Question

Aurangzeb died forlorn and destitute. In this context, explain briefly:

His attempts to suppress rebellion in the Deccan.

Answer 1

His attempts to suppress rebellion in the Deccan: Shivaji was succeeded by his elder son Shambhaji. A new dimension that was added to the events in Deccan was the arrival of the rebel Prince Akbar at the Maratha Court. Aurangzeb feared that the Prince, the Marathas, and the Sultans of Bijapur and Golconda could forge an alliance against the Empire. He, therefore, reached the Deccan in 1681. He sought to crush the Marathas, but his efforts did not bear the desired results. He could annex Bijapur in 1686 and then came the fall of Golconda also. Shambhaji was also defeated, captured, and killed in 1689. The Deccan now seemed to be under the control of the Mughal Emperor. But the Marathas did not allow themselves to be carried into submission. They enthroned Shambhaji’s younger brother Raja Ram on the throne. When the Mughal army besieged their Capital, they fled towards Jinji. The Mughals captured Shambhaji’s wife and her nine-year-old son Sahuji. The Mughal- Maratha contest continued for many years. When Raja Ram died in 1700, his widow Tara Bai declared her four-year-old son, Shivaji II, the king. From 1700-1705 Aurangzeb, though ill-managed to drag himself from the siege of one fort to another. After nearly twenty-five years of direct military action in southern India, Aurangzeb died at Aurangabad in 1707 – with little success, but the substantial loss of wealth, prestige, and self-esteem.