Latest / Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History / Aurangzeb's Music Ban: The Emperor Who Silenced the Court
Transcript
- Lucas: For anyone coming with us through these conversations about South Asia, you know Aurangzeb is a figure of extremes. He expanded the empire, codified Islamic law, waged endless wars in the Deccan. But there's one thing he banned that really gets at his complex character: music. Luna: He banned music? Like, all of it? Lucas: That's the official story, at least. In 1668, the ninth year of his reign, Aurangzeb issued an order expelling musicians from the imperial court. The maasir i alamgiri, his official court history, records it in a dry line: 'The singers and musicians of the court were ordered to give up their profession or leave the empire.' And many did leave — some went to the courts of the Rajputs, others to the Deccan sultanates. Lucas: But it's not as simple as a blanket ban. Aurangzeb himself loved qawwali, the Sufi devotional music. He attended qawwali sessions at the shrine of Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti in Ajmer. So the ban was really about courtly, secular music — the kind performed at feasts and celebrations. Luna: So it was more of a moral reform than a total silencing? Lucas: Exactly. Aurangzeb was trying to set a tone — a more austere, Islamic tone for the court. He also banned drinking, gambling, and even the construction of new temples. But in practice, music survived. In the provinces, local governors still patronized musicians. And inside the imperial harem, women continued to sing and dance. His own daughter, Zeb-un-Nisa, was a poet and patron of the arts. Lucas: There's a famous story about the musician Khushhal Khan, who was the court's star singer under Shah Jahan. When Aurangzeb banned music, Khushhal Khan was given a pension and told to retire. He reportedly said, 'My art is like a river — it will find its own course.' And he did continue performing in private. Luna: That's a beautiful image. So the ban was more symbolic than effectively total? Lucas: That's the modern scholarly consensus. Historians like Katherine Butler Schofield argue that Aurangzeb's ban was primarily aimed at public, courtly music — the kind that accompanied drinking and dancing. But private, devotional music like qawwali was tolerated, even encouraged. And there's evidence that Aurangzeb himself still listened to music on occasion. In his letters, the ruqaat i alamgiri, he mentions listening to a qawwali and finding it spiritually uplifting. Lucas: Still, the ban had real consequences. Many musicians lost their livelihoods. Some went to the Rajput courts of Marwar and Amber, where they helped develop new styles. The dhrupad style, which had been the dominant court music, declined in the Mughal heartland. And the image of Aurangzeb as a puritanical tyrant was cemented. Luna: It's interesting — he's often painted as this one-dimensional villain. But here we see a more nuanced picture. Lucas: Absolutely. Aurangzeb was a deeply religious man, but he was also a pragmatist. And if what we covered today was useful to you, the way these stay ad-free is listener support. You can head to buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo and help us keep going. Luna: Yeah, and it really makes a difference. We're a small show, and every coffee helps. Lucas: So where were we? Right — the ban's legacy. Over the centuries, the story of Aurangzeb banning music has been used to paint him as a destroyer of culture. But the reality is more complicated. Music did continue, just in different forms and spaces. And interestingly, Aurangzeb's own brother, Dara Shikoh, was a great patron of music and the arts. Their rivalry wasn't just political — it was cultural. Luna: So the music ban reflects the larger conflict between Dara's ecumenical vision and Aurangzeb's orthodoxy? Lucas: Exactly. Dara Shikoh translated the Upanishads into Persian, hosted debates between Hindu and Muslim scholars, and loved music. Aurangzeb saw that as dangerous — a dilution of Islam. So the music ban was part of a broader effort to purify the court and the empire. But as we've seen, it wasn't total. And it tells us a lot about Aurangzeb's personality: his piety, his pragmatism, and his willingness to use symbolism to shape his legacy. Luna: Symbolism that worked, apparently — we're still talking about it. Lucas: Right. And it's a reminder that historical figures are never as simple as their reputations. Aurangzeb wasn't a monster who hated beauty; he was a man trying to reconcile his faith with the demands of ruling a vast empire. And music, like so much else, became a battleground for that struggle.