Latest / Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History / Aurangzeb's Persian Wars: The Shattered Frontier
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Aurangzeb's wars in the Deccan, the Marathas, the Bijapur campaign. But there's another frontier that really shaped his later years, and it's one that often gets overshadowed. I'm talking about the Persian frontier. Luna: The Safavids, right? I always thought Aurangzeb had a pretty stable relationship with them. Lucas: That's the conventional wisdom, and for a while it held. But by the late 17th century, the Safavid Empire was weakening, and the Mughals had their own troubles. The flashpoint was Kandahar. That city had been a bone of contention between the Mughals and Safavids for over a century — Shah Jahan had taken it in 1638, but it was lost again in 1649. Lucas: Aurangzeb, focused on the Deccan, never seriously tried to retake it. He left it in Safavid hands. But that decision had consequences. The region around Kandahar was a hub of trade routes, and the local Pashtun tribes were growing restless. Luna: So the Pashtun tribes — they were the ones who eventually rose up against the Safavids? Lucas: Exactly. And the key figure here is Mirwais Hotak. He was a Ghilji Pashtun leader from Kandahar. In 1709, he led a revolt against the Safavid governor, Gurgin Khan. Gurgin was a Georgian who had been appointed by the Safavid shah, and he was brutal. Mirwais managed to assassinate him and then took control of Kandahar. Luna: So this is while Aurangzeb is still alive? He died in 1707, so this was just after. Lucas: Right. Aurangzeb died in 1707, and Mirwais's revolt began in 1709. So the Mughal succession crisis and the weakening of the empire meant they couldn't intervene. But here's the thing — Mirwais wasn't just rebelling against the Safavids. He was playing both sides. He actually visited the Mughal court in 1711, seeking recognition. But the Mughals, under Bahadur Shah, were too weak to assert control. Lucas: The Hotaki rebellion snowballed. By 1722, Mirwais's son, Mahmud Hotak, led an army to the Safavid capital, Isfahan, and laid siege to it. The siege lasted seven months. The Safavid shah, Sultan Husayn, surrendered. It was a catastrophic blow. Luna: So the Mughals just watched this happen? They didn't try to help the Safavids? Lucas: No, they were in no position to help. They had their own problems — the Maratha raids, the Sikh revolts, the internal succession struggles. And honestly, the Mughals and Safavids had a long history of rivalry. But the collapse of the Safavids created a power vacuum in Persia, and that eventually drew in Nadir Shah, who would later invade India. Lucas: There's this poet, Khushal Khattak, a Pashtun leader from the 17th century. He wrote about the Mughal failure to protect the frontier. He was bitter about Aurangzeb's policies, especially the jizya, and he saw the Mughals as tyrants. His poetry is full of calls for Pashtun unity. Luna: So from the Pashtun perspective, this was a liberation from both Safavid and Mughal control. Lucas: Exactly. And that's a thread that runs through the 18th century. The Hotaki dynasty didn't last long — Nadir Shah crushed them in 1729 — but they broke the Safavid hold, and that set the stage for the rise of the Durrani Empire under Ahmad Shah Durrani. Luna: And Ahmad Shah Durrani was the one who invaded India and sacked Delhi, right? Lucas: He did, in 1757. But that's a story for another episode. For now, the key takeaway is that Aurangzeb's neglect of the northwestern frontier was a strategic error. He poured all his energy into the Deccan, and the periphery fell apart. Lucas: You know, this is something we don't really talk about in most history shows. But these are the kinds of decisions that echo for generations. Luna: And it's why we keep coming back to these stories. There's always another layer. Lucas: Exactly. And that's also why we keep this show ad-free. We want to tell these stories without any commercial interruption. If you value that and want to support it, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Just a simple way to keep going. Luna: Yeah, it makes a difference. And we really appreciate it. Lucas: So back to the frontier. One of the interesting details is that Aurangzeb actually appointed his son, Prince Mu'azzam, to govern the northwest for a time. But even he couldn't stabilize it. The tribes were too restive, and the Mughal garrisons were stretched thin. Luna: Was there any attempt to negotiate with the tribes? Lucas: There were attempts, but they were half-hearted. The Mughals used a mix of subsidies and punitive expeditions. But Aurangzeb's religious policies alienated many of the Pashtun leaders. The jizya, the destruction of temples — it all fueled resentment. Khushal Khattak's poetry is full of that anger. Lucas: And then there's the economic dimension. The Silk Road trade passed through Kandahar. When the Mughals lost control of that corridor, it hurt their revenues. The Safavids also suffered, but the Mughals were already in decline. Luna: So the loss was more than just territorial. It was economic and strategic. Lucas: Exactly. And it's one of those things that historians debate: could Aurangzeb have handled it differently? Some argue that if he'd secured the northwest, the empire might have lasted longer. But his obsession with the Deccan was all-consuming. Luna: It's like he was fighting a war on two fronts, but only paying attention to one. Lucas: Exactly. And the frontier he ignored became the gateway for the invasions that would eventually bring down the Mughals. It's a classic story of imperial overreach. Lucas: So next time you hear about Aurangzeb, remember: the Deccan wasn't the only place where his policies had long-term consequences. Luna: That's a good place to leave it.