Deccan and South India

• After the break-up of the Bahmani kingdom, three powerful states, Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, and Golconda emerged as the independent states. In 1565, all these three states united to crush Vijayanagara Empire at the battle of Bannihatti, near Tallikota.
• After the victory in the battle of Bannihatti, the Deccani states resumed their old ways. Both Ahmednagar and Bijapur claimed Sholapur, which was a rich and fertile tract of that time.

• The Gujarat rulers actively supported Berar ruler against Ahmednagar, and later also engaged in a war against Ahmednagar. On the other hand, Bijapur and Golconda clashed over the possession of Naldurg (located in Maharashtra).
• In 1572, the Mughal emperor Akbar conquest Gujarat, which created a new situation. The conquest of Gujarat was just beginning of the Mughal conquest of the Deccan. However, Akbar at that time was busy elsewhere and did not pay attention to the Deccan affairs.
• Ahmednagar conquested Berar. Further, Ahmednagar and Bijapur made an agreement whereby Bijapur was left free to expand its territory in the south at the expense of Vijayanagara, while Ahmednagar ruled Berar.
• The Marathas were also started taking interest in the affairs of the Deccan.
• In south, the revenue affairs at the local level were in the hands of the Deccani Brahmans.
• During the middle of the sixteenth century, the rulers of the Deccan states relied upon a policy i.e. winning over the Marathas to their side.
• The Maratha chiefs were given services and positions in all the three leading states of the Deccan. Ibrahim Adil Shah (ruler of Bijapur), who ascended the throne in 1555, was the leading advocate of this policy.
• Ibrahim Adil Shah, most likely, introduced Marathi in revenue accounts at all levels. Besides, a few other families such as the Bhonsales who had the family name of Ghorpade, Dafles (or Chavans), etc., also rose to prominence in Bijapur.
• Ahmednagar ruler had been given the title of ‘Peshwa’ to a Brahmana, namely Kankoji Narsi.

Mughal’s Movement towards Deccan

• After decline of the Delhi Sultanate, many Sufi saints and other people in search of the employment had migrated to the court of the Bahmani rulers.
• After the conquest of Malwa and Gujarat in 1560's and early 1570's, Akbar gradually moved towards the Deccan politics.
• In 1576, a Mughal army invaded Khandesh, and compelled the rulers of Khandesh to surrender. However, because of the 12 years (from 1586 to 1598) Akbar’s absent from India (he was lived at Lahore during this period), affairs in the Deccan deteriorated.
• Among the Deccan states, there was very unstable politics. War among the various Deccan states was a frequent occurrence. Religion (especially shia and sunni) was the leading cause of conflict.

Mahdawi Belief

• Mahdawi ideas had spread widely in the Deccan. In fact, a group of the Muslims believed that in every epoch, a man from the family of the Prophet will make an appearance and will strengthen the religion, and make justice triumph; such a group of Muslims were known as the ‘Mahdi.’
• In India, Saiyid Muhammad, who was born at Jaunpur (in Uttar Pradesh), in the first half of the fifteenth century, proclaimed himself as the Mahdi.
• Saiyid Muhammad traveled throughout the country as well as in the Islamic world, which created great enthusiasm. He established his dairas (circles) in different parts of the country, including the Deccan where his ideas found a fertile soil. However, the orthodox elements were bitterly opposed to Mahdawaism as to Shiism.

Foreign Power

• Akbar was apprehensive because of the growing power of the Portuguese, as they had been interfering the pilgrim traffic (to Mecca), not sparing even the royal ladies.
• In their territories, Portuguese were practicing the proselytizing activities, which Akbar disliked. Akbar apparently felt that the coordination and pooling of the resources of the Deccani states under Mughal supervision would check, if not eliminate, the Portuguese danger.

