History of Aurangzib

Volume 1

Works by Jadunath Sarkar, M.A.

|1. | |History of Aurangzib, based on Persian sources. | |Rs.

Vol. I. Reign of Shah Jahan, pp. 402.

Vol. II. War of Succession, pp. 328. | |3½ each.

|2. | |Anecdotes of Aurangzib (English translation and notes) and Historical Essays, pp. 248 | |1½

|3. | |Ahkam-i-Alamgiri, Persian text with an English translation (Anecdotes of Aurangzib) and notes, pp. 72 + 146 | |1

|4. | |Chaitanya's Pilgrimages and Teachings, being an English translation of his contemporary biography, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya-lila, pp. 320+ | |2

|5. | |India of Aurangzib: Statistics, Topography and Roads, with translations from the Khulasat-ut-tawarikh and the Chahar Gulshan. (Not a history), pp. 300 | |2½

|6. | |Economics of British India, 3rd ed., pp. 300 + (In preparation) | |3

|7. | |Essays, Social and Literary, by , translated into English (In preparation).

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HISTORY OF AURANGZIB

Mainly based on Persian Sources.

JADUNATH SARKAR, M.A.,

Professor, Patna College.

Vol. I.

Reign of Shah Jahan.

M. C. SARKAR & SONS,

75, Harrison Road,

CALCUTTA,

1912.

KUNTALINE PRESS.

Printed by Purna Chandra Dass, 61 & 62, Bowbazar Street, Calcutta. Published by M. C. Sarkar & Sons, 75, Harrison Road, Calcutta.

CONTENTS.

Introduction.

Fullest expansion of Mughal empire under Aurangzib, xi—commencing decline, xii—rise of Marathas, Sikhs, and European trading companies, xii—administrative breakdown in Aurangzib's last years, xiv—its causes, xv—materials of his history official annals or namahs, xv—private histories written by officers, xvi—two histories by Hindus, xvii—monographs, xviii—Court bulletins, xix—contemporary letters, xix—European travellers: their value criticised, xxi—thanks for help, xxiii—spelling and dates xxvi.

Chapter I. Boyhood and Education.

Birth, 1—life during Jahangir's reign, 3—education, 4—knowledge of languages, 5—hand writing, 5—favourite studies, 7—intellectual tastes, 8—fights a furious elephant, 9—scorn of death, 11—reward, 12—first military appointment, 13.

Chapter II. The Bundela War.

Bundelkhand and its ruling clan, 14—Bir Singh Dev, 15—Jhujhar Singh subdued, 17—captures Chauragarh, 18—Mughal armies sent against him under Aurangzib, 19—capture of Urchha, 22—of Dhamuni, 23—Jhujhar pursued, 24—murdered, 25—fate of his wives and children, 27—spoils of war, 28—Urchha temple turned into mosque, 29—later Bundela resistance, 30.

Chapter III. First Viceroyalty of the Deccan.

Conquests under Akbar, 32—pause under Jahangir, 33—Shah Jahan extinguishes Ahmadnagar dynasty, 34—prepares to invade Bijapur and Golkonda, 35-Golkonda sub- mits, 36—Bijapur territory ravaged, 37—peace with Bijapur: its terms, 38—treaty with Golkonda, 41—extent of Mughal Deccan: its four provinces, 42—capture of Udgir fort, 44—of Ausa, 46—Shahji Bhonsla submits, 46—exactions from the Gond rajahs, 49—Baglana, 50—invaded, 52—annexed, 53—Kheloji Bhonsla slain, 54.

Chapter IV. Marriage and Family—Viceroyalty of Guzerat.

Persian princes in India, 57—marry into the Mughal imperial family, 57—Aurangzib married to Dilras Banu, 58—the procession, 59—his wives: Nawab Bai, 61—Udaipuri, 64—Zainabadi, 65—how won, 66—his children: Zebunnissa, 68—others, 70—Jahanara burnt, 73—recovers, 75—Aurangzib's dismissal, 76—its cause, 77—he is reinstated, 79—Guzerat: the land and the people, 80—his strong rule, 81.

Chapter V. War in Central Asia.

