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 Kashmir: The Emperor's Summer Retreat and Final Resting Place
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's relationship with Kashmir — the Mughal paradise that served as his summer retreat and, unexpectedly…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Persian Poetry: The Emperor as Mystic Poet
Aurangzeb is remembered as a puritanical emperor, a destroyer of temples, and a ruthless politician. But he was also a poet. In this episode, Lucas and Luna…
- 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, Lucas and Luna explore the pivotal role of war elephants in Aurangzeb's military campaigns. From the capture of Golconda's famed…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Slave Soldiers: The Rise and Fall of the Mughal Harem Guard
In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into a little-known but crucial aspect of Aurangzeb's military: the slave soldiers who served as his personal guard…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Deccan Villages: How Peasants Survived the War
The Mughal-Maratha wars devastated the Deccan for nearly three decades, but what did that mean for the people actually living there? This episode looks beyond…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Jizya: The Tax That Defined His Reign
In 1679, Aurangzeb reimposed the jizya tax on non-Muslims, a decision that would shape his legacy and fuel rebellion across the Mughal Empire. This episode…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Coinage: The Emperor Who Minted His Own Image
Aurangzeb is often remembered for his piety, but his coinage tells a more complex story. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the emperor's…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Water Crisis: How the Mughal Empire Dried Up
In the dry Deccan plateau, Aurangzeb's endless wars triggered a water catastrophe that helped collapse the Mughal Empire. This episode follows the…
- 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 dive deep into the final decades of Aurangzeb's reign, focusing on his protracted and ultimately ruinous Deccan campaigns. Lucas and…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Calligraphy: The Emperor as Scribe
In an age of war and conquest, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb spent hours each day copying the Quran by hand. This episode explores the role of calligraphy in…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Rajput Rebellion: The 30-Year War That Broke the Mughals
The Rajput rebellion against Aurangzeb is one of the most underappreciated conflicts in Mughal history. Episode 151 explores how Aurangzeb's alliance with…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Deccan Capital: The Founding of Aurangabad
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how Aurangzeb transformed a small Deccan village into his imperial capital, Aurangabad. They discuss the strategic and…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Revenue Reforms: Land Tax That Bankrupted the Empire
Long before the Maratha campaigns bled the treasury dry, Aurangzeb's own tax system did its part to destabilise the Mughal Empire. In this episode, Lucas…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's War of Succession: The Bloody Path to the Peacock Throne
In 1657, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan fell ill. Within months, his four sons plunged the empire into a brutal civil war that would reshape South Asia. This…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Architectural Legacy: The Badshahi Mosque and Zinat-ul-Masajid
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's architectural contributions to the Mughal Empire, focusing on the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore and the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Court Historian: The Making of the Maasir-i-Alamgiri
Ever wonder how we know what we know about Aurangzeb? Most of our intimate knowledge of the emperor's reign comes from a single official chronicle: the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Lost Dream: The Failed Mughal Conquest of Assam
In 1662, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb sent his general Mir Jumla into the heart of the Brahmaputra Valley to conquer the Ahom kingdom. What followed was a…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
The Mughal Navy That Never Was: Aurangzeb vs the Angre
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's forgotten naval war against the Kanhoji Angre's Maratha fleet. Between 1698 and 1718, the Angre…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Fatwa Against Shia Islam: The Sectarian Turn
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a lesser-known but deeply consequential aspect of Aurangzeb's reign: his official fatwa against Shia Islam…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Temple Destruction: Politics, Piety, and Propaganda
Was Aurangzeb's reputation as an iconoclast earned or exaggerated? In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine the politics behind the Mughal emperor's…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Failed Successor: The Tragedy of Prince Muhammad Akbar
This episode zooms in on Prince Muhammad Akbar, the son who rebelled against his father Aurangzeb in 1681 and fled to the Marathas. We follow his dramatic…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Cannons: Firepower That Reshaped the Mughal Empire
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's artillery revolution — a subject untouched in prior shows. They begin with the emperor's…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Spies: The Emperor Who Saw Everything
Aurangzeb ruled the Mughal Empire for nearly half a century, but how did he keep control of a realm stretching from Kabul to Bengal? The answer lay in his vast…
- 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 military campaigns. From the massive pachyderms that…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Prisoner: The Forgotten Princess Zeb-un-Nisa
Aurangzeb's eldest daughter Zeb-un-Nisa was a brilliant poet, scholar, and patron of the arts—until her father imprisoned her for the last 20 years of her…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Eunuch Generals: The Power of the Khwajasara
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the remarkable role of eunuch generals and administrators in Aurangzeb's Mughal Empire. From Hizabr Khan's…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Jizya Tax: Religious Policy or Political Tool?