Jahangir

• Jahangir sent prince Parvez with a large army to conquest Deccan, but he could not meet the challenges posed by Malik Ambar. Lastly, Ahmednagar was also lost, and Parvez had to conclude with a disgraceful peace agreement with Ambar.
• Over a period of time, Malik Ambar became arrogant and separated his allies. The Khan-i-Khana, who had been posted as the Mughal viceroy of the Deccan once again, took advantage of the situation and won over to his side a number of Habshis as well as Maratha nobles, including Jagdev Rai, Babaji Kate, Udaji Ram, etc.
• In 1616, with the help of the Maratha sardars, Khan-i-Khana defeated the combined forces of Ahmednagar, Bijapur, and Golconda. This defeat shook the Deccani alliance against the Mughals. However, Ambar did not relax his efforts.
• Jahangir, however, was not interested to extend Mughal commitments in the Deccan, or even become too deeply involved in its affairs. He had belief that his moderation would enable the Deccani states to settle down, and live in peace with the Mughals.
• Despite Jahangir’s diplomatic policy, Ambar continued to lead the Deccan' resistance against the Mughals. After two years, the combined Deccani forces were again defeated by the Mughals. The credit for these victories was given to Prince Shah Jahan.
• After the defeat, the Deccani states had to pay an indemnity of Rs. 5,000,000. Later, Amber conducted a series of campaigns against Bijapur for the recovery of Sholapur, which was a bone of contention between the two states.
• Ambar had shown a remarkable military skill, energy, and determination. His achievements were short-lived due to his inability or reluctance to accept Mughal’s terms and conditions.
• Malik Ambar attempted to improve the administrative system of Nizam Shahi state by introducing Todar mal's land revenue system. He abolished the old system of giving land on contract.
• After 1622, in a situation, when Deccan was in turmoil due to the rebellion of Prince Shah Jahan against his father Jahangir, Malik Ambar once again managed to recover many of the old territories, which had been ceded by the Mughals. However, he could not live much long after this and died in 1626 at the age of 80

Shah Jahan

• Shah Jahan ascended the throne in 1627. At the same time, Ahmednagar lost badly and Bijapur and Golconda accepted the Mughal Suzerainty.
• Shah Jahan came to a conclusion that there could be no peace for the Mughals in the Deccan as long as Ahmednagar continued as an independent state. This conclusion was a major departure from the policy, which had been followed by Akbar and Jahangir.
• Shah Jahan was not much interested to extend Mughal territories in the Deccan beyond what was necessary. He, therefore, sent a message to Bijapur ruler and offered to cede to him roughly one-third of the Ahmednagar state.
• The demand of one-third territory from Ahmednagar was a shrewd move on the part of Shah Jahan with the intent to isolate Ahmednagar diplomatically and militarily. Jahangir also offered services to the various Maratha sardars.

Adil Shah

• Adil Shah also was anxious because of Malik Ambar’s humiliation and the annexation of Sholapur. He, therefore, accepted Shah Jahan's proposal, and deputed an army at the Nizam Shahi border to cooperate with the Mughals.
• In 1629, Shah Jahan strategically deputed a large army against Ahmednagar; one group sent to operate in the Balaghat region (in the west), and the other in the Telangana region (in the east).
• The Mughals, on their part, had refused to hand over to the Adil Shah the areas allotted to him under the agreement. As a result of this, Adil decided to help Nizam Shah who agreed to surrender Sholapur to him.
• Adil Shah sent a large army under Randaula Khan (Bijapur General) and Murari Pandit for the surrender of Daulatabad and for provisioning its garrison.
• Shahji Bhonsle also was joined in Bijapur's service to harass the Mughals and cut off their supplies. But the combined operations of the Bijapuri forces and Shahji’s forces were failed.
• In 1633, Mahabat Khan (Mughal general) was closely interested in Daulatabad, and forced the garrison to surrender.
• After the defeat, Nizam Shah was sent to prison in Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh). This war marked as the end of the Nizam Shahi dynasty.
• By following the path of Malik Ambar, Shahji nurtured a Nizam Shahi prince, and raised him up as ruler.
• Adil Shah sent a force of seven to eight thousand horsemen to support Shahji, and encouraged many of the Nizam Shahi nobles to surrender their forts to Shahji.
• Many scattered Nizam Shahi soldiers joined Shahji whose force swelled to 20,000 horse. With these, he harassed the Mughals and took control of large portions of the Ahmednagar state.
• By understanding the critical situation, Shah Jahan deputed a large army to invade Bijapur. Further, the policy of carrot and stick and the advance of Shah Jahan to the Deccan changed the Bijapur politics.
• The leaders of the anti-Mughal group including Murari Pandit were displaced and killed and a new agreement was made with Shah Jahan. According to this treaty, Adil Shah agreed to −

  1) Recognize Mughal suzerainty,

  2) Pay an indemnity of twenty lakhs of rupees, and

  3) Not to interfere in the affairs of Golconda, which was brought under Mughal protection.

• Adil Shah also agreed to operate with the Mughals for reducing Shahji to submission, and if he agreed to join Bijapuri service, to depute him in the south, away from the Mughal frontier.
• Shah Jahan also sent to Adil Shah a solemn Farman (summon) impressed with the mark of the emperor's palm that the terms of this treaty would never be violated.
• A peace agreement with the Mughals enabled the Deccani states to expand their territories towards the further south and to strengthen their power and prosperity.
• Soon after the treaties of 1636, Bijapur and Golconda overran the rich and fertile Karnataka area from the river Krishna to Tanjore and beyond.
• A series of campaigns were conducted by Bijapur and Golconda against the southern states.
• Over a period of time, rapid expansion weakened internal cohesion of these southern states. Ambitious nobles such as Shahji, and his son Shivaji in Bijapur, and Mir Junda, the leading noble of Golconda, started carving out spheres of influence for themselves.
• In the south, however, the development came to an end in 1656 after the death of Muhammad Adil Shah, and arrival of Aurangzeb as the Mughal viceroy of the Deccan.

