Latest / Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History / Aurangzeb's Executions: Sambhaji and the Fate of the Marathas
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Aurangzeb's wars in the Deccan, but I think one moment really crystallizes how brutal and personal that conflict became — the execution of Sambhaji, the Maratha king, in 1689. Luna: Wait — Sambhaji, that's Shivaji's son, right? Lucas: Yeah, exactly. Shivaji's eldest son. And after Shivaji died in 1680, Sambhaji inherited a kingdom that was already locked in a life or death struggle with the Mughals. But Sambhaji was a very different character from his father — more impulsive, more reckless, and he didn't have Shivaji's diplomatic finesse. Lucas: He also made enemies of his own half-brother Rajaram, and even some of his nobles. So by early 1689, the Mughals had been hunting him for years, and finally got wind of his location near Sangameshwar. Luna: How did they catch him? Lucas: It was a combination of betrayal and luck. A Maratha commander named Ganoji Shirke — who was actually Sambhaji's brother-in-law — tipped off the Mughal general Mukarrab Khan. The Mughals launched a surprise raid at night, and Sambhaji was captured along with his chief adviser Kavi Kalash. Lucas: They were taken to Bahadurgad, a fort near Pune, where Aurangzeb himself was present. And then things got really ugly. Luna: I've heard stories about what happened next — are they true? Lucas: The primary sources, like the maasir i alamgiri, the official Mughal court chronicle, and the account of the Italian traveler Niccolao Manucci, both describe it. Aurangzeb ordered Sambhaji to convert to Islam and hand over his forts. Sambhaji refused. And he didn't just refuse politely — he reportedly insulted the emperor and the Prophet Muhammad. Luna: That sealed his fate. Lucas: Absolutely. Aurangzeb ordered a brutal execution. Sambhaji's eyes were gouged out, his tongue was cut, and then he was beheaded. Some accounts say his body was quartered and the pieces were displayed in different cities. It was meant to be a terror tactic — to break Maratha morale once and for all. Lucas: But it backfired spectacularly. Instead of cowing the Marathas, it turned Sambhaji into a martyr. His half-brother Rajaram escaped from prison and fled to the fortress of Jinji in the far south, where he continued the war. And the Maratha resistance only grew fiercer. Luna: So Aurangzeb's cruelty actually strengthened the enemy. That seems to be a pattern in his reign. Lucas: It really is. And the execution also alienated many Hindu nobles in the Mughal court. Even some of Aurangzeb's own generals were disturbed by it. Manucci says that the emperor's decision was driven by rage, not strategy. Luna: Speaking of strategy — this episode made me think. If you found this conversation valuable, you know, if it was worth the price of a coffee, we have a link: buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, honestly, listeners like you are what keep this show ad-free and independent. Just a small gesture goes a long way. Luna: So yeah, back to Sambhaji. What happened to Rajaram after he escaped? Lucas: Rajaram fled south to Jinji, a nearly impregnable hill fort in present-day Tamil Nadu. He declared himself king and continued the war. The Mughals besieged Jinji for eight years, from 1689 to 1698, and it tied down massive resources. Meanwhile, the Maratha heartland in Maharashtra was still controlled by guerrilla forces led by figures like Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav. Lucas: Aurangzeb personally moved his court to the Deccan in 1682 and never returned to the north. He spent the last 25 years of his life chasing Maratha chieftains across a scorching landscape, and it bled the Mughal treasury dry. Luna: It reminds me of what happened to the British in Afghanistan later — a superpower getting bogged down in a guerrilla war. Lucas: Exactly the same dynamic. The Marathas simply refused to fight set-piece battles. They raided supply lines, faded into the hills, and struck when the Mughals were vulnerable. Aurangzeb's massive army — hundreds of thousands of men — could never bring them to a decisive engagement. Lucas: And when Rajaram died in 1700, his widow Tarabai took over the regency for her infant son Shivaji II. She proved to be an even more determined leader. She continued the war and even launched raids deep into Mughal territory, all the way up to Gujarat. Luna: So Sambhaji's execution really marks a turning point where the conflict became existential. Lucas: Yes. Before 1689, there was still a possibility of negotiation. After it, the Marathas knew that surrender meant death or forced conversion. They fought with a desperation that the Mughals couldn't match. And by the time Aurangzeb died in 1707, the empire was exhausted, bankrupt, and facing revolts across the north. Luna: It's fascinating how one act of brutality can reshape an entire war. Lucas: Absolutely. And it's a lesson that keeps repeating through history. The execution of Sambhaji didn't just fail to pacify the Marathas — it created a legend that fueled their eventual rise to dominate much of India in the eighteenth century.