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See also: Mogul emperors of Hindustan, was the third son of Shah Jahan, and was See also: born in See also: November 1618
.
His See also: original name, Mahommed, was changed by his See also: father, with whom he was a favourite, into See also: Aurangzeb, meaning See also: ornament of the See also: throne, and at a later See also: time he assumed the additional titles of Mohi-eddin, reviver of See also: religion, and Alam-gir, conqueror of the See also: world
.
At a very early age, and throughout his whole See also: life, he manifested profound religious feeli perhaps instilled into him in the course of his See also: education uncsome of the strictest See also: Mahommedan doctors
.
He was employed, while very See also: young, in some of his father's expeditions into the country beyond the See also: Indus, gave promise of considerable military talents, and was appointed to the command of an army directed against the Uzbegs
.
In this See also: campaign he was not completely successful, and soon after was transferred to the army engaged in the Deccan
.
Here he gained several victories, and in conjunction with the famous general, Mir Jumla, who had deserted from the See also: king of
See also: Golconda, he seized and plundered the See also: town of Hyderabad, which belonged to that monarch
.
His father's express orders prevented Aurangzeb from following up this success, and, not long after, the sudden and alarming illness of Shah Jahan turned his thoughts in another direction
.
Of Shah Jahan's four sons, the eldest, Dara, a brave and honourable See also: prince, but disliked by the Mussulmans on account of his liberality of thought, had a natural right to the throne
.
Accordingly, on the illness of his father, he at once seized the reins of See also: government and established himself at See also: Delhi
.
The second son, Shuja, governor of See also: Bengal, a dissolute and sensual prince, was dissatisfied, and raised an army to dispute the throne with Dara
.
The keen See also: eye of Aurangzeb saw in this conjuncture of events a favourable opportunity for realising his own ambitious schemes
.
His religious exercises and temperate habits gave him, in popular estimation, a See also: great superiority over his See also: brothers, but he was too politic to put forward his claims openly
.
He made overtures to his younger See also: brother See also: Murad, governor of See also: Gujarat, representing that neither of their elder brothers was worthy of the See also: kingdom, that he himself had no temporal ambition, and desired only to place a See also: fit monarch on the throne, and then to devote himself to religious exercises and make the pilgrimage to See also: Mecca
.
He therefore proposed to unite his forces to those of Murad, who would thus have no difficulty in making himself master of the See also: empire while the two elder brothers were divided by their own strife
.
Murad was completely deceived by these crafty representations, and at once accepted the offer
.
Their See also: united armies then moved northward
.
Meanwhile Shah Jahan had recovered, and though Dara resigned the See also: crown he had seized, the other brothers professed not to believe in their father's recovery, and still pressed on
.
Shuja was defeated by Dara's son, but the imperial forces under Jaswant Singh were completely routed by the united armies of Aurangzeb and Murad
.
Dara in See also: person took the See also: field against his brothers, but was defeated and compelled to fly
.
Aurangzeb then, by a
See also: clever stroke of policy, seized the person of his father, and threw him into confinement, in which he was kept for the remaining eight years of his life
.
Murad was soon removed by assassination, and the way being thus cleared, Aurangzeb, with affected reluctance, ascended the throne in See also: August 1658
.
He quickly freed himself from all other competitors for the imperial power
.
Dara, who again invaded Gujarat, was defeated and closely pursued, and was given up by the native chief with whom he had taken. See also: refuge
.
He was brought up to Delhi, exhibited to the See also: people, and assassinated
.
Shuja, who had been a second time defeated near See also: Allahabad, was attacked by the imperial forces under Mir Jumla and Mahommed, Aurangzeb's eldest son, who, however, deserted and joined his See also: uncle
.
Shuja was defeated and fled to See also: Arakan, where he perished; Mahommed was captured, thrown into the fortress of See also: Gwalior, and died after seven years' confinement
.
No similar contest disturbed Aurangzeb's long reign of See also: forty-six years, which has been celebrated, though with doubtful See also: justice, as the most brilliant See also: period of the See also: history of Hindustan
.
The empire certainly was wealthy and of enormous extent, for there were successively added to it the See also: rich kingdoms of See also: Bijapur and Golconda, but it was internally decaying and ready to crumble away before the first vigorous assault
.
Two causes principally had tended to weaken the Mogul power
.
The one was the intense bigotry and intolerant policy of Aurangzeb, which had alienated the See also: Hindus and roused the fierce animosity of the haughty Rajputs
.
The other was the rise and rapid growth of the Mahratta power
.
Under their able See also: leader, See also: Sivaji, these daring freebooters plundered in every direction, nor could all Aurangzeb's efforts avail to subdue them
.
For the last twenty-six years of h;s life Aurangzeb was engaged in See also: wars
in the Deccan, and never set See also: foot in his own capital
.
At the close of the long contest the Mogul power was weaker, the Mahratta stronger than at first
.
Still the See also: personal ability and influence of the emperor were sufficient to keep his realms intact during his own life
.
His last years were embittered by remorse, by gloomy forebodings, and by See also: constant suspicion, for he had always been in the habit of employing a See also: system of espionage, and only then experienced its evil effects
.
He died on the 3rd of See also: March 1707 at Ahmadnagar, while engaged on an extensive but unfortunate expedition against the
See also: Mahrattas
.
See Lane-See also: Poole, Aurangzib, " Rulers of See also: India " series (1893)
.
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