Deccan’s Cultural Contribution

• The Deccani states had a number of cultural contributions to their credit. Adil Shah was very fond of organizing discussions with Hindu and Muslim saints.
• Adil Shah invited Catholic missionaries to his court, much before Akbar had done so. He had an excellent library to which he appointed the well-known Sanskrit scholar, Vaman pandit. Patronage of Sanskrit and Marathi was continued by his successors.
• Ibrahim Adil Shah II (1580-1627), the successor of Adil Shah, ascended the throne (of Bijapur) at the age of nine. He was very attentive of the poor, and had the title of abla baba, or Friend of the Poor.
• Adil Shah II was very fond of music; he composed a book namely Kitab-e-Navras (Book of Nine Rasas). In this book, he set various musical modes or togas. In his songs, he freely prayed the goddess of music and learning, Saraswati. Due to his broad approach, he came to be called as Jagat Guru.
• Adil Shah II, further, built a new capital, Nauraspur; where he invited a large number of musicians (to settle). He offered patronage to all, including Hindu saints and temples. This included grants to Pandharpur, the center of the worship of Vithoba, which became the center of the Bhakti movement in Maharashtra.
• Qutb Shah employed both Hindus and Muslims people in his military, administrative, and diplomatic departments.
• Golconda was the popular intellectual resort for the literary men. Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah (who was a contemporary of Akbar) was very fond of both literature and architecture.
• Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah wrote in Dakhini Urdu, Persian, and Telugu and left an extensive collection. He was the first who introduced a secular note in poetry.
• Qutb Shah not only wrote about God and the Prophet (their praise), but he also wrote about nature, love, and the social life of his time.
• The successors of Qutb Shah and many other poets and writers of his time adopted Urdu as a literary language. In addition to Urdu language, Persian, Hindi, and Telugu were also significant for the idioms and vocabulary.
• Urdu gradually percolate to north India from the Deccan by the eighteenth century.
• In 1591-92, Quli Qutb Shah founded the city Hyderabad, he also constructed many buildings, the most famous of which is the Char Minar.
• The Gol Gumbaz (the mausoleum of Mohammed Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur) which was built in 1656 has the largest single dome ever constructed. The architect of Gol Gumbaz was Yaqut of Dabul.

Nur Jahan

• Nur Jahan first married to an Iranian, Sher Afghan, and after his death (in a clash with the Mughal governor of Bengal), she married to Jahangir in 1611.
• After marrying with Nur Jahan, Jahangir appointed her father Itimaduddaula as joint diwan and later he had been promoted to chief diwan. Besides, other members of her (Nur Jahan) family also benefited.
• In ten years of his service, Itimaduddaula proved his loyalty, competency, and acumen. He made a considerable influence in the affairs of the state until his death.
• Asaf Khan, Nur Jahan's brother, was also a learned and deserving man. He was appointed as the ‘khan-i-saman;’ it was the post reserved for the highly trustworthy nobles.
• Asaf Khan married his daughter with Khurram (later Shah Jahan). Khurram was favorite of Jahangir particularly after the rebellion and imprisonment of Khusrau.
• Some historians mentioned that along with her father and brother, and in alliance with Khurram, Nur Jahan formed a group or "junta," which managed Jahangir’s governance at such a level that without its support no one could approach emperor. This led to the division of the court into two groups i.e. Nur Jahan "junta" and its opponents.
• Over a period of time, Nur Jahan became ambitious and tried to dominate, which resulted in a breach between her and Shah Jahan, and that this drove Shah Jahan into rebellion against his father in 1622. It was the time when Shah Jahan felt that Jahangir was completely under Nur Jahan's influence. However, some other historians are not agreed with this view.
• The precise political role of Nur Jahan during that period is not clear. However, she dominated the royal household and set a new fashion based on Persian traditions.
• Nur Jahan was the consistent companion of Jahangir, and even joined him in his hunting expeditions since she was a good rider and a shooter. However, Jahangir was not dependent on the "junta" or on Nur Jahan’s diplomacy.
• Shah Jahan became powerful because of his personal qualities and achievements rather than the support of Nur Jahan. And, Shah Jahan had his own ambitions of which Jahangir was not unaware.
• During the Mughal period, no emperor could afford or allow a noble or even a prince to become so powerful (lest he challenged his authority). Probably, it was the reason of the conflict arose between Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

Mughals’ Cultural Developments

• The traditions in the fields of architecture, painting, literature, and music, which had been created during the Mughal period set a norm and deeply influenced the succeeding generations.
• Because of having wonderful cultural development, the Mughal period can be called as the second classical age after the Gupta age (of northern India).
• During the Mughal period, the cultural development (of India), amalgamated with the Turko-Iranian culture brought to the country by the Mughals.

