb’s brother and principal rival Dara, so he ordered to kill Sikhs and also murdered Guru Tegh Bahadur for refusal to convert to Islam. It brings worse relation between Mughals and Sikhs. Maratha Maharaj Shivaji struggled the Mughal Emperor at every time and founded the Maratha Kingdom against the Mughals. Shivaji died in 1680 AD, later only King Aurangzeb got some relief. But in the same year, Jodhpur and Mewar kings became alliance against Aurangzeb and declared themselves free from the Mughal Empire.
At the meantime, he sent an army under the leadership of his own son Akbar to defy the Rajputs and Mewar in order to merge back their continents into Mughal Empire. However, Akbar declared himself the Emperor and free to the Deccan and seek the help of Sanbhaji, the son of Sivaji. Then the Emperor decided himself to involve directly into these matters and captured Shambhaji and tortured brutally and killed him in 1689 AD. He exiles his own son Akbar to Persia and never Akbar came back. During his period Bijapur and Golconda also declared themselves free from Mughal Rule. When he fell ill and dying, he hides secretly the news to avoid the another war of succession. Finally, he died on 20 February 1707 AD, at the age of 88.