Latest / Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History / Aurangzeb's Bengal Policy and the Rise of the Nawabs
Transcript
- Lucas: We've talked a lot about the Deccan, about the Marathas, about the Rajputs. But there's a part of Aurangzeb's empire we haven't really touched — Bengal. And it's fascinating because Bengal was the richest province of the Mughal Empire, and Aurangzeb's policies there had consequences that outlasted his own reign. Luna: What made Bengal so wealthy? Lucas: Its position on the Bay of Bengal funneled trade from the east — spices, textiles, saltpeter. The Ganges delta was incredibly fertile. But when Aurangzeb came to power, Bengal was in chaos. The Portuguese pirates from their base in Hooghly were raiding the coast, and so were the Magh pirates from the kingdom of Arakan in modern-day Myanmar. They were capturing thousands of Bengalis and selling them as slaves. Luna: Slave raiding on that scale — I didn't realize. Lucas: It was a massive problem. So in 1660, Aurangzeb appointed his uncle Shaista Khan as governor of Bengal. Shaista Khan was a seasoned administrator and general. He'd been governor of Gujarat and the Deccan. Aurangzeb gave him a massive army and said, 'Fix this.' Lucas: Shaista Khan's first move was to build a Mughal navy — something the empire had neglected. He established shipyards in Dhaka and commissioned warships. He also hired a renegade Portuguese captain named Pedro Tavares, who had defected to the Mughals. Tavares commanded a fleet of Portuguese-style vessels armed with cannons. Luna: A Portuguese captain fighting against other Portuguese pirates. That's a twist. Lucas: Exactly. Shaista Khan's campaign against the pirates culminated in 1666 when he captured the island of Sondip from the Arakanese. That effectively broke the back of the Magh pirate fleets. He also expelled the Portuguese from Hooghly, destroying their fort and ending their pirate base. Lucas: Then Shaista Khan turned to administration. He moved the provincial capital from Rajmahal to Dhaka, which he renamed Jahangirnagar. There he built the Lalbagh Fort, a massive complex that was meant to be the center of Mughal power in Bengal. The fort was never fully completed, but its gate and the tomb of his daughter — Pari Bibi — are still there. Luna: What happened to Shaista Khan? Did he stay in Bengal? Lucas: He governed Bengal for nearly two decades, until 1677. During that time, he restored order and boosted revenues. The French traveler François Bernier visited Bengal in the 1660s and described Dhaka as a thriving city of trade. But Aurangzeb eventually recalled Shaista Khan to the Deccan to help in the war against the Marathas. Lucas: And here's where the long-term consequence kicks in. After Shaista Khan left, a series of governors followed, but the real power shifted to the provincial nobility and the bankers of Bengal. By the early 1700s, one of Aurangzeb's governors, Murshid Quli Khan, became effectively independent. Luna: So Aurangzeb's own policies created a semi-autonomous state within the empire? Lucas: Exactly. Murshid Quli Khan was a Brahmin convert to Islam who had been a revenue official. He moved the capital to Murshidabad and ruled Bengal almost like his own kingdom while still technically acknowledging Mughal suzerainty. When Aurangzeb died in 1707, the Nawabs of Bengal became de facto rulers. Lucas: And a century later, those Nawabs were the ones who faced the British East India Company at Plassey. So in a way, Aurangzeb's conquest and administration of Bengal set the stage for the British takeover — but that's another episode. Luna: So Aurangzeb's involvement in Bengal wasn't just about tax and piracy — it was a chain reaction that shaped Indian history for centuries. Lucas: If today's deep dive into Bengal was worth a coffee to you, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Just a small way to keep these conversations going. Luna: Yeah, it's a small ask for the amount of research you put into each episode. Lucas: Exactly. And speaking of research, let's circle back to Shaista Khan's naval campaign. One of the most interesting sources we have is Niccolao Manucci's Storia do Mogor. He was a Venetian traveler who served in the Mughal court, and he provides vivid details of the naval battles in the Bay of Bengal. Lucas: Manucci describes how the Mughal fleet, under the renegade Portuguese captain, used fire ships against the Magh vessels. Fire ships were old boats filled with combustibles, set alight and sent drifting into enemy fleets. It was a tactic borrowed from European naval warfare. Luna: Fire ships in the Bay of Bengal — that's an image I won't forget. Lucas: Aurangzeb personally decorated Shaista Khan with honors for his success. But the emperor also imposed the jizya tax on non-Muslims in Bengal, as he did elsewhere. That created resentment among the Hindu zamindars, the local landlords who controlled the countryside. Luna: So even in the richest province, religious policy created friction. Lucas: Yes. And that friction would outlast Aurangzeb. The zamindars became a base for opposition to Mughal rule. But during Aurangzeb's lifetime, Bengal was a cash cow. The revenues from Bengal funded his Deccan campaigns. In fact, some historians argue that without Bengal's wealth, the Deccan war would have collapsed earlier. Lucas: One more detail — Shaista Khan also built the Shahi Eidgah in Dhaka, a vast open-air prayer ground that still exists. And he patronized the textile industry. Bengali muslin was world-famous. The emperor's own robes were made from it. Luna: It's amazing how regional history gets overshadowed by the big Deccan narrative. Lucas: That's why we're doing this episode. Aurangzeb's Bengal policy wasn't just a footnote — it was a turning point. It secured the richest province, but it also planted the seeds of a semi-independent state that would challenge the empire's successors. Lucas: And if you want to see the remains of Shaista Khan's Dhaka, the Lalbagh Fort is still there, a beautiful red-brick complex with a mosque, a tomb, and a museum. It's a piece of Aurangzeb's empire that survived the centuries. Luna: I'll have to put that on my travel list. Lucas: So to wrap up — Aurangzeb's Bengal was a story of conquest, administration, and unintended consequences. It shows how even a successful imperial policy can create the conditions for its own undoing. Luna: And that's a theme we see again and again in his reign. Lucas: Exactly. Until next time, keep stepping into history.