1) Architecture

• The Mughals built magnificent forts, palaces, gates, public buildings, mosques, baohs (water tank or well), etc. Besides, they also constructed formal gardens with running water.
• Use of running water even in the palaces and in the pleasure resorts was a special feature of the Mughals.
• Babur was very fond of gardens and hence he constructed a few in the neighborhood of Agra and Lahore.
• Some of the Mughal gardens, such as the Nishat Bagh garden (in Kashmir), the Shalimar Bagh (in Lahore), the Pinjore garden (in Chandigarh) etc. can be seen even today.
• Sher Shah also had given a new stimulus to the Indian architecture. His famous mausoleum at Sasaram (Bihar) and his mosque in the old fort at Delhi are considerable examples of architectural marvels.
• Akbar was the first Mughal ruler who had the time and means to undertake construction on a large scale. He built a series of forts, the most famous of which is the fort at Agra. Agra fort was built of red sandstone, which had many magnificent gates.
• In 1572, Akbar commenced a palace-comfort complex at Fatehpur Sikri (36 kilometers from Agra), which was completed in eight years.
• The climax of fort building was reached at Delhi with the construction of Lal Qila (Red Fort) by Shah Jahan.
• The Gujarat style of architecture was used most widely in the palace built probably for the Rajput wife or wives.
• Persian or Central Asian influence can be seen in the glazed blue tiles used for decoration in the walls or for tiling the roofs.
• One of the most magnificent constructions was the Buland Darwaza (Lofty Gate), which was constructed in 1576 at Fatehpur Sikri to commemorate Akbar’s victory in Gujarat.
• By the end of Jahangir’s reign, the practice of constructing buildings entirely of marble and decorating the walls with floral designs made of semi-precious stones began.
• The particular method of decoration, popular as ‘pietra dura,’ became more popular under Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan used this technique while constructing the Taj Mahal.
• The Taj Mahal is a great example of Mughals’ architecture, which brought together all the architectural forms developed by the Mughals in a very pleasing manner.
• Humayun’s tomb built at Delhi (during Akbar’s reign), has a massive dome of marble; normally, it is considered as a precursor of the Taj Mahal.
• The chief glory of the Taj Mahal is the massive dome and the four slender minarets linking the platform to the main building.
• Mosque-building also reached its climax under Shah Jahan, the two most noteworthy mosques are −
  --> The Moti Masjid (at the Agra fort): It is built (like the Taj Mahal) entirely of marble, and
  --> The Jama Masjid (at Delhi): It is built of red sandstone.
• The Mughal architectural traditions based on a combination of Hindu and Turko-Iranian forms along with decorative designs were continued during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
• Mughal traditions influenced the palaces and forts of many provincial and whole kingdoms.
• The Golden Temple (of the Sikhs), located at Amritsar (in Punjab), was built on the arch and dome principle and incorporated many features of the Mughal traditions of architecture.

2) Painting

• The Mughals made a distinctive contribution in the field of painting. They introduced many new themes portraying the court, battle grounds, and the chase scenes. Besides, Mughal painters also introduced many new colors and new forms.
• The Mughal painters had created a living tradition of painting, which continued to work in different parts of the country even after the disappearance of Mughal glory.
• After the eighth century, the tradition seems to have decayed, but palm-leaf manuscripts and illustrated Jain texts from the thirteenth century onwards indicated that the tradition had not died.
• Humayun had taken two master painters, into his service who accompanied him to India.
• During the Akbar’s reign, the two great painters (who came India with Humayun), organized painting in one of the imperial establishments. Besides, a large number of painters from different parts of the country were invited; many of them were from the lower castes.
• From the beginning, both Hindus and Muslims painters joined in the work. Jaswant and Dasawan both were the famous painters of Akbar's court.
• Over a period of time, the painting school developed fairly and became a celebrated center of production.
• Apart from illustrating Persian books of stories, the painters were soon assigned the task of illustrating the Persian text of the Mahabharata the historical work, Akbar Noma, and many others.
• Mughal painting was at climax under Jahangir’s period who had a very peculiar sense of paintings. During those days, it was a fashion in the Mughal School that in a single painting - the face, the body, and the feet of a person to be painted by different artists.
• Some of the historians claimed that Jahangir had the sense to distinguish the work of each artist separately in a picture.
• During Jahangir’s period, special progress was made in portrait painting and paintings of animals. Mansur was the great name in this field.
• The Rajasthan style of painting combined the themes and earlier traditions of western India or Jain school of painting with Mughal forms and styles.
• In addition to hunting and court scenes, Rajasthan style of paintings also illustrated paintings on mythological themes, such as the romance of Krishna with Radha, or the Barah-masa (it is the seasons, or Ragas (melodies).