Badakhshan and Balkh, 83—their peoples, 85—Uzbaks and Tartars, 86—Nazar Muhammad, king of Balkh, 89—Shah Jahan wishes to conquer Central Asia, 90—folly of the attempt, 91—Badakhshan invaded, 92—Balkh occupied, 93—arrangements for holding them, 95—Aurangzib appointed viceroy, 97—the opposed forces, 97—his march on Balkh, 99—advance to Aqcha, 101—incessant fighting 102—retreat to Balkh, 104—hardships on the way, 105—his cool courage, 106—peace negotiations, 107—Mughal army evacuates Balkh, 110—sufferings during retreat, 111—losses, 112.

Chapter VI. Governorship of Multan and Sindh.

Aurangzib sent to Multan, 114—his promotions, 115—his letters as preserved in the Adab-i-Alamgiri, 116—their historical importance, 117—lawless people of the province, 118—the Hot tribe controlled, 119—the Nohani tribe, 121—expedition into Baluchistan, 121—order maintained, 123—a new port opened, 124.

Chapter VII. First siege of Qandahar.

Qandahar district described, 126—its strategic importance 128 commercial importance, 129—past history, 130—Persians besiege Qandahar fort, 132—treachery among the garrision, 135—fort surrenders, 136—incapacity of the Indian commandant, 137—Army sent to recover the fort, 138—fort of Qandahar described, 140—Aurangzib besieges it, 143—his weakness in artillery, 145—Persians defeated by Rustam Khan, 147—retreat of Indian army, 148—losses, 149.

Chapter VIII. Second Siege of Qandahar.

Aurangzib sent with a second army, 150—begins the siege, 152—night attack on Qaitul hill fails, 154—bad gunnery of the Indians, 157—failure to breach, 158—Persian losses, 160—siege abandoned, 161—Uzbak raid, 162—bitter correspondence between Shah Jahan and Aurangzib, 163—causes of the failure, 164—Mughal losses in money and men, 167—loss of military prestige, 168.

Chapter IX. Second Viceroyalty of the Deccan.

Aurangzib goes to the Deccan, 170—his life there, 171—religious bigotry, 173—Aurangabad city described, 174—administrative confusion in the Deccan, 176—its causes, 177—chronic deficit, 179—Aurangzib's financial difficulties, 182 no help from Shah Jahan, 185—wrangle between Emperor and viceroy, 186—Murshid Quli Khan, diwan of the Deccan, 189—his revenue system, 191—Aurangzib's protection of his officers, 195—increase of efficiency in garrison artillery, 197—causes of Aurangzib's differences with Shah Jahan, 199—Minor expeditions: Gond kingdom of Deogarh, 205—tribute exacted, 208—invasion of Jawhar, 209.

Chapter X. Invasion of Golkonda.

Golkonda: its wealth, 211—friction with the Mughal government, 212—Karnatak conquered by Deccani sultans, 214—Mir Jumla: his career and conquests, 216—jealousy of Qutb Shah, 219—Mir Jumla's intrigues, 220—with Aurangzib, 222—his family imprisoned at Haidarabad, 225—Shah Jahan orders their release, 228—Aurangzib invades Golkonda, 229—cavalry dash on Haidarabad, 231—plunder, 232—Aurangzib besieges fort of Golkonda, 233—his eagerness to annex the kingdom, 235—Shah Jahan orders peace, 237—terms of the treaty, 240—Aurangzib's quarrel with Shah Jahan about the Golkonda booty, 242—Qutb Shah still clings to Karnatak, 245—Sri Ranga Rayal, last ruler of the Vijaynagar line, hard pressed, 248—how treated by the Mughals, 249—Did Aurangzib capture Haidarabad by treachery? 252.

Chapter XI. War with Bijapur.

Bijapur kingdom: its growth under Muhammad Adil Shah, 253—relations with the Delhi government, 255—succession of Ali Adil Shah II., 259—Aurangzib seduces Bijapur officers, 261—Mughals wish to conquer Bijapur, 262—Aurangzib begins the invasion, 264—siege of Bidar, 265—carried by assault, 267—detachment under Mahabat Khan, 269-battle, 270—siege of Kaliani, 271—battle, 272-another battle, 274—Mughal detachment penetrates to Kulbarga, 276—fall of Kaliani, 277—terms of peace with Bijapur, 278—Mughal retreat, 280—Shivaji: his negotiations, 281—his raids, 282—how checked by Aurangzib, 282—Shivaji makes peace, 284—Parentage of Ali Adil Shah II., 285—Was Jan Muhammad corrupted by Aurangzib? 286.

