Latest / Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History / Aurangzeb's Kashmir: The Emperor's Summer Retreat and Final Resting Place
Transcript
- Luna: We've talked so much about Aurangzeb's wars and policies — but I've always wondered: did he ever take a break? Lucas: He did, actually. And his favorite escape was Kashmir. Aurangzeb visited the valley multiple times during his reign, especially in the summers. He called it 'the paradise of the world' — a phrase that appears in the maasir i alamgiri. Lucas: Kashmir had been a Mughal possession since Akbar annexed it in 1586. By Aurangzeb's time, it was a summer capital of sorts. The court would pack up and move from Delhi to Srinagar, a journey of about 800 kilometers that took weeks. Luna: So he used it like a hill station — but for running the empire? Lucas: Exactly. The Mughals were deeply influenced by Persianate garden culture, and Kashmir offered something no other province could: a landscape that actually matched the descriptions of paradise in Persian poetry. Rivers, springs, lush valleys, snow-capped mountains. Lucas: Aurangzeb was particularly fond of the Shalimar Bagh in Srinagar. It had been built by his father Shah Jahan, but Aurangzeb expanded it. He added a new pavilion and restored the water channels. The garden is still there today, with its famous black marble pavilion and cascading fountains. Luna: Wait, was that the same Shalimar Bagh that Jahangir also used? Lucas: There are two. Jahangir built one in Lahore — that's the one you're thinking of, the Shalimar Gardens. But the one in Kashmir, also called Shalimar Bagh, was built by Shah Jahan. Aurangzeb made it his own. He also patronized the Nishat Bagh and the Chashma Shahi, though those were built by his brother Dara Shikoh. Lucas: What's interesting is that Aurangzeb didn't just go there for leisure. He used Kashmir as a base for military campaigns against the Yusufzai Afghans in the northwest. The maasir i alamgiri records him personally leading expeditions from Srinagar into the hills. Luna: So it was a vacation spot and a war room combined. Lucas: Pretty much. The climate was cooler, the air was clean, and it was far from the heat and politics of Delhi. But Kashmir also had a thriving export economy — shawls, saffron, dried fruits. Aurangzeb took a keen interest in the shawl trade. He even imposed a tax on shawl production, which the local weavers resented. Luna: There's a story about that, isn't there? The weavers' protest? Lucas: Yes, in the 1660s, the Kashmiri shawl weavers went on strike when Aurangzeb tried to fix prices and levy new duties. The maasir i alamgiri says they marched to the emperor's camp and presented their case. Aurangzeb actually listened and reduced some of the taxes. It's one of those rare moments where he shows a more conciliatory side. Luna: He could be pragmatic when it suited him. Lucas: Absolutely. But Kashmir also reminds us of something darker. Aurangzeb's reign saw the decline of religious tolerance. He reimposed the jizya tax on non-Muslims, and in Kashmir — which was predominantly Muslim but had a significant Hindu minority — there were reports of temple demolitions and forced conversions. Though some modern historians argue these were exaggerated by later writers. Lucas: Let me circle back to something I find really moving. Aurangzeb died in 1707 at his camp in Ahmednagar, in the Deccan. He was 88 years old. His last wish was to be buried in a simple, open grave in Khuldabad, near the tomb of a Sufi saint. Luna: Not in Kashmir, not in Delhi — in a tiny town in the Deccan. Lucas: Exactly. He specifically forbade any grand mausoleum. The maasir i alamgiri records his instructions: no dome, no enclosure, just a grave exposed to the sky. He even said the money should be given to the poor. And that's exactly what happened. His grave in Khuldabad is a simple marble slab with no ornamentation. Luna: That's such a contrast with his love for Kashmir's gardens. Lucas: I think that's the point. The paradise he sought in life — the gardens of Kashmir — he ultimately rejected in death. He chose an ascetic's resting place. It says something about his character: the tension between worldly power and religious humility. He expanded the empire to its greatest extent, but he wanted to be buried like a common man. Luna: There's a story about his funeral too, right? Lucas: Yes. When he died, his body was carried from Ahmednagar to Khuldabad — a distance of about 30 kilometers — by a small procession. No fanfare. His son Azam Shah wanted a grand ceremony, but the emperor's will was respected. The grave was dug and he was laid to rest in the clothes he died in. Lucas: You know, this show exists because listeners like you value this kind of deep dive. We don't run ads — no sponsors interrupting the story. If you'd like to support that choice, the link is buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a simple way to keep these conversations going. Luna: Yeah, and every contribution really helps us keep it ad-free. Lucas: So, back to Kashmir. Despite never being buried there, Aurangzeb left a lasting mark on the valley. His patronage of gardens, his military campaigns, and his tax policies all shaped Kashmir's history. And the irony is that the region he loved so much became a symbol of the empire's contradictions. Luna: Contradictions — that's a good word for Aurangzeb's whole reign. Lucas: Exactly. He wanted to conquer and rule justly, but his policies alienated many. He cherished Kashmir's beauty but couldn't afford to be buried there. Maybe he knew that paradise, whether in this world or the next, wasn't something he could own.