Latest / Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History / Aurangzeb's Siege of Golconda: The Fall of the Qutb Shahi Dynasty
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Aurangzeb's campaigns in the Deccan — Bijapur, the Maratha war, the siege of Jinji. But there's one major conquest we haven't touched on yet: the fall of Golconda in 1687. And it's a story that brings together diamonds, treachery, and the end of one of the most culturally rich kingdoms in South Asia. Luna: Golconda — that's the diamond kingdom, right? The one with the koh i noor? Lucas: Exactly. The Qutb Shahi dynasty had ruled from Golconda fort since the early 16th century, and they controlled some of the richest diamond mines in the medieval world — mines at Kollur and elsewhere that produced gems like the koh i noor and the Hope Diamond, though the Hope came later. By the 1680s, the sultan was Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, known as Tana Shah — a cultured, Shia ruler who patronized Persian poetry, built the beautiful Charminar in Hyderabad, and maintained a court that was a center of learning and trade. Luna: So why did Aurangzeb target him? Golconda wasn't a military threat like the Marathas. Lucas: That's a great question. There were several layers. First, Golconda was a Shia state, and Aurangzeb's orthodox Sunni credentials made him suspicious of Shia influence in the Deccan. Second, Golconda had given refuge to one of Aurangzeb's rebellious sons, Prince Muhammad Akbar, who had fled after his failed revolt with Rajput support. And third, there was the wealth. Golconda's diamond trade made it fabulously rich, and Aurangzeb needed money to fund his endless Deccan wars. The French traveler Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who visited Golconda several times in the 1650s and 1660s, wrote in his 'Travels in India' about the diamond bazaars and the royal monopoly on the finest stones. Luna: Tavernier — he's the one who saw the koh i noor before it came to the Mughals? Lucas: Yes, he described it as a 'round brilliant' diamond weighing about 186 carats — though it was later recut. But back to the siege: Aurangzeb marched from Aurangabad in early 1687 with a massive army, accompanied by his son Azam Shah. The siege of Golconda fort began in February and lasted eight months. The fort was considered nearly impregnable — massive granite walls, a series of concentric fortifications, and a moat. Aurangzeb brought heavy artillery — siege guns that could fire 40-pound shot — but the Qutb Shahi defenses held. The Mughals tried mining — digging tunnels under the walls and packing them with gunpowder — but the defenders countermined, and there were brutal underground battles. Luna: Eight months — that's a long time for a Mughal siege. Why didn't they storm it? Lucas: Golconda was incredibly well supplied. The fort had its own water sources and stored enough grain for years. The Mughals tried to starve them out, but Abul Hasan had merchants smuggling supplies in through the siege lines. There's a famous story — probably true — that he paid his soldiers with diamonds. He would sit on the ramparts tossing gems to his troops to keep morale high. But in the end, it wasn't military force that brought down Golconda. It was treachery. Luna: A traitor from inside the fort? Lucas: Yes. A Qutb Shahi commander named Abdullah Khan Pani, who had been bribed by the Mughals, opened one of the fort's gates on the night of September 21, 1687. The Mughal army poured in. Abul Hasan was captured while praying in his mosque. He was taken to Aurangzeb's camp, where the emperor humiliated him by making him walk on foot and then imprisoned him in Daulatabad fort, where he died in 1699. Golconda was looted, and the koh i noor diamond was seized and brought into the Mughal treasury. It later passed through Persian, Afghan, and Sikh hands before ending up in the British Crown Jewels. Luna: And that was the end of the Qutb Shahi dynasty. But what happened to Golconda itself under Mughal rule? Lucas: Aurangzeb annexed the kingdom, appointing a Mughal governor. But he made a point of destroying Shia mosques and converting the main Shia shrine into a Sunni one. The city of Hyderabad, which the Qutb Shahis had founded, declined as the Mughal capital shifted to Aurangabad. But the legacy of Golconda lived on in its architecture — the Charminar, the Qutb Shahi tombs — and in the diamonds that still inspire legends. For Aurangzeb, the conquest was a short-term gain — a huge influx of treasure — but it also stretched his empire even further, making it harder to control. Luna: It seems like every conquest in the Deccan just added more territory to an already overstretched empire. Lucas: Exactly. And that's part of the tragedy of Aurangzeb's reign. He was a brilliant military strategist and a devout ruler, but his relentless expansion created the very problems that would unravel the empire after his death. Golconda's fall was a pinnacle of Mughal power, but it was also a step toward the empire's fragmentation. And you know, all these episodes we've done — the Maratha war, the Rathore rebellion, the Jat revolts — they're all connected to this same overreach. Luna: Speaking of connecting, it's nice to have a show that doesn't interrupt the story with ads. We've been doing these deep dives for over a hundred episodes now, and the fact that we can talk about siege tactics and diamond traitors without a mid-roll break feels right. Lucas: Absolutely. We deliberately keep this ad-free, and if listeners find value in that — and want to support the work that goes into researching these stories — there's a link at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's the only way we keep the show independent. Anyway, back to Golconda: the fall of the fort didn't just end a dynasty — it also marked a shift in the diamond trade. European companies like the English and Dutch East India companies started getting direct access to the mines, bypassing the Qutb Shahi middlemen. Luna: So the Mughals essentially opened the door for European control of the diamond trade? Lucas: In a way, yes. The Mughals didn't have the infrastructure to manage the mines themselves — they relied on local contractors and European merchants. Within a generation, the diamond trade shifted from Golconda's royal monopoly to a private, European-dominated network. And that's another thread that leads to the British colonial period. But that's a story for another episode. Luna: I think the image that sticks with me is the sultan tossing diamonds to his soldiers from the ramparts. It's such a vivid picture of decadence and desperation. Lucas: It is. And it's a reminder that even in the face of overwhelming imperial power, there's always a human story — of loyalty, betrayal, and survival. The koh i noor that sits in the Tower of London today passed through that siege, and every time you see it, you're seeing a piece of Golconda's blood-soaked earth.