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Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir
Aurangzeb (November 3, 1618 - March 3, 1707), also known by his chosen
Imperial title Alamgir I (Conqueror of the Universe) was the ruler of the Mughal
Empire from 1658 until his death. He was the sixth Mughal ruler after Babur,
Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan.
Aurangzeb ruled northern India for 48 years. He brought a larger area under
Mughal rule than ever before. He is generally regarded as the last 'great'
Mughal ruler. His constant wars, however, left the empire dangerously
overextended, isolated from its strong Rajput allies, and with a population that
(except for the orthodox Sunni Muslim minority) was resentful, if not outright
rebellious, against his reign. His last twenty five years were spent fighting in
the Deccan and losing territory to rival states. At his death, the Mughal Empire
was shrunken, having lost most of its northwest and being replaced by the Hindu
Maratha Empire in large areas of India. Aurangzeb's successors, the 'Later
Mughals', lacked his strong hand and the great fortunes amassed by his
predecessors. The Marathas continued to gain at the Mughals' expense during the
rest of the 18th century.
Aurangzeb is remembered for his Sunni fundamentalist interpretation of Islam.
Strict adherence to Islam and Sharia (Islamic law) - as he interpreted them - were
the foundations of his reign. He attempted to institute Sharia law throughout
the empire, abandoning the religious openness of his predecessors. It is said of
his reign that many Hindu temples were defiled, destroyed, and replaced by
mosques, a practice which had been largely discontinued since Babur's time. Many
non-Muslims were supposedly converted to Islam. The hated Jizya, a tax imposed
on non-Muslims, was reinstated during his rule. In recent years, some historians
have disputed these allegations. Yet it is important to keep in mind that
Muslims were made to pay both Zakah and Ushr, and Aurangzeb is said to have
abolished nearly sixty-five types of taxes, which resulted in a yearly revenue
loss of fifty million rupees from the state treasury.