Chapter XII. Illness of Shah Jahan.

Shah Jahan's long reign, 290—its glories, 291-happiness of the people, 292—Dara Shukoh: his influence, 294—his theological studies, 296—not a heretic from Islam, 298—his character, 299—Shah Jahan falls ill, 302—removes to Agra, 304—Dara's devoted attendance, 305—Dara nominated as successor, 306—tries to strengthen his own position, 307—armies sent against his brothers, 308—Aurangzib's doings, 311—Dara stops the sending of news from Court, 312—alarm and confusion in the provinces, 313—Shuja and Murad crown themselves, 315—and march on Agra, 317.

Chapter XIII. Murad crowns himself.

Murad Bakhsh: his character, 318—his wazir Ali Naqi, 320—is murdered on suspicion, 321—Murad sends an army against Surat, 323—siege of Surat, 324—booty at Surat, 325—Murad corresponds with Aurangzib for an alliance, 327—Murad proclaims himself Emperor, 329—chooses a stronghold to shelter his family in, 331—Murad's impatient ambition and Aurangzib's cautiousness, 332—intrigue with Persia, 333—partition of empire between Murad and Aurangzib, 335—sworn to by Aurangzib, 337—Murad starts, 338—and joins Aurangzib near Dipalpur, 339.

Chapter XIV. Aurangzib advances from the Deccan.

Aurangzib's anxiety and uncertainty, 340—his critical position in the Deccan, 341—his dilemma: to attend to Bijapur or to Delhi? 342—his policy, 344—sends Mir Jumla towards Parenda, 345—retreats from Kaliani and Bidar, 346—death of his wife Dilras Banu, 348—waits for news of Court, 349—despairs of getting the treaty concessions from Bijapur, 351—various devices tried, 352—Mir Jumla returns baffled, 354—Aurangzib's preparations for disputing the throne, 355—conflicting news from Delhi, and Aurangzib's distraction, 356—his letter to Mir Jumla in cypher, 357—a waiting policy, 358—Aurangzib summons Mir Jumla and collusively arrests him, 361—Aurangzib's dealings with Qutb Shah, 364—conciliation of Qutb Shah, 365—dealings with Bijapur, 366—large concessions now promised to Adil Shah, 367—Aurangzib's financial resources, 368n—his intrigue with nobles at Court, 369-his military preparations completed, 370—his able officers, 371—his arrangements for Mughal Deccan, 372—Aurangzib marches from Aurangabad, 374—halts at Burhanpur, 374—imprisons Shah Nawaz Khan, 375-crosses the Narmada and joins Murad, 376.

Introduction

INTRODUCTION.

The history of Aurangzib is practically the history of India for sixty years. His own reign (1658—1707) covers the second half of the seventeenth century and stands forth as a most important epoch in the annals of our country. Under him the Mughal empire reached its greatest extent, and the largest single State ever known in India from the dawn of history to the rise of the British power was formed. From Ghazni to Chatgaon, from Kashmir to the Karnatak, the continent of India obeyed one sceptre; and beyond this region, in far-off Ladak and Malabar, the suzerainty of the same ruler was proclaimed from the pulpit. Islam made its last onward movement in India in this reign.

The empire thus formed, while unprecedented in size, was also one political unit. Its parts were governed not by the mediation of sub-kings, but directly by the servants of the Crown. Herein Aurangzib's Indian empire was vaster than that of Asoka, or Samudra-gupta or Harsha-vardhan. No provincial governor had as yet set up his own rule and withheld revenue and obedience from the central power. There were rebellions here and there, but no other crowned head raised itself to defy the Emperor of Delhi even in any province.

But the reign that saw the formation of the greatest Indian empire of pre-British days, witnessed also unmistakable signs of its commencing decline and disruption. Long before Nadir Shah the Persian or Ahmad Shah the Afghan proved the Padishah to be an impotent shadow of royalty and Delhi the mere memory of past greatness, long before the Maratha confederacy hid beneath its super-imposed sway the regular monarchy of the land,—even before Aurangzib closed his eyes, the Mughal empire had turned bankrupt in finance and prestige, the administration had broken down, the Imperial power had confessed its failure to maintain order and hold this vast realm together.

