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 Jizya Tax: The Edict That Changed India
In 1679, Aurangzeb reimposed the jizya tax on non-Muslims, a decision that reshaped Mughal India and sparked widespread rebellion. This episode explores the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Brother Dara Shikoh: The Lost Prince of Tolerance
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the life and tragic fate of Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Shah Jahan and the philosophical rival to Aurangzeb. Dara…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzebs Daughter Zeb-un-Nisa The Rebel Princess Poet
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the life of Zeb-un-Nisa, Aurangzeb's rebellious eldest daughter—a princess who defied her father's orthodoxy…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Chief Justice: The Man Who Wrote the Fatwa-i-Alamgiri
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the life and legacy of Shaykh Nizam Burhanpuri, the chief justice of Aurangzeb's empire who oversaw the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Secret Treaty with the Marathas That Never Was
In 1664, as the Maratha leader Shivaji raided Surat, Aurangzeb's governor Shaista Khan failed to stop him. By 1665, the emperor dispatched his trusted…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Bengal Frontier: The Conquest That Shaped India's East
While Aurangzeb's Deccan campaigns drained the empire, his expansion into Bengal was a quieter but equally consequential story. This episode follows the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's War of 27 Years: The Deccan That Devoured the Mughals
In this episode, Lucas and Luna take a fresh angle on Aurangzeb's long war in the Deccan — not as a series of campaigns, but as a systematic, decades-long…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Sikh Nemesis: The Execution That Ignited Rebellion
In this episode, we explore Aurangzeb's fateful clash with the Sikh community, focusing on the execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1675 and the subsequent…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Lost Quran: The Emperor Who Wrote the Book
Episode 33 of Fexingo's Aurangzeb series turns to a little-known side of the emperor: his personal devotion and the legendary manuscript of the Quran he…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Fatwa on Slavery: Islamic Law and Mughal Captives
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's controversial fatwa on slavery, issued in 1668 as part of his Fatawa-e-Alamgiri. They discuss how the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's War Elephants: The Armoured Beasts of Mughal Warfare
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the crucial role of war elephants in Aurangzeb's military campaigns. From the armoured howdahs carrying archers to…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Failed Siege of Maratha Fortresses
In this episode, we explore Aurangzeb's relentless but ultimately futile campaign to capture the Maratha hill forts in the Western Ghats. Focusing on the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Watergate: The Emperor Who Built an Underground Palace
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore one of Aurangzeb's most overlooked architectural legacies: the massive underground water…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Fatwa on Music: The Emperor Who Silenced the Court
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's controversial ban on music at the Mughal court. Drawing on the Fatwa-i-Alamgiri, the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Hindu Captives: The Temple Destruction Debate
In this episode, Lucas and Luna tackle one of the most controversial legacies of Aurangzeb's reign: the destruction of Hindu temples. Drawing on the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Coin: The Emperor Who Remade Mughal Money
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's monetary policy and how his coinage reflected his imperial ambitions and religious orthodoxy. From the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Deccan Campaigns: The War That Broke the Mughal Empire
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's twenty-five-year war in the Deccan that drained the Mughal treasury and ultimately led to the…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Wine Ban: The Emperor Who Outlawed Drink
In 1668, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir issued a decree banning wine, bhang, and other intoxicants across his empire. This episode unpacks the surprising…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb and the Rajput Rebellion of 1679
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's fraught relationship with the Rajputs, focusing on the 1679 rebellion that erupted after he annexed…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Bodyguard: The Eunuch Who Ruled the Mughal Harem
Aurangzeb's reign wasn't just defined by war and piety—it was also shaped by the men who guarded his inner sanctum. In this episode, Lucas and Luna…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Secret City: The Lost Mughal Capital of Zafarabad
When Aurangzeb conquered the Deccan sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda in the 1680s, he didn't just annex territory—he built a new imperial city from…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Persian Captives: The Slave Poet and the Lost Princess
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a little-known dimension of Aurangzeb's reign: his Persian captives. After his Deccan campaigns, the emperor…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Bullock Cart Disaster: How Jizya Broke the Economy
In 1679, Aurangzeb reimposed the jizya tax on non-Muslims, a decision that previous episodes have framed as religious persecution. But this episode uncovers…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's War of Succession: The Bloody Road to the Peacock Throne
Before he became the sixth Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb fought a brutal civil war against his three brothers following Shah Jahan's illness in 1657. This…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Slave Generals: The Deccan Turncoats Who Shaped Empire
Aurangzeb's Deccan campaign relied heavily on commanders who had once served the very sultanates he was destroying. This episode zooms in on two…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Last Years: The Emperor Who Died Alone
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the final years of Aurangzeb's life, from his 1688 capture of the Maratha fort of Raigad to his death in 1707 at…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Elephant Master: How a Servant Shaped Empire
This episode of Fexingo History dives into the astonishing career of Hiranand, a low-caste mahout who rose to become Aurangzeb's most trusted military…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
The Mughal Navy That Never Was: Aurangzeb's Indian Ocean Ambitions
When Aurangzeb inherited the Mughal throne, his empire stretched from Afghanistan to Bengal. But one frontier remained stubbornly out of reach: the sea. In…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Architectural Paradox – The Badshahi Mosque and the Marble Throne
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a lesser-known facet of Aurangzeb's reign: his relationship with architecture. While often portrayed as an austere…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Kashmir: The Emperor Who Destroyed a Paradise
In 1685, Aurangzeb visited Kashmir for the first and only time. He came as a conqueror, not a tourist, and what he saw — the lush valleys, the ancient Hindu…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Hindu Generals: The Emperor Who Trusted His Enemies
Aurangzeb is often remembered for his religious policies and wars, but a surprising aspect of his reign was his reliance on Hindu generals in key military…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb and the Jizya: Tax of Division
Aurangzeb's reimposition of the jizya tax on non-Muslims in 1679 was not just a fiscal policy—it was a declaration of Islamic supremacy that alienated…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's War Elephants: Logistics, Power, and Decline
In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore the logistical nightmare behind Aurangzeb's massive war elephant corps. At its peak, the Mughal…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Fatwa on Music: The Emperor Who Silenced the Court
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a lesser-known but revealing aspect of Aurangzeb's reign: his systematic suppression of music at the Mughal court…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Secret Weapon: The War of Letters and Propaganda
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a lesser-known aspect of Aurangzeb's reign: his masterful use of letters, propaganda, and public spectacle to…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Buddhist Tango: The Little-Known War in the Himalayas
While Aurangzeb was famously fighting the Marathas and Sikhs in the Deccan and Punjab, he also waged a long, bloody, and almost forgotten war in the Himalayan…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
The Price of Faith: Aurangzeb's War on the Sikhs
This episode explores Aurangzeb's bloody conflict with the Sikh Gurus, from the execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1675 to the militant transformation…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
The Fall of Golconda: Aurangzeb's Siege and the Koh-i-Noor
This episode zooms in on the Mughal siege of Golconda in 1687, one of the most dramatic and costly campaigns of Aurangzeb's Deccan wars. Lucas and Luna…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Fatwa on Hindu Temples: Faith, Power, and Rebellion
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Aurangzeb's controversial policy of temple destruction — not as a simple act of iconoclasm, but as a complex tool…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb's Deccan War: The 25-Year Campaign That Broke an Empire
Episode 2 of our Aurangzeb series goes deep into the emperor's grueling 25-year Deccan campaign — the longest sustained military effort in Mughal history…
- Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History
Aurangzeb and the Mughal Empire's Final Peak
In the summer of 1658, a middle-aged prince seized the throne of the Mughal Empire, locked his father in a fortress, and set out to rule the richest realm on…