3. Language

• During the Mughal period, regional languages also developed due to the patronage extended to them by the local and regional rulers.
• By the time of Akbar, knowledge of Persian had become so widespread in north India because Akbar dispensed with the tradition of keeping revenue records in the local language.
• The tradition of keeping revenue records in the local language was also in the Deccani states till their extinction in the last quarter of the seventeenth century.

4. Literature

• Persian prose and poetry were at climax under Akbar's reign. Abu’l Fazl who was a great scholar and a stylist, as well as the leading historian in the Akbar’s court, set a style of prose-writing which was emulated for many generations.
• Faizi (brother of Abu’l Fazl) was the leading poet of that age. Faizi also worked for the Akbar's translation department. The translation of the Mahabharata was carried out under his supervision.
• Utbi and Naziri were the two other leading Persian poets. They were migrated from Iran to India and made the Mughal court one of the cultural centers of the Islamic world. Besides, Hindus also contributed to the growth of Persian literature.
• Apart from literary and historical works, a number of famous dictionaries of the Persian language were also compiled in this period.
• Regional languages acquired stability and maturity, as some of the finest lyrical poetry was produced during this period.
• The romance of God Krishna with Radha and the milkmaids’ pranks of the child Krishna and stories from Bhagawat Gita were largely in lyrical poetry and translated in many regional languages including Bengali, Oriya, Hindi, Rajasthani, and Gujarati.
• Many devotional hymns to Rama were also composed and the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were translated into the regional languages.
• Medieval Hindi in the Brij form, that is the dialect spoken in the neighborhood of Agra, was also patronized by the Mughal emperors and Hindu rulers. From the time of Akbar, Hindi poets began to be attached to the Mughal court.
• A leading Mughal noble, Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khana, produced a fine blend of Bhakti poetry with Persian ideas of life and human relations. Likewise, the Persian and the Hindi literary traditions began to influence each other.
• Tulsidas was one of the most influential Hindi poet of the medieval period who had written Ramcharitmanas. He used a dialect of Hindi, spoken in the eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh (around Banaras).
• Eknath and Tukaram developed and made the Marathi language, popular. Eknath explains – “if Sanskrit was made by God, was Prakrit born of thieves and knaves? Let these erring of vanity alone. God is no partisan of tongues. To him Prakrit and Sanskrit are alike. My language Marathi is worthy of expressing the highest sentiments and is rich laden with the fruits of divine knowledge.”
• This undoubtedly expresses the sentiments of all those writing in local languages. It also shows the confidence and the status acquired by these languages. Due to the writings of the Sikh Gurus, Punjabi received a new life.

5. Music

• Akbar patronized Tansen (the great musician of Gwalior) who is credited with composing many new melodies (ragas).
• Jahangir and Shah Jahan as well as many Mughal nobles also had given very much importance to music.
• Some researchers say that Aurangzeb banished singing in his court, but not the performance of musical instruments. In fact, Aurangzeb himself was an accomplished veena (a musical instrument) player.
• Music in all forms continued to be patronized by Aurangzeb's queens (in the harem) and by the nobles as well. This the reason that the largest number of books on classical Indian music (in Persian) were written during Aurangzeb's reign.

Aurangzeb’s Reign and Religious Policy

• Aurangzeb ruled for almost 50 years. During his long reign period, the Mughal Empire reached its territorial climax.
  
• Aurangzeb stretched his territory from Kashmir (in the north) to Jinji (in the south), and from the Hindukush (in the west) to Chittagong (in the east).
• Aurangzeb letters reflected the close attention that he paid to all affairs of the state and governance. He was a strict disciplinarian who did not spare even his own sons.
• In 1686, Aurangzeb imprisoned prince Muazzam on a charge of intriguing with the ruler of Golconda, and kept him in prison for 12 long years. His other sons also had to face his wrath on various occasions.
• Aurangzeb’s personal life was marked by simplicity. He had the reputation of being orthodox, God fearing Muslim. In a course of time, he began to be regarded as a zinda pir, or "a living saint."
• Aurangzeb was not interested in philosophical debates or in mysticism; however, he did not prohibit his sons from experimenting in Sufism.
• While taking his stand on the Hanafi school of Muslim law, which had been traditionally followed in India, Aurangzeb did not hesitate in issuing secular decrees, called ‘zawabit.’
• A collection of his decrees had been collected in a work known as Zawabit-i-Alamgiri.
• Apart from being an orthodox Muslim, Aurangzeb was also a ruler. He could hardly forget the political reality that the overwhelming population of India was Hindu, and that they were deeply attached to their faith.

