Latest / Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History / Aurangzeb's Bengal Campaign The Conquest of the Delta
Transcript
- Lucas: So far in our series on Aurangzeb, we've covered a lot of ground—his wars of succession, his revenue reforms, his Deccan campaigns, even his poetry. But one theater we haven't touched is the east—Bengal. And honestly, Bengal was one of the richest conquests of his reign. Luna: I don't know much about that. When did he go after Bengal? Lucas: It started in the early 1660s, just after Aurangzeb had secured his throne. Bengal at the time was nominally under Mughal suzerainty, but it was practically independent under the Nawab Shaista Khan—actually, initially under Mir Jumla, who was a former prime minister of Golconda and a very capable general. Aurangzeb appointed him governor of Bengal in 1660 with orders to bring the region to heel. Lucas: Mir Jumla launched a campaign into Assam, but he died in 1663. Then Shaista Khan took over, and he was the one who really consolidated Mughal power in the east. He shifted the capital from Rajmahal to Dhaka, which was closer to the emerging trade routes and easier to defend. Luna: Dhaka—that would later become the capital of Bangladesh, right? Lucas: Exactly. And it was a strategic move. Dhaka sat on the Buriganga River, a tributary of the Ganges, giving access to the Bay of Bengal. Shaista Khan also cleared the dense forest around the city to make it less vulnerable to attacks. Lucas: But the biggest prize was Chittagong. It was a major port controlled by Portuguese pirates and their local allies, the Arakanese. These pirates were raiding Mughal shipping and even enslaving Muslims from Bengal. Aurangzeb was determined to stop that. Luna: So he sent a naval expedition? Lucas: Yes, in 1665. Shaista Khan built a fleet of warships and launched a combined land-sea assault. The Mughals captured Chittagong in early 1666 after a fierce battle. They renamed it Islamabad—City of Islam—and integrated it into the empire. This was a huge blow to the Portuguese and secured the Bay of Bengal for Mughal trade. Lucas: The campaign wasn't easy. The terrain was swampy and malaria-ridden, and the Mughal army had to build roads and bridges as they advanced. But the economic payoff was enormous. Bengal's fertile delta produced rice, silk, and textiles that became major exports. The Mughals also introduced a more efficient revenue system, which filled the imperial treasury. Luna: So Bengal became a cash cow for Aurangzeb? Lucas: It did. By the end of his reign, Bengal alone contributed something like 10-15% of the empire's total revenue. But there was a human cost. The Mughals forcibly resettled many peasants and sometimes used slave labor to build infrastructure. And the region saw a lot of religious tension—Shaista Khan was a devout Muslim and imposed stricter Islamic laws, which alienated the Hindu majority. Luna: What about the Ahom kingdom? You mentioned they resisted. Lucas: Right, the Ahoms ruled in what is now Assam. Mir Jumla invaded them in 1662, capturing their capital Garhgaon. But the Ahoms used guerrilla tactics and disease to wear down the Mughals. They eventually signed a treaty in 1663, ceding some territory but surviving as an independent state. So Mughal expansion into the northeast was limited. Lucas: Another interesting figure in this story is the English East India Company. They had set up factories in Bengal—in Hooghly, in Balasore. They initially stayed neutral, but after the Mughal conquest, they started playing a bigger role in trade. Shaista Khan actually granted them a farman—a royal decree—allowing them to trade freely in Bengal in exchange for a fixed annual payment. Luna: That's ironic—the Mughals inviting the very people who would later take over India. Lucas: Exactly. But at the time, it seemed like a good deal. The English paid their dues and helped suppress piracy. It's a classic example of how Mughal expansion inadvertently opened the door to European influence. Lucas: Looking back, the conquest of Bengal was one of Aurangzeb's most successful campaigns. It brought immense wealth, secured the eastern frontier, and eliminated the pirate threat. But it also set the stage for future troubles—the heavy taxation and religious policies sowed resentment that would eventually contribute to the decline of Mughal control in the 18th century. Luna: I can see how that connects to the bigger picture of his reign. Lucas: Yeah, every conquest came with trade-offs. And speaking of trade-offs, if you've been getting something out of these deep dives—and it sounds like you have—it's worth knowing that this show stays ad-free thanks to listeners like you. If today was actually useful, you can support us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just a way to keep this going. Luna: Yeah, it's a nice way to say thanks for all the research that goes into these episodes. Lucas: Absolutely. So, back to Bengal—what I find most fascinating is how quickly the region transformed under Mughal rule. Within a generation, Dhaka became a thriving metropolis, and the delta became the breadbasket of the empire. But that prosperity was built on a foundation of conquest and exploitation. Luna: It's a pattern we've seen again and again in history. Lucas: Indeed. And it's a reminder that even the most successful campaigns have complex legacies. In our next episode, we'll explore another side of Aurangzeb's rule—his relationship with the Sikh Gurus, which we touched on earlier but haven't fully unpacked. Luna: Looking forward to it.