Latest / Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History / Aurangzeb's Rebel Son Prince Akbar and the Maratha Alliance
Transcript
- Lucas: So you know how Aurangzeb spent the last 25 years of his life camped out in the Deccan, chasing Maratha guerrilla bands? Luna: Right, the longest military campaign of his reign. Lucas: Well, what a lot of people don't realize is that the biggest threat to his throne during those years came not from the Marathas, but from his own son. Prince Akbar, his third son, rebelled in 1681. He actually allied with the Maratha king Sambhaji and a Rajput chieftain named Durgadas Rathore. Lucas: If you've been coming along with these episodes on Aurangzeb, you know we're able to go deep because of listener support. A few dollars a month on buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo keeps us ad-free and independent. Luna: It really makes a difference. We don't have corporate sponsors, just folks who care about history. Lucas: Exactly. So anyway, back to Prince Akbar. He was born in 1657 to Aurangzeb and a Rajput princess, Nawab Bai. Unlike his brothers, he had a reputation for being impulsive and ambitious. Luna: So what sparked the rebellion? Lucas: A combination of factors. Akbar had been placed in charge of the Deccan campaigns, but felt sidelined by his father. He saw how Aurangzeb had treated his own brothers — Dara Shikoh executed, Murad killed, Shuja fled — and decided to strike first. In early 1681, he declared himself emperor from a camp near modern-day Aurangabad. Lucas: He immediately sent envoys to Sambhaji, offering a joint front against Aurangzeb. Sambhaji saw an opportunity to weaken the Mughals and agreed. Together they controlled a large swath of the Deccan. Durgadas Rathore also brought Rajput cavalry from Marwar. Luna: This must have terrified Aurangzeb. Lucas: Absolutely. According to the maasir i alamgiri, Aurangzeb was reportedly shocked and deeply wounded. He personally led an army against his son. But the rebellion collapsed almost as quickly as it began. Sambhaji's forces were unreliable, and Akbar's own commanders began to defect when they saw the imperial army approach. Lucas: By November 1681, Akbar was on the run. He fled to the Portuguese fortress at Diu, then sailed for Persia. He reached the court of Shah Suleiman in Isfahan in 1683. Luna: What did the Safavids do with him? Lucas: They welcomed him as a refugee, but never provided military support to reclaim the throne. Akbar spent the rest of his life in exile, writing bitter poems about his father. He died in 1704, three years before Aurangzeb. Lucas: The rebellion had lasting consequences. It drained Mughal resources that could have been used against the Marathas, and it proved that even the emperor's family was not immune to the centrifugal forces tearing the empire apart. Luna: So Aurangzeb won, but at what cost? Lucas: Exactly. He became more paranoid, relying ever more on his spy network. And the Marathas, emboldened by their brief alliance with a Mughal prince, continued to expand. The rebellion of Prince Akbar was a turning point — a crack in the facade of Mughal unity that never fully healed. Lucas: There's a poignant detail: Akbar's mother, Nawab Bai, remained loyal to Aurangzeb. She died in 1691, never seeing her son again. Aurangzeb forbade any mention of Akbar in court, erasing him from official histories as much as possible. Luna: That's heartbreaking. A family torn apart by ambition and mistrust. Lucas: It really was. And it's a reminder that even the most powerful emperors couldn't control their own children. Next time, we'll look at another rebellion — the Jats who plundered Akbar's tomb. That one also started under Aurangzeb.