Latest / Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History / Aurangzeb's Lost Heirs: The War of Succession
Transcript
- Lucas: For anyone stepping into history with us episode by episode, we’ve spent a lot of time mapping the vastness of Aurangzeb’s empire, from the trade routes of Surat to the rigid bureaucracy of Agra Fort. But now, in our final deep dive into his reign, we have to confront the moment everything began to unravel. Luna: His death, right? In 1707. Lucas: Exactly. When Aurangzeb died in March 1707 at the age of eighty-eight, he was still entrenched in the Deccan, fighting the very Maratha resistance that had drained his coffers for decades. He left behind an empire stretched to its breaking point, and three surviving sons who saw his death not as a tragedy, but as an opportunity. Luna: Who were the contenders? Lucas: The eldest, Muhammad Azam Shah, was stationed near Ahmadnagar, close to his father’s camp. The second, Prince Muazzam, was far away in Kabul, governing there with relative stability. And the youngest, Kam Bakhsh, was a volatile figure who had been sent to govern Bijapur but was constantly in conflict with his brothers. Each had their own army, their own network of spies, and their own ambition. Luna: So they started fighting immediately. Lucas: Immediately. Muazzam heard the news while on a hunting expedition and moved with astonishing speed, marching toward Hindustan with his trusted generals, including the formidable Asad Khan. Azam Shah, sensing his vulnerability, declared himself emperor upon Aurangzeb’s death and marched out to meet him. It wasn’t long before these two armies collided near the town of Jajau. Luna: And the battle decided the fate of the empire. Lucas: The Battle of Jajau took place on June 8, 1707. It was less a pitched battle of maneuver and more a chaotic slaughter. Azam Shah’s forces, though numerous, were poorly coordinated and lacked the seasoned leadership that Muazzam’s troops possessed. Asad Khan’s cavalry broke through Azam’s lines, causing panic. The fighting was so fierce that even the imperial tents were overrun. Luna: What happened to Azam Shah? Lucas: Azam Shah tried to flee but was captured by his own retreating guards, who turned on him to secure their own safety. He was brought before Muazzam, who ordered his execution. Azam Shah died within days, possibly poisoned or simply executed on Muazzam’s orders. With Azam gone, Muazzam entered Delhi and took the throne as Bahadur Shah I. But the violence wasn’t over. Lucas: Back to the succession crisis. While Muazzam secured Delhi, Kam Bakhsh, the youngest brother, was still in the Deccan. He had refused to acknowledge Muazzam’s authority and raised his own standard in Bijapur. This meant the empire was effectively split between a northern emperor and a rebellious southern governor. Luna: Did Kam Bakhsh have any real chance? Lucas: Not really. His position was isolated. Bahadur Shah I sent a massive army under the command of Asad Khan again to deal with him. Kam Bakhsh fled from city to city, eventually seeking refuge in the fort of Gingee, which was held by the Marathas. It was a desperate move, allying with the very enemies his father had spent twenty years fighting. Luna: That must have felt like a huge betrayal. Lucas: It was a catastrophic strategic error. The Maratha leader, Ramchandra Pant Amatya, handed Kam Bakhsh over to the Mughal forces. He was brought before Bahadur Shah I, who had him blinded and imprisoned. Within months, Kam Bakhsh died in captivity. By 1709, all rivals to Bahadur Shah I were dead, but the cost had been enormous. Luna: And the treasury was empty. Lucas: The treasury was already hollowed out by Aurangzeb’s Deccan wars, and the civil war drained what remained. But more importantly, the trust between the center and the provinces was shattered. The Rajput allies, who had been crucial to Mughal dominance, felt alienated by Bahadur Shah’s policies and the instability of the succession. Luna: So the Marathas gained ground. Lucas: Precisely. While the Mughals were busy killing each other, the Maratha Confederacy reorganized. They weren’t just resisting anymore; they were expanding. The power vacuum in the Deccan allowed them to consolidate control over territories that the Mughals could no longer afford to defend. Luna: It seems like the empire never really recovered. Lucas: Bahadur Shah I tried to reverse some of Aurangzeb’s unpopular policies, reinstating the practice of offering salami to Hindu temples and relaxing the jizya tax, but it was too late. The structural damage was done. The imperial machinery was clogged by the aftermath of the civil war, and the local governors began to act with increasing independence. Luna: Did any of Aurangzeb’s advisors survive intact? Lucas: Many did, but their influence waned. Bhimsen Saxena, the chronicler we’ve mentioned before, wrote extensively about the chaos, describing a court paralyzed by fear and suspicion. The intelligence networks, once so efficient under Aurangzeb, became tools of factionalism rather than imperial control. Luna: It feels like the end of an era. Lucas: It was. The Battle of Jajau marks the transition from a centralized Mughal superpower to a fragmented collection of regional states. The empire didn’t vanish overnight, but its ability to project power across Hindustan was broken forever. Luna: What about Aurangzeb’s legacy in all this? Lucas: He left behind a state that was too large, too expensive, and too deeply divided to be held together by his successors. His sons were brilliant administrators in their own rights, perhaps even more capable than their father, but they were fighting a war against each other while the world around them changed. Luna: And the silence after the guns stopped. Lucas: When the dust settled at Jajau, there was no grand victory parade, no sense of renewal. Just the grim realization that the golden age of the Mughals was fading into memory, replaced by a new, uncertain order. Luna: It’s a heavy way to end the series. Lucas: Perhaps. But it’s also a reminder that empires are fragile things, held together by more than just marble and gold—they need cohesion, and when that breaks, the pieces fall exactly where gravity takes them.