Religious Policy

• At the beginning of his reign, Aurangzeb prohibited the kalma being inscribed on coins, as it trampled underfoot or be defiled while passing from one hand to another.
• Aurangzeb banned the festival of Nauroz, as it was considered as Zoroastrian practice favored by the Safavid rulers of Iran.
• Aurangzeb appointed Muhtasibs in all the provinces. Their major work was to see that people lived their lives in accordance with the shara.
• Muhtasibs were responsible for ensuring that the things, which were forbidden (such as intoxicants and gambling dens, etc) by the shara and the zawabits (secular decrees) were, as far as possible, not disobeyed openly.
• While appointing Muhtasibs, though, Aurangzeb emphasized that the state was also responsible for the moral welfare of the citizens. But these officials were instructed not to interfere in the private lives of citizens.
• In 1669, Aurangzeb took a number of measures, which have been called puritanical, but many of them were of an economic and social character, and against superstitious beliefs. Likewise, he prohibited singing in the court and the official musicians were pensioned off. The instrumental music and naubat (the royal band) were, however, continued.
• Singing also continued to be patronized by the ladies in the harem, and also by individual nobles. It is interesting to note that the largest number of Persian works on classical Indian music were written during Aurangzeb's reign. Aurangzeb himself was proficient in playing the Veena.
• Aurangzeb withdrawn the practice of jharoka darshan or showing himself to the public from the balcony (initiated by Akbar). He considered it a superstitious practice and against Islam.
• Aurangzeb banned the ceremony of weighing the emperor against gold and silver and other articles on his birthdays. However, because of majority of social demand, Aurangzeb had to permit this ceremony for his sons when they recovered from illness.
• Aurangzeb prohibited astrologers from preparing almanacs. But the order was disobeyed by everybody including members of the royal family.
• To promote trade among the Muslims who depended (almost) exclusively on state support, Aurangzeb exempted Muslim traders from the payment of cess. However, Aurangzeb found that the Muslim traders were taking undue advantages of this and cheating the state; therefore, he reinstated it, but kept it at half of what was charged from others.
• Some evidences suggest that Aurangzeb wanted to have the clergy on his side, as the clergy exercised a powerful hold on the minds of men.
• Aurangzeb restated the position of the shara regarding the temples, synagogues, churches, etc., that "long standing temple should not be demolished but no new temples allowed to be built." He also allowed that the old places of worship could be repaired "since buildings cannot last forever."
• When he was governor of Gujarat, Aurangzeb, ordered a number of temples in Gujarat to be destroyed, which often meant merely breaking the enrages and closing down the temples at the outset of his reign. However, Aurangzeb found that images of these temples had been restored and idol-worship had been resumed.
• In 1665, Aurangzeb again ordered to destroy these temples. The famous temple of Somnath, which he ordered to be destroyed, was earlier in his reign.
• Aurangzeb encountered political opposition from a number of quarters, such as the Marathas, Jats, etc., as they had adopted a new stance. Therefore, while dealing with the conflicts (with the local elements), Aurangzeb considered it legitimate to destroy even long standing Hindu temples as a major punishment and as a warning.
• Aurangzeb looked upon temples as the centers of spreading rebellious ideas, i.e. ideas which were not acceptable to the orthodox elements. Therefore, in 1669, he took strict action especially when he learnt that in some of the temples in Thatta, Multan and especially at Banaras, both Hindus and Muslims used to come from great distances to learn from the Brahmans.
• Aurangzeb issued orders to the governors of all provinces to prohibit such practices and to destroy all those temples where such practices took place.
• As a result of these orders, a number of temples such as the famous temples of Vishwanath at Banaras and the temple of Keshava Rai at Mathura built by Bir Singh Deo Bundela during the reign of Jahangir were destroyed and a mosque; erected in their place.
• Mustaid Khan, author of the Maasir-i-Alamgiri mentioned that with reference to the destruction of the temple of Keshava Rai at Mathura, "On seeing this instance of the strength of the Emperor's faith and the grandeur of his devotion to God, the proud rajas were subdued, and in amazement they stood like images facing the wall." Thereupon, many temples built in Orissa during the last ten to twelve years were also destroyed.
• During 1679-80, when there was a state of hostility with the Rathors of Marwar and the Rana of Udaipur, many temples of old standing were destroyed at Jodhpur and its parganas, and at Udaipur.
• After 1679, it seems that Aurangzeb's zeal to destroy temples decreased, as after this, there was no evidence of any large-scale destruction of temples in the south (between 1681 and his death in 1707).
• Aurangzeb again introduced the jizyah (or the poll tax) (it was abolished by Akbar). According to the shara, in a Muslim state, the payment of jizyah was obligatory, for the non-Muslims.
• Aurangzeb, in fact, did not try to change the nature of the state, but reasserted its fundamentally Islamic character. Aurangzeb's religious beliefs cannot be considered as the basis of his political policies.
• Aurangzeb’s religious ideas and beliefs on the one hand, and his political or public policies on the other, however, clashed on many occasions and he faced difficult choices. Sometimes this led him to adopt contradictory policies which damaged the empire.

