Aurangzeb was one of the boldest Mughal emperors and during his reign, India was one of the richest nations in the world. His win over an elephant that had attacked him, got him much respect among his family members and the Mughal court. The win also got him the title Bahadur. He was born on November 4, 1618.
On his 397th birth anniversary today, listed are some facts you should definitely know about the one who is known as the most cruel ruler, India have ever had:
Aurangzeb was born as Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb and is commonly known as Aurangzeb Alamgir
After his fight and win over a war elephant who had stampeded through the Mughal Imperial encampment, earned him the title of Bahadur. Thereafter, his father, Shah Jahan, weighed him in gold and presented him gifts worth Rs 200,000. He was only 15 years old then
Just after an year of that fight, Aurangzeb was given his first command, comprising 10,000 horses and 4,000 troopers
At the age of 18, Aurangzeb became viceroy of the Deccan
It is said that just three weeks after he became the viceroy, his sister died in a fire. This led to his exile from the post of viceroy of Deccan
It is well known that during his reign he banned singing, dancing and playing musical instruments in his empire
He could not tolerate other religions like his father and grandfather. He destroyed many Hindu temples
He was not anti-Hindu but kept changing his policies depending on the situation. He also made generous donations of jagirs to several temples to win the sympathies of his Hindu subjects
Under his reign, censors were appointed to enforce morals, and laws were issued against prostitution, gambling, drinking, and narcotics
Aurangzeb was hugely into academics and religious education. His daily allowance was Rs 500 which he usually spent on educating himself more
He built up his treasure with imposed taxes, but at his time, the nation was the richest in the world
He never believed in spending royal money for frivolous expenditure, thus never built any monuments
During his reign, he only got the Moti Masjid, two outer defence walls of Red Fort in Delhi, and the Bibi ka Maqbara in Aurangabad, built
The first prominent execution during his reign was that of his brother, Dara Shikoh, who was accused of being influenced by Hinduism
Aurangzeb also had his allied brother, Murad Baksh, held for murder, judged and then executed
Aurangzeb was also accused of poisoning his imprisoned nephew, Sulaiman Shikoh.
Courtesy: Indiatoday
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/education/story/mughal-emperor-aurangzeb/1/514926.html