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore the controversial jizya tax reinstated by Emperor Aurangzeb in 1679. Was it a sincere religious…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb vs the Sikh Gurus: The Mughal-Punjab Conflict
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's tumultuous relationship with the Sikh community in Punjab, focusing on the executions of Guru Tegh…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Deccan Famine: The War That Starved a Region
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore the devastating famine that struck the Deccan during Aurangzeb's long Deccan campaign. Drawing…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Fatwa on Music: Silencing the Court Musicians
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore a lesser-known but revealing aspect of Aurangzeb's reign: his controversial ban on court music…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Siege of Golconda: The Fall of the Qutb Shahi Dynasty
In 1687, Aurangzeb's Mughal army laid siege to Golconda, the wealthy diamond-trading kingdom of the Qutb Shahi dynasty. This episode dives into the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Coinage: Money, Propaganda, and the Mughal Economy
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's coinage policy—how the emperor used silver rupees, gold mohurs, and copper dams to project authority…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Hindu Generals: The Rajputs Who Served the Mughal Emperor
Aurangzeb is often remembered as a bigoted zealot who alienated Hindu allies and broke the Mughal empire's pluralistic traditions. But the reality is far…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Persian Wars: The Shattered Frontier
In Episode 128, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's campaigns along the Persian frontier — a lesser-known but pivotal theater that drained Mughal resources…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Executions: Sambhaji and the Fate of the Marathas
In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into one of the most controversial moments of Aurangzeb's reign: the capture and execution of Maratha king Sambhaji…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb and the Rathore Rebellion: The Emperor vs Marwar
Before the Maratha wars bled the Mughal treasury dry, Aurangzeb faced one of his most stubborn adversaries: the Rathore Rajputs of Marwar. This episode unpacks…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's War of Succession: The Brothers Who Died for the Peacock Throne
Before Aurangzeb became the sixth Mughal emperor, he fought a brutal civil war against his three brothers — Dara Shikoh, Shuja, and Murad Baksh — for control…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Maratha War: The Guerrilla Conflict That Broke the Mughals
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's devastating twenty-seven-year war against the Marathas—a conflict that bled the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Deccan Capital: Aurangabad's Rise and Fall
This episode explores Aurangzeb's founding of Aurangabad as his Deccan capital, examining how the city became a hub of Mughal power, culture, and…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Bengal Campaign: The Mughal Conquest of a Golden Delta
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's often-overlooked campaign to subdue Bengal in the 1660s. They discuss the strategic importance of the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Architecture: The Emperor Who Built on Faith and War
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's architectural legacy — from the iconic Badshahi Masjid in Lahore to the elegant Moti Masjid in…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Medical Reforms: The Emperor Who Treated His Enemies
When you think of Aurangzeb, the image that comes to mind is likely a stern, pious emperor, a destroyer of temples, a wager of endless wars. But there was…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Afghan Policy: The Khyber Pass and the Empire's Northern Frontier
In this episode of the Fexingo History podcast, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's often-overlooked but crucial policies on the northwestern frontier of…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Fruit Diplomacy: Bananas and Politics in the Mughal Deccan
In the summer of 1665, a Mughal nobleman named Mirza Raja Jai Singh sent a gift of bananas to Emperor Aurangzeb. It wasn't just fruit — it was a carefully…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Fatwa-e-Alamgiri: The Imperial Legal Code
In this episode, Lucas and Luna delve into the Fatwa-e-Alamgiri, the monumental legal code commissioned by Aurangzeb that aimed to standardize Islamic law…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's War Elephants: Behemoths of Mughal Battlefields
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the role of war elephants in Aurangzeb's military campaigns. From the massive fil-i-jang used at Samugarh to the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Last Will: The Emperor Who Died Penniless
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the final years of Aurangzeb's life — not the battles or the politics, but the man himself, as revealed through…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Jizya Tax: Revenue, Revolt, and Religious Identity
In 1679, Aurangzeb reimposed the jizya tax on non-Muslims across the Mughal Empire, a decision that sparked widespread protests and shaped his legacy. This…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Bandits: The Zamindari Revolt That Shook the Empire
In 1669, a Hindu zamindar named Gokula led a rebellion of Jats and Gujars against Mughal authority near Mathura. The uprising, rooted in resentment over…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Farman: The Imperial Order That Ruled an Empire
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the mechanics of Mughal imperial rule through the farman — the emperor's written decree that shaped governance…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Siege of Bijapur: The Conquest That Changed the Deccan
In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into the epic Mughal siege of Bijapur in 1686, a pivotal campaign that marked Emperor Aurangzeb's relentless push…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Satnamis: The Peasant Revolt That Exposed Mughal Weakness
In 1672, a sect of pacifist farmers in the Punjab region — the Satnamis — rose up against Aurangzeb's empire and nearly captured the city of Narnaul. This…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Unfinished Mosque: The Badshahi Masjid and the Empire's End
In 1671, Aurangzeb commissioned the Badshahi Masjid in Lahore—one of the Mughal Empire's last great architectural statements. This episode explores the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Harem: Power, Politics, and the Imperial Household
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Mughal imperial harem under Aurangzeb, moving beyond Orientalist fantasies to uncover a complex institution of…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Royal Library: Books, Scholars, and Censorship
This episode of Fexingo History delves into Aurangzeb's personal library, a vast collection of manuscripts that reveals the emperor's intellectual…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Coinage: The Emperor Who Minted His Faith
After decades of war, taxes, and religious controversy, how did Aurangzeb want to be remembered in the everyday hands of his subjects? Through his coins. This…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Temple Destruction: Politics, Piety, and Historical Debate
Episode 105 of our Aurangzeb series dives into one of the most controversial aspects of his reign: the destruction and desecration of Hindu temples. We move…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Siege of Golconda and the Rise of the Qutb Shahi
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna revisit the Deccan campaigns of Aurangzeb through the lens of one specific, dramatic event: the 1687 siege…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb vs the Marathas: The Fall of Fort Jinji
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the epic 1690–1698 siege of Fort Jinji in the Tamil hinterland, where the Maratha king Rajaram held out for eight years…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Maratha Campaign: The Tiger of the Deccan
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna delve into the heart of Aurangzeb's protracted and ultimately futile war against the Marathas in the…