Popular Revolts and Movements

• During his reign, Aurangzeb had to deal with a number of political issues, such as −
  --> The Marathas in the Deccan,
  --> The Jats and Rajputs in north India,
  --> The Afghans and Sikhs in the north-west, and
• The nature of these problems was different from each other, for example −
  --> In the case of the Rajputs, it was basically a problem of succession.
  --> In the case of the Marathas, it was the issue of independence.
  --> In the case of Jats, it was the clash of peasant-agrarian background.
  --> In the case of Afghans, it was a tribal issue.
• The only movement in which religion played a role was the Sikh movement. However, later, the Jat and the Sikh movements concluded in attempts to set up the independent regional states.
• It has been sometimes argued that all these movements, excluding the Afghan one, represented a Hindu reaction against Aurangzeb’s narrow religious policies.

1. Jats

• The first section to come into conflict with the Mughal Empire was the Jats of the Agra-Delhi region who were living on both sides of the river Yamuna.
• The Jats were mostly peasant cultivators, only a few of them being zamindars. With a strong sense of brotherhood and justice, the Jats had often come into conflict with the Mughals.
• The conflict with the Jats had taken place during the reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan on the issue of collection of land revenue.
• All the imperial road to the Deccan and the western seaports passed through Jats’ area; therefore, the Mughals had to take a serious action against the Jat rebellions.
• In 1669, under the leadership of local Zamindar Gokla, the Jats (of Mathura) were rebelled, which spread rapidly among the peasants of the area. This rebel compelled Aurangzeb to take serious action in person. Resultantly, the Jats were defeated and Gokla was captured and executed.
• In 1685, under the leadership of Rajaram, there was a second rebel of the Jats. This time, Jats were better organized and adopted the methods of guerilla warfare, combining it with plunder.
• The rebels were continued to 1691, when their leader Rajaram and his successor, Churaman, were compelled to surrender. In spite of this, unrest among the Jat peasants were remained persistent and their plundering activities made the Delhi-Agra road unsafe for travelers.
• During the 18th century, taking advantage of Mughal civil wars and weakness Churaman carved out a separate Jat principality in the area and to oust the Rajput zamindars.

2. Satnamis

• In 1672, at Narnaul (nearby Mathura), another armed conflict occurred between the peasants and the Mughals. This time, the conflict was with a religious body known as ‘Satnamis.’
• The Satnamis were mostly peasants, artisans, and lower caste people, such as Goldsmiths, Carpenters, Sweepers, Tanners, and other ignoble beings.

3. Afghans

• The conflicts with Afghans (who lived in mountain region) were continued and most of the Mughal Emperors fought with Afghans.
• Akbar fought against the Afghans and in the war, he lost the life of his close friend and very intelligent and loyal noble, Raja Birbal.
• The conflicts with Afghans were partly economic and partly political and religious in character.
• To clear the Khyber Pass and crush the uprising, Aurangzeb deputed the Chief Bakhshi, Amir Khan. After the hard battles, the Afghan resistance was broken.
• In 1672, there was a second Afghan uprising. Akmal Khan was the leader, who proclaimed himself king and struck khutba and sikka in his name.
• Near Khyber Pass, the Afghans suffered a disastrous defeat; however, Khan managed to escape.
• In 1674, Shujaat Khan, a Mughal noble suffered a disastrous defeat in the Khyber. However, he was rescued by a heroic band of Rathors sent by Jaswant Singh.
• In the middle of 1674, Aurangzeb himself went to Peshawar and stayed there till the end of 1675. Slowly, by force and diplomacy, the Afghan united front was broken, and peace was restored.

