Shah Jahan – The Successor

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Shah Jahan’s, third son, Aurangzeb, meaning “Adorning the Crown” was the last great Mughal ruler of India. Born in 1618, Aurganzeb lived until the age of 90 and ruled for 48 years until 1707 as the sixth Mughal emperor after Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan.

Shah Jahan’s successor became a venerated and notably respectable figure in South Asian history and the Mughal empire reached its peak under his rule and extended throughout most of the Indian sub-continent.

Aurangzeb was remarkably pious and zealous. Strict adherence to Islam and Sharia (Islamic law) were the foundations of his reign of vigorous orthodoxy. His constant policies of war, however, left the empire dangerously overextended, isolated from its strong Rajput allies, and led to some dis-affection amongst the army.

Before becoming emperor his father Shah Jahan had rebelled against his father, Jahangir, who had in turned rebelled against his own father Akbar the Great. As a result of Shah Jahan’s rebellion, Aurganzeb was held in his grandfather’s court as a hostage for most of his childhood.

After his grandfather’s death in 1627, Aurangzeb returned to live with his parents. Shah Jahan followed the Mughal practice of assigning authority to his sons, and in 1634 made Aurangzeb governor of the Deccan. In the Mughal court, however, Shah Jahan began to show greater and greater favoritism to his eldest son Dara Shikoh.

From an early age, Shah Jahan's four sons, Dara Shukoh, Shah Shuja, Aurangzeb, and Murad Bakhsh, grew up in an atmosphere of bitter rivalry, even though they were all children of the same mother, Mumtaz Mahal. In 1657, Shah Jahan became seriously ill. The expectation of an early death provoked the four sons into making a desperate bid for the throne. The two principal rivals were Dara Shukoh, who was 42 years old, and Aurangzeb, who was 39.

Dara Shukoh, Shah Jahan's favorite and his heir, was a man of broad intellectual interests. He was a Sufi and a religious eclectic.

Aurangzeb was well educated, knowledgeable in the traditional spectrum of Islamic studies, and strict in his religious orthodoxy. Aurangzeb had an acute sense of political realism and a fierce hunger for power. Although Aurangzeb's personality was considered less attractive than that of Dara Shukoh, he was superior in both military talent and administrative skills.

Aurangzeb easily outclassed his brothers in the bid for power. In the summer of 1658, Aurangzeb held a coronation durbar, or reception, in the Shalimar-Bagh outside Delhi on the Karnal road. This probably was done in order to strengthen the morale of his supporters. It was not until the summer of 1659 that a second and more glorious ceremony was performed in the Red Fort at which time Aurangzeb became the new emperor and assumed the title of Alamgir (World Conqueror).

In 1644, Aurangzeb's sister Jahanara Begum was accidentally burned in Agra, causing a family crisis which had political consequences. Aurangzeb displeased his father by returning to Agra three weeks after the tragedy instead of returning immediately on hearing of the accident and Shah Jahan dismissed him as the governor of Deccan.

Aurangzeb's fortunes continued to decline. In 1645, he was barred from the court for seven months but later Shah Jahan appointed him governor of Gujarat where he performed well and was rewarded.

In 1647, Shah Jahan made him governor of Balkh and Badakhshan (near modern Turkmenistan and Afghanistan), replacing Aurangzeb's ineffective brother Murad Baksh. These areas were at the time under attack from a various forces. Aurangzeb's military skill proved successful, and the story of how he spread his prayer rug and prayed in the midst of battle brought him much fame.