The reign of Aurangzib is also marked by the upspringing of the Maratha nationality out of the ashes of their short-lived kingship, and by the appearance of the Sikh sect in the role of warriors and armed opponents of the ruling power. Thus the supreme factors of Indian politics in the 18th and early 19th centuries owe their origin to Aurangzib's reign and policy. In the Deccan, after kings like Adil Shah and Qutb Shah, Sambhaji and Rajah Ram, had bowed low before the Mughal blast, the people asserted themselves and drove back the spoiler from the North. To the Marathas, alone among the Indian peoples, belongs the glory of giving the first successful check to the onward advance of the Mughal power and saving their fatherland from foreign encroachment. Their development into conquerors and raiders belongs to the next age.

In the very reign in which the Mughal crescent rounded to fulness and then began to wane visibly, the first glow of a new dawn was distinctly seen in our political sky. The future lords of our country's destiny gained a firm and safe footing on its soil. Madras and Bombay became presidencies of the English East India Company in 1653 and 1689 respectively; Calcutta was founded in 1690. The shelter thus secured to the Europeans formed a dominion within a dominion, and was fortified to defy the greatest onslaughts of the "country powers." The "merchant adventurers" here began their first experiments in Oriental government and legislation,—experiments which were destined in the fulness of time to result in an empire larger than that of the Romans and more populous than that of Charles V., and a civilised and progressive administration to which the world, ancient or modern, affords no parallel.

The end of the seventeenth century reveals the Mughal empire as rotten at the core. The grand edifice which Akbar had built up and Shah Jahan and Aurangzib had extended, still looked fair as before, but it was ready to tumble down like a house of cards at the first touch of the foreign invader's lance. The Treasury was empty. The Imperial army knew itself defeated and recoiled from its foes. The centrifugal forces were asserting themselves successfully, and the empire was ready for disruption. The moral weakness of the empire was even greater than the material: the Government no longer commanded the awe of its subjects; the public servants had lost honesty and efficiency; ministers and princes alike lacked statesmanship and ability; the army broke down as an instrument of force. In letter after letter the aged Aurangzib mourns over the utter incapacity of his officers and sons and chastises them with his sharp pen, but in despair of a remedy. Contemporaries like Bhimsen and Khafi Khan, sadly contrast the misery and degradation of the nobles and the people alike in Aurangzib's closing years with the glory of the empire under his forefathers, and wonder why it was so.

Why was it so? The ruler was free from vice, stupidity, or sloth. His intellectual keenness was proverbial, and at the same time he took to the business of governing with all the ardour which men usually display in the pursuit of pleasure. In industry and attention to public affairs he could not be surpassed by any clerk. His patience and perseverance were as remarkable as his love of discipline and order. In private life he was simple and abstemious like a hermit. He faced the privations of a campaign or a forced march as uncomplainingly as the most seasoned private. No terror could daunt his heart, no weakness or pity melt it. Of the wisdom of the ancients which can be gathered from ethical books, he was a master. He had, besides, undergone a long and successful probation in war and diplomacy in his father's life time.

And yet the result of fifty years' rule by such a sovereign was failure and chaos! The cause of this political paradox is to be found in Aurangzib's policy and conduct. Hence his reign is an object of supreme interest to the student of political philosophy no less than to the student of Indian history.

Happily, the materials for a study of it are abundant in Persian, the literary language of Mughal India. First, we have the official annals,—the Padishahnaman (in three sections by three writers) and the Alamgirnamah—which cover the 41 years lying between the accession of Shah Jahan and the tenth year of Aurangzib's reign. These works were written by order, on the basis of the State papers preserved in the Imperial archives, such as official correspondence, despatches, newsletters, treaties and revenue returns. They are rich in dates and topographical details of the utmost value and accuracy, but as they were read to the Emperor and revised by him before presentation to the public, they suppress or belittle all incidents likely to throw discredit on his character or government. For the last forty years of Aurangzib's reign we have the Masir-i-Alamgiri, compiled from the same class of official records, but after his death, and hence free from the fulsome flattery and misrepresentation of the former two histories. Unfortunately, this work is very condensed and lacks the fulness and detail of the regular official annals.

