Shows / Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb Alamgir, the sixth Mughal emperor, ruled for nearly half a century (1658–1707) and oversaw the empire's greatest territorial expansion—and its most rapid unraveling. This show traces his life from the fratricidal War of Succession that brought him to power to his relentless campaigns in the Deccan against the Maratha king Shivaji and his successors. We explore the imposition of jizya tax, the destruction of Hindu temples, the execution of Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur, and the long rebellion…
Episodes
Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo HistoryAurangzeb's Tomb: The Humble End of a Grand Empire
This episode explores the profound irony of Aurangzeb’s final resting place at Khuldabad, contrasting his austere grave with the marble splendor of his father…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Coinage: The Imperial Mint
In Episode 220 of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore the Mughal mint under Aurangzeb, from the calligraphic gold mohur to the copper dam. They discuss the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Paper Trail: The Empire's Bureaucrats
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the unseen machinery of Aurangzeb's empire: the clerks, accountants, and scribes who kept the Mughal state…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Court Painters: The Artist Who Painted the Emperor
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the world of Mughal court painting under Aurangzeb. While earlier emperors like Akbar and Jahangir patronized lavish…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Slave Generals: The Empire's Trusted Outsiders
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore the remarkable careers of two slave generals who rose to the highest ranks of Aurangzeb's army…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Persian Letters: The Emperor's Farangi Diplomacy
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a lesser-known side of Aurangzeb's reign: his diplomatic correspondence with the Safavid court and the English…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Opaque Poetry: The Emperor's Hidden Verses
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a side of Aurangzeb rarely discussed: his poetry. While known as a stern ruler, Aurangzeb wrote under the pen name…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Jain Edicts Revisited: The 1665 Shatrunjaya Rescript
In 1665, Aurangzeb issued a remarkable order protecting Jain pilgrims and their temples at Shatrunjaya, a sacred hill in Gujarat. This episode unpacks that…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Temples: Destruction, Patronage, and Politics
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the complex and often misunderstood story of Aurangzeb's relationship with Hindu temples. They trace the specific…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Elephant Corps: War Beasts of the Mughal Empire
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore the role of war elephants in Aurangzeb's campaigns across the Deccan. From the massive…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Quran: The Emperor Who Copied Scripture
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a lesser-known side of Aurangzeb: his personal devotion to transcribing the Quran. While previous episodes covered his…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Mosque at Benares: The Gyanvapi Dispute
In 1669, Aurangzeb ordered the demolition of the Vishwanath temple in Benares and built the Gyanvapi Mosque in its place. This episode unpacks that…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Maratha War: The Emperor Who Lost the Deccan
In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into Aurangzeb's long, grinding war against the Marathas — a conflict that stretched for nearly three decades and…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Jain Edicts: Mercy Amid Conquest
In 1679, Aurangzeb issued an imperial decree that shocked his court: a farman granting protection to Jain pilgrims at Shatrunjaya, the holiest hill of the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Gardens: The Emperor Who Planted Paradise
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's gardens — the orchards, pleasure grounds, and shaded retreats he cultivated across the Mughal Empire…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's War Horses: The Cavalry That Carried an Empire
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore the overlooked workhorses of Mughal warfare: the war horses that carried Aurangzeb's armies…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Jizya Tax: Faith, Finance, and Rebellion
In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine Aurangzeb's reimposition of the jizya tax on non-Muslims in 1679—a decision that reshaped the Mughal Empire. They…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Water Works: Canals, Wells, and an Empire's Thirst
Aurangzeb is remembered for war and piety, but what about water? In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the emperor's hydraulic projects across the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Spies: The Empire's Hidden Eyes
In a realm stretching from Kabul to the Deccan, Aurangzeb relied on an intricate network of spies and informants to keep his grip on power. This episode…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Arrest of His Daughter: A Family Fracture
In 1681, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb arrested his own daughter, Princess Zeb-un-Nissa, and confined her for the last two decades of her life. Why would a…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Army: The Mughal Military Machine
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the vast military apparatus of Aurangzeb's Mughal Empire — not just the battles, but the logistics, technology…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Deccan Letter: The Emperor Who Spoke Marathi
In Episode 200 of Fexingo History, we look at a side of Aurangzeb that rarely makes it into the grand narratives of war and policy: the emperor's personal…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Ramadan: The Sultan of Fasting at War
In the year 1703, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, aged eighty-five and deep in the Deccan wars, observed Ramadan with a ferocity that stunned his court. This…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Deccan Exile: The Emperor Who Died Far From Home
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore the final years of Aurangzeb's life, when the aging emperor left Delhi and never returned. They…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Deccan War: The Siege of Golconda
In 1687, Aurangzeb's armies surrounded Golconda, the last great Deccan sultanate and home of the fabled Koh-i-Noor diamond. This episode digs into the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Coinage: The Emperor Who Minted His Faith
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a less-trodden facet of Aurangzeb's reign: his coinage. From the kalima-bearing gold mohurs that replaced the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Love Letters: The Emperor's Secret Heart
In 1656, a 38-year-old prince named Aurangzeb wrote a letter to his dying father that would reveal a side of him history often forgets. This episode uncovers…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Jain Edicts: Faith, Famine, and Imperial Mercy
In 1681, as Aurangzeb marched south to begin the long Deccan campaigns, a famine gripped Gujarat, and the emperor issued a remarkable set of farmans granting…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Slave Generals: From Chains to Command
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore a little-known facet of Aurangzeb's reign: the rise of enslaved generals and administrators…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Poisonous Legacy: The Farrukhsiyar Plot
