Deccan wars Wikipedia

The allegation was encouraged by Aurangzeb, who caused the diwan's son to seek retribution for the death under the principles of Sharia law. When Dara's disparate, hastily assembled army clashed with Aurangzeb's well-disciplined, battle-hardened force at the battle of Samugarh in late May, neither Dara's men nor his generalship were any match for Aurangzeb. The victory of Aurangzeb proved this to be a poor decision by Dara Shikoh, who now had a defeated force on one front and a successful force unnecessarily pre-occupied on another. Rumours spread that Shah Jahan had died, which led to concerns among his younger sons. In 1656, a general under Qutb Shahi dynasty named Musa Khan led an army of 12,000 musketeers to attack Aurangzeb, who was besieging Golconda Fort. Historian Satish Chandra says that "In the ultimate resort, connections among the powerful military leaders, and military strength and capacity were the real arbiters". There was no Mughal tradition of primogeniture, the systematic passing of rule, upon an emperor's death, to his eldest son. Aurangzeb appointed Murshid Quli Khancitation needed to extend the zabt revenue system used in northern India to the Deccan.

Both because of Aurangzeb's over-extension and because of Bahadur Shah's weak military and leadership qualities, entered a period of terminal decline. Although Aurangzeb died without appointing a successor, he instructed his three sons to divide the empire among themselves. Brown writes that after his death, "a string of weak emperors, wars of succession, and coups by noblemen heralded the irrevocable weakening of Mughal power". Prior to his death, he requested not to spend extravagantly on his funeral but to keep it simple. The rebellion reached a climax after the death of Aurangzeb on 3 March 1707 and the capture of Jodhpur by the Rathores on 12 March 1707. Described as the Rathore rebellion (1679–1707), the conflict between Rajputs of Marwar and the Mughals started after the death of Jaswant Singh, due to Aurangzeb's attempt to interfere in the succession of Marwar. Switching to diplomacy and bribery along with force of arms, the Mughals eventually split the rebels and partially suppressed the revolt, although they never managed to wield effective authority outside the main trade route.citation needed Attempting to reassert his authority, Amir Khan led a large Mughal Army to the Khyber Pass, where the army was surrounded by tribesmen and routed, with only four men, including the governor, managing to escape.citation needed

His successor Rajaram, later Rajaram's widow Tarabai and their Maratha forces fought individual battles against the forces of the Mughal Empire. The rebels were defeated and Akbar fled south to seek refuge with Sambhaji, Shivaji's successor. Aurangzeb also permitted Shivaji to attack Bijapur, ruled by the decaying Adil Shahi dynasty; the weakened Sultan Ali Adil Shah II sued for peace and granted the rights of sardeshmukhi and chauthai to Shivaji. After Muazzam and Jaswant Singh recommended Shivaji to Aurangzeb, his submission was accepted and he was conferred the title of “Raja". However Aurangzeb did not restore his right over the forts. Shaista Khan, however, survived and was re-appointed the administrator of Bengal, going on to become a key commander in the war against the Ahoms.citation needed In 1659, Aurangzeb sent his trusted general and maternal uncle Shaista Khan, the wali in Golconda to recover forts lost to the Maratha rebels. With this event, the Marathas transformed into a powerful military force, capturing more and more Adil Shahi territories.

He started negotiations with the Marathas, then cut them abruptly and marched on the small kingdom of Wakinara whose Naik rulers traced their lineage to the royal family of the Vijayanagar Empire. In 1706, Mughals started retreating from Maratha dominions.citation needed By 1704, Aurangzeb conquered Torana, Rajgad, and a handful of other forts mostly by bribing Maratha commanders; however, he had spent four precious years doing so. The expedition had already taken a giant toll, much larger than originally planned, on the empire and it seemed possible that 175 years of Mughal rule might crumble due to the drain of an unwinnable war.citation needed Khanderao Dabhade, who led a division under Dhanaji, took Baglan and Nashik, while Nemaji Shinde, a commander with Narayan, scored a major victory at Nandurbar.citation needed Dhanaji defeated a large Mughal force near Pandharpur and Narayan defeated Sarja Khan in Pune. Aurangzeb, against the advice of several of his experienced generals, continued the war.citation needed It had significantly depleted Mughal resources in the region, from the treasury to material.citation needed