Next come a class of private histories, like those of Masum, Aqil Khan, and Khafi Khan. These were written by officials, but, not having been meant for the Emperor's eyes, they supply us with many of the facts suppressed in the court annals, though their dates and names are sometimes inaccurate and their descriptions meagre. They, however, contain many personal traits and graphic touches which the more formal official histories have excluded. Khafi Khan, who has been mainly relied on by European writers, completed his work twenty-six years after the death of Aurangzib. His history is professedly an abridgement of the Court annals for the entire reign of Shah Jahan and the earlier part of that of Aurangzib, But he begins to speak with personal knowledge from about 1688 and often quotes what he had gathered from his father and his friends, who had witnessed earlier scenes. In the same class must be placed the biographical dictionary of the peers of the Mughal empire, the Masir-ul-umara, written in 1780 on the basis of the existing Persian annals, but giving many characteristic anecdotes from tradition and throwing many side-lights on the manners of past generations.

There are even two histories of Aurangzib's reign written by Hindus in the Persian tongue. One is the Nuskha-i-Dilkasha by Bhimsen Burhanpuri, the business man of Aurangzib's general Dalpat Rao Bundela. This author was an active traveller, with a good eye for topographical details, and a careful recorder of all he saw from Mathura to Malabar. His work is of special value for Deccan affairs, because there he was brought up and spent nearly all his life. He lived near enough to the Imperial Court to learn facts accurately, but was not so closely connected with it as to be a lying flatterer. The other is the Fatuhat-i-Alamgiri of Isar-das Nagar, who long served the Shaikh-ul-Islam and lived at Pattan in Guzerat. This work is of great importance for Rajput affairs.

Besides these general histories of the reign, we have monographs in Persian touching only particular episodes or personages of the time,—such as Niamat Khan Ali's account of the siege of Golkonda, Shihabuddin Talish's diary of the conquest of Kuch Bihar, Assam, and Chatgaon, the memoirs of Iradat Khan and of some other servants of Bahadur Shah I. which start from the closing years of Aurangzib's reign. Of the two Deccani kingdoms of Golkonda and Bijapur we have separate histories, which throw light on the dealings of the Mughal Government with them. On the Maratha side there are chronicles (Bakhars) of Shivaji, Sambhaji, and Rajah Ram written by their officers and others. Mr. Rajwade is said to have hunted out a number of historical letters of the 17th century in Marathi for inclusion in the Aitihasik Lekh Sangraha series.

The Royal Asiatic Society of London has a box of Court bulletins of Aurangzib's time (Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Muala). They are bare skeletons,—dry, extremely brief, and good only for dates. Only a few have been preserved for the first 22 years of the reign, but from the 36th year they are more numerous.

The accounts of Aurangzib's reign now current in India, especially in Urdu, are based on works like the Tarikh-i-Muhammad Shahi, and the Tarikh-i-Farah-Bakhsh, written long after the events and merely reproducing the bazar gossip and popular traditions. Not being based on official records and other contemporary sources of information, their evidence must be rejected wherever they conflict with the earlier and authoritative histories of Aurangzib's reign. These unreliable but picturesque works have inspired Dow's History of Hindostan and Stewart's History of Bengal, and continue to perpetuate many historical heresies in the popular belief of India.

Most fortunately, for several portions of Aurangzib's reign I have been able to secure the very raw materials of history,—a source of information even more valuable than the contemporary official annals described above. These are the LETTERS of the actors in the political drama of the 17th century, of which nearly three thousand are in my possession. In them we see events as they happened day by day, and not as they were dressed up afterwards by writers with a purpose. In them we see the actual hopes and fears, plans and opinions of those who made Indian history. To this class belong the letters of Aurangzib (forming many different and bulky collections, to be described in the bibliography), of his father, brothers and sisters (in the Faiyaz-ul-qawanin, Lucknow MS.), of Jai Singh (in the Haft Anjuman, Benares MS.), of Aurangzib's fourth son Prince Akbar (in the Adab-i-Alamgiri, the Zahur-ul-insha, and the Khatut-i-Shivaji), of Shah Abbas II. (in a MS. picked up by me in the Lucknow bazar), the Mughal-Maratha correspondence in the Khatut-i-Shivaji, and the letters of various officials such as Nur-ul-Hassan, Radandaz Khan, and Lutfullah Khan, besides several miscellaneous collections in the libraries of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, the India Office of London, and the Nawab of Rampur. Mr. P. V. Mawji of Bombay has collected some Persian letters addressed to Shivaji and his father, but he has declined to let other scholars use them.

