Latest / Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History / Aurangzeb's Deccan Campaigns: The War That Broke the Mughal Empire
Transcript
- Lucas: So in our last few episodes we've talked about Aurangzeb's religious policies, his wars in the north, his architectural projects. But the single most defining campaign of his reign — the one that really broke the empire — was his long war in the Deccan. It lasted from 1681 to 1707, almost until his death. Luna: That's over twenty-five years. Was he just trying to conquer the entire south? Lucas: Pretty much. The Deccan had always been a thorn in the Mughal side. The sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda were wealthy, independent, and often allied with the Marathas under Shivaji. Aurangzeb decided to annex them outright. He moved his entire court to the Deccan in 1681 and basically never left. Luna: He relocated the capital? That's huge. Lucas: Yeah, he set up his base at a place called Burhanpur in Khandesh, then later at a new camp city he founded, which he named Aurangabad. And he poured everything into this war. The siege of Bijapur alone lasted from 1685 to 1686. The fortress was one of the strongest in India — massive walls, plenty of supplies. It took the Mughals over a year of constant bombardment and blockade to starve them out. Luna: And that was just one fortress? Lucas: Exactly. Then right after, he moved on to Golconda. That siege started in 1687 and also took about a year. Golconda was famous for its diamond mines — the Koh-i-Noor came from there — so the Qutb Shahi rulers were incredibly wealthy. They hired a huge army and held out until a traitor opened the gates. Once inside, the Mughals sacked the city and annexed the kingdom. Luna: So by 1687 he'd conquered the two biggest Deccan sultanates. Did that end the resistance? Lucas: Not even close. Because the Marathas, under Shivaji's son Sambhaji, continued guerrilla warfare. Sambhaji was captured and executed in 1689, but the Marathas just kept fighting under new leaders. Aurangzeb had to constantly chase down rebel forts and deal with hit-and-run attacks. His army was huge — hundreds of thousands of men — but it was spread thin across the Deccan. Luna: So the war dragged on and on, bleeding the treasury dry. Lucas: That's exactly it. The Mughal treasury was drained by the constant campaigning. Aurangzeb's military spending was astronomical — he had to maintain a massive army in the field for decades, and he couldn't collect taxes effectively from the war-torn regions. Meanwhile, the north was neglected. The empire's economy started to crack. Luna: And after his death in 1707, the whole thing fell apart. Lucas: Right. The Deccan campaigns are often seen as the beginning of the end for the Mughal Empire. Aurangzeb's successors couldn't hold it together. The Marathas rose as a major power, and the empire lost its wealth and prestige. So while Aurangzeb expanded the empire to its greatest territorial extent, he also sowed the seeds of its decline.