This gave Rajaram ample amount of time to reach Vishalgad.citation needed Zulfikar Khan tightened the siege, but Rajaram escaped and was safely escorted to Deccan by Dhanaji Jadhav and the Shirke brothers. Through cavalry movements, the Marathan generals Santaji and Dhanaji defeated the Mughals. Maratha generals Ramchandrapant Amatya and Shankaraji Niraji maintained their Maratha stronghold in the rugged terrains of Sahyadri.citation needed Having a strong navy established by Shivaji, the Marathas could also extend this divide into the sea, checking any supply routes from Surat to the South.citation needed Aurangzeb had taken four major forts in Sahyadrais and was sending Zulfikar Khan to subdue the Ginjee fort. Bavdekar, Vithoji Chavan, and Raghuji Bhosale had reorganised most of the Maratha army after the defeats at Panhala and Vishalgad.citation needed This small force was destroyed by an attack from two Maratha generals, Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav, who then they joined Ramchandra Bavadekar in Deccan.

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Historians have interpreted this as an unjust taunt with cowardice against his brothers. As a Mughal prince, Aurangzeb received an education covering subjects like combat, military strategy, and administration. The Mughal military gradually improved and became one of the strongest armies in the world. Alamgir If (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb,g was the sixth Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707.

Shah Jahan's rule

He put his father on house arrest from the July of 1658 till he died in January of 1666. By this time, Aurangzeb had grown stronger and therefore, inherited the throne. However, as soon as Aurangzeb was about to succeed to the throne, his father, Shah Jahan, made an unexpected recovery. The topic of killing his own brothers became a huge issue, as the so-called Hindutva activists used it to try to malign Aurangzeb. This meant that only the strongest and smartest would succeed to the throne and therefore, the most deserving. They believed in the harsh Persian saying, “Ya takht, ya tabut”, which literally translates to “Either the throne or the grave”. During the 17th century, it would have been normal, and in fact expected, to discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, or sexuality. Dhanaji then turned to help the Naiks at Wakinara; Wakinara fell but the Naik royal family escaped.citation needed

Shivaji's small and ill-equipped army survived an all out Adil Shahi attack, and Shivaji personally killed the Adil Shahi general, Afzal Khan. The Marathas harried the flanks of the warring Adil Shahis, gaining weapons, forts, and territory. In 1657, while Aurangzeb invaded Golconda and Bijapur in the Deccan, the Hindu Maratha warrior, Shivaji, used guerrilla tactics to take control of three Adil Shahi forts formerly under his father's command. Raja Ram Jat, in order to avenge his father Gokula's death, plundered Akbar's tomb of its gold, silver and fine carpets, opened Akbar's grave and dragged his bones and burned them in retaliation. Russian Czar Peter the Great requested Aurangzeb to open Russo-Mughal trade relations in the late 17th century. At the same time, however, a adrians game letter was sent from the governor of Kashmir claiming the Mughals had defeated the Dalai Lama and conquered all of Tibet, a cause for celebration in Aurangzeb's court.

This attack provoked a reprisal, which triggered a general revolt of most of tribes. In response, Guru Tegh Bahadur's son and successor, Guru Gobind Singh, further militarised his followers, starting with the establishment of Khalsa in 1699, eight years before Aurangzeb's death. The Satnamis initiated their march upon Delhi and overran small-scale Mughal infantry units. Though the Mughals managed to regain Guwahati briefly after a later Borphukan deserted it, the Ahoms wrested control in the battle of Itakhuli in 1682 and maintained it till the end of their rule. The battle of Saraighat was the last battle in the last major attempt by the Mughals to extend their empire into Assam. On his way back to Dacca, in March 1663, Mir Jumla II died of natural causes. Aurangzeb travelled a long distance to the Deccan to subdue the Marathas and died at the age of 88 during the campaign. The Marathas shifted tactics, avoiding set battles in favour of conducting a hit-and-run insurgency.

The Path to the Throne: Aurangzeb's Early Life

After Jahangir died in 1627, Shah Jahan emerged victorious in the ensuing war of succession to the Mughal throne. During his lifetime, Faruqui notes, he came to be revered as a zinda pir (living saint) and was memorialised as one after his death. Once he ascended the throne, Alamgir faced two daunting tasks. In the inevitable war of succession when Shah Jahan was ill, it was Aurangzeb's reputation, his support base and his military and tactical skills that made possible the transition from Aurangzeb to Alamgir. It was in the Deccan that Aurangzeb earned his spurs as an able military leader and administrator. Aurangzeb was sent away from Shahjahanabad on hazardous military and administrative assignments, which included two stints as governor in the Deccan.