An extremely interesting collection of anecdotes about Aurangzib with many of his sayings and orders on petitions, is the Ahkam-i-Alamgiri, ascribed to Hamiduddin Khan Nimchah, which I have translated as Anecdotes of Aurungzib.

We have a cloud of witnesses,—both professed histories and collections of letters,—for the beginning and the end of Aurangzib's reign; but the intervening period of nearly thirty years (1667-1696) is comparatively dark. I, however, believe that many other historical letters of these decades can still be discovered in India, especially in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, if my educated countrymen interest themselves in the quest and make it a point to examine the Persian MSS. in private possession with knowledge and care.

The European travellers, Tavernier, Bernier, and Manucci, who visited India in this reign, have left long accounts of the country. Their works are of undoubted value as throwing light on the condition of the people, the state of trade and industry, and the history of the Christian churches in India. Moreover, the criticism of Indian institutions by foreign observers has a freshness and weight all its own. But of the political history of India, apart from the few events in which they took part or which they personally witnessed, their report merely reproduced the bazar rumours and the stories current among the populace, and cannot be set against the evidence of contemporary histories and letters in Persian. Tavernier and Bernier touch only the beginning of the reign; the former took most of his facts from Bernier, who, again, was indebted to Manucci for several particulars. The last-named writer's Storia do Mogor covers the whole reign; but he was a run-away lad of poor education when he reached India, and, as is admitted by his able editor, was a credulous listener. He wrote long after most of the events, and from memory; hence we cannot expect accuracy in his narrative. From their position these foreign travellers had no access to the best sources of information; the State archives were closed to them. They visited the makers of Indian history only occasionally and as suppliants for favours; hence they could not derive the oral information which only familiar intercourse with the highest personages in camp and Court could have given them. Finally, their imperfect knowledge of literary Persian prevented them from using the written annals of the time and checking the reports they had received orally. For instance, Manucci's story of how Aurangzib, when travelling slenderly guarded, met with Jai Singh at the head of an army and with great presence of mind hailed him as a friend (Storia, i. 320), is proved by the known dates to have been impossible. The official annals are so detailed that any wrong date in them clashes with what goes before and after, and can be at once detected. We must accept their dates as against those supplied by the European travellers. Hence, in my narrative, I have not been able to use Bernier and Manucci except to a limited extent, viz., where they supplement the official histories or record the writers' personal experiences.

I cannot place this history before the public without acknowledging the deep debt of gratitude I owe to the late Mr. William Irvine, I.C.S., the author of the Later Mughals. He freely lent me his own Persian MSS., took great pains in securing on my behalf permission from European public libraries to take copies of their MSS., and beat down the rates demanded by photographers in London and Paris for mechanically reproducing (by a process called 'rotary bromide print') Persian MSS. for me. In every difficulty and doubt that I have appealed to him, he has given prompt assistance and advice. A certain Indian Nawab has a rare volume of Persian historical letters. I secured his permission to take a copy of it at my expense, and engaged a scribe. But for more than a year the Nawab's officers under various pretexts refused my man access to the MS. At last, in despair I wrote to Mr. Irvine about the case. He wrote to one of his friends, high in the Civil Service of the U. P., and this gentleman communicated with the Nawab. The owner of the MS. now had it copied at his own expense, bound the transcript in silk and morocco, and presented it to Mr. Irvine, who lent it to me as soon as he received it!

Mr. Irvine criticised and emended the first five chapters of this history, as carefully and minutely as if it were his own work. His lamented death has robbed me of the pleasure of presenting these volumes to him; but I am happy that I could show him at least a portion of the book, and I have been heartened in my undertaking by the following cordial appreciation from a critic of his standing and ability:—

"I like the style—from this first impression,—it being a judicious compromise between the over-crowded stiffness of my Later Mughals and mere popular, journalese writing,—yet without any sacrifice of exactness." And again, "I like very much your attention to genealogy and topography and above all your recourse to all modern sources of information—the Indian Atlas and modern travellers."