4. Sikhs

• The Sikhs were the last to come into military conflict with Aurangzeb; however, the reasons for the conflict were political and personal rather than religious.
• The Gurus had started living in style, with an armed following, and assumed the title of sachha padshah (the true sovereign).
• There was no conflict with the Sikh Guru and Aurangzeb, upto 1675 until Guru Tegh Bahadur was arrested along with his five followers, brought to Delhi, and executed.
• The cause of Tegh Bahadur’s execution was not clear. Some Persian accounted that Tegh Bahadur had joined hands with Hafiz Adam (a Pathan) and created nuisance in Punjab. On the other hand, according to Sikh tradition, the execution was due to intrigues (against the Guru) by some members of his family who disputed his succession.
• Some of the historians had written that Aurangzeb was annoyed because of the Tegh Bahadur’s act of converting a few Muslims into Sikh and raised a protest against religious persecution in Kashmir by the local governor.
• Whatever the reasons, Aurangzeb's action was unjustified from any point of view and betrayed a narrow approach. Further, the execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur compelled the Sikhs to go back to the Punjab hills. It also led to the Sikh movement (led by Guru Govind Sindh) gradually turning into a military brotherhood.
• Guru Govind Singh had a considerable organizational ability. By using his skill, in 1699, he founded the military brotherhood popularly known as the “Khalsa.”
• Guru Govind Singh had made his headquarters at Makhowal or Anandpur located in the foothills of the Punjab. In given period of time, the Guru became too powerful.
• Guru Govind fought a series of wars against the hill rajas and won. The organization of the khalsa further strengthened the hands of the Guru in this conflict.
• In 1704, an open breach between the Guru and the hill rajas took place, as the combined forces of a number of hill rajas attacked the Guru at Anandpur.
• The rajas had again to retreat and forced the Mughal government to intervene against the Guru on their behalf.
• Aurangzeb was concerned with the growing power of the Guru and had asked the Mughal faujdar to punish the Guru.
• The Mughal forces attacked at Anandpur, but the Sikhs fought bravely and beat off all assaults and they were taken shelter inside the fort.
• The Mughals and their allies now captured the fort closely that closed all sorts of movements. Resultantly, starvation began inside the fort and the Guru was forced to open the gate apparently on a promise of safe conduct by Wazir Khan. But when the forces of the Guru were crossing a swollen stream, Wazir Khan's forces suddenly attacked.
• Two of the Guru's sons were captured, and on their refusal to embrace Islam, they were beheaded at Sirhind. Further, the Guru lost two of his remaining sons in another battle. After this, the Guru retired to Talwandi.

5 .Relations with Rajputs

• Jahangir continued Akbar's policy of giving favors to the leading Rajput rajas and of entering into matrimonial relations with them.
• Shah Jahan also maintained the alliance with the Rajputs, but he did not appoint any Rajput raja as the governor of a province, and no further matrimonial relations were made with the leading Rajput rajas. In spite of the fact that he (Shah Jahan) himself was the son of a Rajput princess.
• Perhaps, the alliances with the Rajputs had become so consolidated, that it was felt that matrimonial relations with the leading rajas were no longer necessary. However, Shah Jahan accorded high honor to the heads of the two leading Rajput houses, namely Jodhpur and Amber.
• Raja Jaswant Singh, the ruler of Marwar, was in Shah Jahan’s favor. Both he and Jai Singh held the ranks of 7000/7000 at the time of Aurangzeb's accession.
• Aurangzeb secured the active support of the Maharana of Mewar and raised his mansab from 5000/5000 to 6000/6000.
• Jaswant Singh who had been deputed to look after the affairs of the Afghans in the north-west died by the end of 1678.
• In November 1679, Aurangzeb attacked Mewar. A strong Mughal detachment reached Udaipur and raided the camp of the Rana who had retreated deep into the hills to conduct a harassing warfare against the Mughals.
• The war Between the Mughals and Rajputs soon reached at a stalemate as the Mughals could neither penetrate the hills, nor deal with the guerilla tactics of the Rajputs.
• Over a period of time, the war became highly unpopular. Prince Akbar, the eldest son of Aurangzeb, tried to take advantage of the situation and he went against his father.
• In January, 1681, Prince Akbar, in alliance with Durgadas, the Rathor chief, marched towards Ajmer where Aurangzeb was helpless, as all his best troops were being engaged elsewhere.
• Prince Akbar, however, delayed and Aurangzeb was able to stir up dissensions in his camp by false letters. Resultantly, Prince Akbar had to flee to Maharashtra.
• Aurangzeb patched up a treaty with Rana Jagat Singh (the successor of Rana Raj Singh).
• The new Rana was forced to surrender some of his parganas in lieu of iazyah and was granted a mansab of 5,000 on a promise of loyalty and not supporting Ajit Singh, but it did not benefit much.
• Aurangzeb’s policy towards Marwar and Mewar was clumsy and blundering, which brought no advantage of any kind to the Mughals. On the other hand, Mughal failure against these Rajput states damaged Mughal military prestige.
• The breach with Marwar and Mewar weakened the Mughal alliance with the Rajputs at a crucial period.