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Y211: The Rise and Decline of the Mughal Empire in India 1526–1739

Rule and decline 1658–1739: Aurangzeb’s rule, religious policy and the Maratha wars

  • 2 things to know
  • Unit group 2

Overview

Recall questions on Aurangzeb as ruler, his religious measures and their effects, Shivaji and Maratha power, Purandar, the wars after 1680 and the annexation of Bijapur and Golconda.

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Key term

Describe Aurangzeb as a ruler.

Numbers

What happened after the treaty of Purandar in 1665?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Describe Aurangzeb as a ruler.

    Model answer

    Taking the title Alamgir, he was austere in his personal life, devout, immensely industrious and a competent general, but suspicious of his sons and officers, unwilling to delegate, and inflexible once he had decided that a policy was religiously right.

  2. 2

    What were Aurangzeb's main religious measures?

    Model answer

    He appointed censors of public morals, banned court music and the official chronicle, ordered the destruction of newly built and some famous Hindu temples from 1669, reimposed the jizya on non-Muslims in 1679, and had a great compendium of Islamic law compiled for the guidance of his judges.

  3. 3

    What effects did his religious policy have?

    Model answer

    It pleased the orthodox and simplified the emperor's claim to authority, but it offended Hindu opinion, was a factor in the Rajput war of 1679 to 1681, and gave his Maratha, Sikh and Jat opponents a cause beyond local grievance.

  4. 4

    Identify Shivaji and explain how he built Maratha power.

    Model answer

    A Maratha chief from the western hills, he seized and built hill forts, raised light mobile infantry and cavalry, killed the Bijapuri general Afzal Khan in 1659, sacked the wealthy port of Surat in 1664 and had himself crowned as an independent king in 1674.

  5. 5

    What happened after the treaty of Purandar in 1665?

    Model answer

    Jai Singh forced Shivaji to surrender most of his forts and attend the imperial court, but Shivaji escaped from detention at Agra in 1666, recovered his territory within a few years and resumed the war.

  6. 6

    How did Aurangzeb try to finish the Marathas after 1680?

    Model answer

    He moved his court to the Deccan and campaigned there for the last twenty-six years of his life, capturing Sambhaji and having him executed in 1689 in the belief that the war was over.

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