Dr. C. R. Wilson, the historian of the Early Annals of the English in Bengal, who encouraged my historical studies and recommended me, unsolicited, to the Bengal Government for aid, is also beyond the reach of my thanks. The Education Department of Bengal, at his instance, very kindly made a grant of £39 5s. for getting copies of the MSS. I needed from the Bodleian, the British Museum, and the Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris,—the copies to remain in the Imperial Library, Calcutta, as Government property, after I had done with them. The Secretary of State for India has lent me Persian MSS. from the India Office Library on four occasions and the Royal Asiatic Society of London twice, for which priceless help I am deeply indebted to them.

My thanks are due to the authorities of the Khuda Bakhsh Library (Bankipur), the Bodleian, the British Museum, the Cambridge University Library, the Bibliotheque Nationale (Paris), and the Berlin Royal Library, and to H. H. the Nawab of Rampur, Nawab Abdus Salam Khan Bahadur (late Sub-Judge, Oudh), Major Vaman Das Basu, I.M.S. (ret.), and Munshi Shyam Sundar Lal (of Benares), for their enlightened courtesy in allowing me to take copies of certain of their Persian MSS.

Among friends in India who have taken pains for me in securing the permission of owners of MSS. and engaging copyists, I gratefully mention Hafiz Ahmad Ali Khan (Rampur State), Mr. D. N. Mallik (Electrical Engineer) and Mr. Maqbul Alam, B.A., LL.B., (Benares). Nor should I omit the name of my former colleague, Maulvi Abdul Hai, Lecturer, Patna College, to whom I have gone in every difficulty in interpreting Persian and who gave much of his time to collating the Persian MSS. copied for me.

In the spelling of Eastern words I have followed the Hunterian system, restricting u to express the sound of oo, except in a very small number of cases (such as Jumna, nullah, Calcutta, &c.) I have also in a few instances (like Barhamdeo) refrained from Sanskritising Hindi proper names, in order to avoid too great a departure from the popular pronunciation. All the dates in the Hijera era have been converted to the Christian era according to the Old Style.

Two volumes of my history are now placed before the public. A third is expected to be ready in manuscript a year hence. To complete this long reign of 50 years and give some account of the condition of the people, trade, life and manners, two more volumes at least will be needed. I am now on the threshhold of my subject and can see its distant end but dimly.

July, 1912.

Jadunath Sarkar.

⁂ Chapters I-IX, XI—XV, XIX, XXIII and XXIV were first printed in the Modern Review and a portion of Ch. XXV in the Indian Review; but they have been thoroughly revised and emended before publication in their present form.

Chapter 1

The History of Aurangzib.

CHAPTER I.

Boyhood And Education, 1618–1634.

Muhiuddin Muhammad Aurangzib, who ascended the throne of Delhi as Alamgir I., was the sixth child of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, the royal couple who lie buried in the famous Taj Mahal. His grandfather, the Emperor Jahangir, after putting down one of Malik Ambar's attempts to revive the Ahmadnagar kingship, was leisurely making a royal progress from Guzerat to Agra, with Shah Jahan and his family in his train, when at Dohad, on the way to Ujjain, Aurangzib was born, in the night of 15th Ziqada, 1027 A.H. (or, according to European calculation, the night preceding Sunday, 24th October, 1618 A.D., Old Style). A few days afterwards when the Imperial Court reached Ujjain, the capital of Malwa, the princely infant's birth was celebrated with befitting splendour.

Aurangzib cherished an affectionate memory of the place of his birth; we find him in his old age writing to his son Muhammad Azam, "Noble son, the village of Dohad, in the province of Guzerat, is the birth-place of this sinner. Deem it proper to treat its inhabitants with kindness. Conciliate and retain at his post the old man who has been its faujdar for a long time past."

Shah Jahan was intensely devoted to his wife Mumtaz Mahal, and never in her life parted from her in weal or woe. Wherever he moved, whether marching on a campaign, visiting different provinces, or, in Jahangir's later years, fleeing from his father's wrath through the wilderness of Telingana to Bengal,—his wife always bore him company. Thus, Aurangzib was born on the return march from the Deccan and Murad Bakhsh in the fort of Rohtas in South Bihar.