Latest / Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History / Aurangzeb's Kashmir Summer: The Emperor's Mountain Refuge
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Aurangzeb's wars, his taxes, his religious policies — the heavy stuff. But today I want to look at another side of him: the emperor who loved Kashmir. Luna: Aurangzeb? The austere, mosque-building, wine-banning emperor had a soft spot for Kashmir? Lucas: He did. And it's not just that he visited — he spent five extended summers there between 1663 and 1666, essentially making Srinagar his de facto capital during those years. The Mughals had a long tradition of summer retreats in the valley, dating back to Akbar, but Aurangzeb took it to another level. Lucas: He wasn't just vacationing. Kashmir was a strategically important frontier region, nestled between the Safavid Empire to the west and the rising Sikh power in the Punjab. By setting up court there, he was asserting Mughal control over a restive province that had seen multiple rebellions. Luna: So it was a power move disguised as a holiday. Lucas: Exactly. But that doesn't mean he didn't enjoy it. Contemporary chroniclers, especially the author of the maasir i alamgiri, describe him taking shikara rides on Dal Lake, inspecting the gardens, and even ordering the construction of the Pari Mahal — the 'Palace of the Fairies' — an observatory and garden complex built on a hill overlooking Srinagar. Lucas: The Pari Mahal was actually started by his brother Dara Shikoh but abandoned after Dara's execution. Aurangzeb completed it and turned it into a centre for astronomy and astrology — he was deeply interested in celestial omens. Luna: Wait — he finished a project started by the brother he had executed? That's quite a turn. Lucas: It is. But Aurangzeb was pragmatic. The site was prime real estate with a commanding view, and he wasn't about to let sentiment get in the way of a good strategic outpost. He also refurbished the Shalimar Bagh and Nishat Bagh, the famous Mughal gardens, adding pavilions and water channels. Lucas: And here's a detail I love: he had a special fondness for the chinar trees — the massive, ancient plane trees that dot Kashmir's landscape. He ordered them to be planted along the avenues and gardens, and many of those trees still stand today. Luna: The emperor who outlawed music and drink also planted trees. He's a bundle of contradictions. Lucas: He really is. And those contradictions extend to how he spent his time in Kashmir. On the one hand, he held court, received petitions, and issued decrees — the machinery of empire never stopped. On the other hand, he indulged in the valley's pleasures: the famed saffron, the apples and apricots, the cool mountain air. Lucas: One of the most interesting sources from this period is Dr. John Fryer, an English physician working for the East India Company. He visited the Mughal court in Kashmir in 1675 and left a vivid account. He describes Aurangzeb as approachable, dressed simply, and spending hours in the gardens reading and writing. Luna: What did Fryer think of the emperor? Lucas: He was impressed by Aurangzeb's intellect and his command of detail, but also noted his frugality — the emperor mended his own clothes and ate from simple earthenware. Fryer also observed that even in this idyllic setting, Aurangzeb was constantly receiving reports from the Deccan, where the Maratha rebellion was brewing. Lucas: Kashmir was a respite, but never an escape. The emperor's tent was always surrounded by clerks and messengers. The maasir i alamgiri records that during his 1665 stay, he received news of the death of the Maratha leader Shivaji's father, Shahaji, and immediately began planning his next Deccan campaign. Luna: So even surrounded by paradise, he was planning war. Lucas: Always. But there's a human side too. Aurangzeb's favourite daughter, Zeb-un-Nisa, accompanied him on some of these trips. She was a poet and scholar, and the beauty of Kashmir inspired some of her finest ghazals. She wrote under the pen name 'Makhfi' — the hidden one. Lucas: And the emperor himself composed verses, though he was more modest about it. There's a story that during one shikara ride, he recited a couplet about the transience of life, comparing the floating petals on Dal Lake to the fleeting nature of power. Luna: That's surprisingly poetic for a man often portrayed as a rigid puritan. Lucas: It reminds us that Aurangzeb was a product of the Mughal high culture — he was raised on Persian poetry, Islamic theology, and the finer things in life. His austerity was a choice, not a lack of appreciation. He could enjoy the world; he just believed he shouldn't get attached to it. Lucas: Kashmir also served as a diplomatic stage. In 1663, Aurangzeb received a delegation from the Safavid court there, impressing them with the grandeur of the Shalimar Bagh. The Safavid ambassador later wrote that the gardens of Kashmir surpassed even those of Isfahan. Luna: So he was using beauty as a weapon of soft power. Lucas: Exactly. And it worked. Kashmir remained a Mughal stronghold until the empire's decline. But there's a bittersweet footnote: after his last visit in 1666, Aurangzeb never returned to Kashmir. The Deccan campaigns consumed the last 25 years of his life, and he died in a humble tent in Ahmednagar, far from the cool valleys he loved. Lucas: In his final years, he wrote letters to his sons lamenting that he had not seen Kashmir again. One letter, preserved in the 'ruqaat i alamgiri', says: 'The memory of the chinar trees and the sound of the Dal Lake's waves console me in this dusty camp.' Luna: That's heartbreaking. The old emperor, stuck in the heat of the Deccan, longing for the mountains. Lucas: It humanises him, doesn't it? For all his ambition and ruthlessness, he was still a man who missed a beautiful place. And that's the Aurangzeb we often forget — not just the conqueror, but the person who planted trees and wrote poetry and took his daughter to see the stars from a palace of fairies.