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna delve into the final, strangest twist of Aurangzeb's long shadow: the poisoning of his grandson, Prince…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Elephant Armies: War Beasts of the Mughal Empire
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore the role of war elephants in Aurangzeb's military campaigns. From the massive armored beasts…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb and the Deccan Heartland: Beyond the Battlefields
In this episode, Lucas and Luna step away from Aurangzeb's military campaigns and tax policies to explore the Deccan's cultural and intellectual life…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Ottoman Letters: The Mughal Emperor in Istanbul's Court
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a little-known aspect of Aurangzeb's reign: his correspondence with the Ottoman sultans. From embassies carried…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Personal Piety: The Emperor Who Copied the Quran
Aurangzeb is often remembered as a zealot who destroyed temples and banned music, but his personal piety was far more complex: he was a devout Muslim who…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Siege of Bijapur: The Fall of the Adil Shahi Sultanate
In this episode, Lucas and Luna dig into one of Aurangzeb's most costly and dramatic campaigns: the siege of Bijapur, capital of the Adil Shahi sultanate…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Silent Court: The Banning of Music
In 1668, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb issued a decree that silenced the imperial court's musicians—naqqaras were muted, instruments destroyed, and performers…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Kandahar Campaigns: The Frontier War
Aurangzeb is remembered as a relentless conqueror, but his two early campaigns to recapture Kandahar from the Safavid Empire ended in failure. In this episode…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Rajput Gamble: The Marwar War That Cost an Empire
In 1678, the death of Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Marwar triggered a succession crisis that Aurangzeb mishandled disastrously. This episode dives into the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb vs the Sikhs: The Martyrdom That Forged the Khalsa
In 1675, Emperor Aurangzeb ordered the public execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh guru, in Delhi's Chandni Chowk. This brutal act, intended to…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Rebel Son Prince Akbar and the Maratha Alliance
In 1681, Aurangzeb faced a rebellion from his own son, Prince Akbar. This episode explores how the prince, born of a Rajput mother, allied with the Maratha…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Daughters: The Learned Princesses Behind the Throne
Beyond the battlefield, Aurangzeb's court was home to some of the most accomplished women of the Mughal era. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
The Jat Rebellion: How Peasant Warriors Plundered Akbar's Tomb
In 1688, while Aurangzeb was bogged down in the Deccan, a peasant army from the Mathura region struck at the heart of Mughal prestige: they looted Akbar's…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
How Aurangzeb Bankrupted the Mughal Empire
Aurangzeb's reign is often remembered for its military expansion and religious policies, but beneath the surface, an economic catastrophe was unfolding…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's English War: The Emperor Who Bent the East India Company
In 1686, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb turned his gaze from the Deccan to the coast, where the English East India Company had grown bold. When the Company…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Naval Ambitions The Emperor Who Built a Fleet
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore a lesser-known aspect of Aurangzeb's reign: his ambitious naval projects. While the Mughal…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Last Will: The Emperor Who Died Begging Forgiveness
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the final hours of Aurangzeb's life through his will, the Wasiyat Nama. Discover how the austere emperor, who had…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Deccan Campaigns: The War That Broke the Mughals
In this episode, we explore Aurangzeb's long, grinding war in the Deccan — a conflict that stretched for over two decades and ultimately broke the Mughal…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Imperial Camp: A Moving City of War
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the logistics and daily life of Aurangzeb's imperial camp during his twenty-five-year Deccan campaign. They…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Hindu Temples: Destruction and Patronage
Aurangzeb is infamous for ordering the destruction of Hindu temples, but his actual policy was more complex than the stereotype. This episode explores the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Buddhist Edicts: The Emperor Who Fought Dharma
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore a little-known facet of Aurangzeb's reign: his confrontation with Buddhism. While earlier…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Assam Disaster: How the Mughals Lost the Northeast
When the Mughal Empire pushed east into the Brahmaputra valley, it met its match in the Ahom kingdom. Unlike the Rajputs or Deccan sultans, the Ahoms fought a…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's War of Succession: Brothers, Blood, and the Peacock Throne
In 1657, as Emperor Shah Jahan lay ill in Agra, his four sons plunged the Mughal Empire into a brutal civil war. This episode follows the war of succession…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Architecture: The Emperor Who Built Beyond the Taj
When we think of Mughal architecture, we think of Shah Jahan — the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid. But Aurangzeb, the last great Mughal emperor, was…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Bengal Campaign The Conquest of the Delta
In the late 1660s, the Mughal Empire turned its attention eastward. This episode follows Aurangzeb's conquest of Bengal, a wealthy and rebellious region…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Siege of Golconda: The Fall of the Diamond Kingdom
In 1687, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb laid siege to Golconda, the wealthiest kingdom in India and the source of the Koh-i-Noor diamond. This episode dives into…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Secret Spy Network: The Emperor Who Knew Everything
Emperor Aurangzeb ruled the Mughal Empire for nearly 50 years, and one of his most powerful tools wasn't an army or a tax policy — it was information…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Maratha Implosion: The Long Road to Panipat
In the early 1700s, the Mughal Empire under Aurangzeb was locked in a grinding, decades-long war against the Marathas. But the emperor's death in 1707…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Fatwa: The Fatawa-e-Alamgiri and Islamic Law in Mughal India
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Fatawa-e-Alamgiri, the massive compendium of Hanafi Islamic law commissioned by Aurangzeb. They discuss why the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Hindu Generals: Pragmatism Over Bigotry
Aurangzeb famously imposed jizya and destroyed temples, but he also relied on Hindu generals and administrators throughout his reign. This episode explores the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Sikh Persecution: Guru Tegh Bahadur and the Rise of the Khalsa
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's fraught relationship with the Sikh community, focusing on the execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1675…