Audrey Truschke's biography Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King details one of India's most debated rulers since 2015. The author is an Assistant Professor of History at Rutgers University. She is a distinguished author that has published an earlier book called Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court.Using clear and concise language, Truschke provides evidence and facts to clear away false information and provide new insight into the mind and mannerisms of King Aurangzeb. As such, the life of Aurangzeb will be separated into his early years, rule at court, and conquering of the Deccan.
On November 6, 1618, Aurangzeb was born as the third son of King Shah Jahan. With two older brothers, Dara Shukoh and Shah Shuja, and a younger brother, Murad, competing for the throne and their father's favor was difficult. At sixteen, Aurangzeb was delegated control of a portion …show more content…
As with many previous Mughal kings, Aurangzeb desired to rule over the entire Deccan and he even conquered the majority before his death in 1707. The most crucial battles for his conquest were of Bijapur and Golconda. Aurangzeb loved the climate and culture of the Deccan and wrote as such in his letters to friends and relatives. On the other hand, his entourage despised the Deccan. Some even complained about how the natives were savages living on uninhabitable land. During their time in the Deccan, Aurangzeb wrote a variety letters on diverse topics. The most prominent of them were of how he thought he was a horrible king and Muslim, as well as how he feared for the future of the Mughal Empire. In 1707, Aurangzeb, at about eighty-nine years old, died and was buried in a "Chishti Sufi shrine of Zaynuddin Shirazi in Khuldabad" (Truschke, 99). His will stated that the Empire would be divided to each of his remaining sons where infighting among them caused all the land gained under Aurangzeb's rule to be
On November 6, 1618, Aurangzeb was born as the third son of King Shah Jahan. With two older brothers, Dara Shukoh and Shah Shuja, and a younger brother, Murad, competing for the throne and their father's favor was difficult. At sixteen, Aurangzeb was delegated control of a portion …show more content…
As with many previous Mughal kings, Aurangzeb desired to rule over the entire Deccan and he even conquered the majority before his death in 1707. The most crucial battles for his conquest were of Bijapur and Golconda. Aurangzeb loved the climate and culture of the Deccan and wrote as such in his letters to friends and relatives. On the other hand, his entourage despised the Deccan. Some even complained about how the natives were savages living on uninhabitable land. During their time in the Deccan, Aurangzeb wrote a variety letters on diverse topics. The most prominent of them were of how he thought he was a horrible king and Muslim, as well as how he feared for the future of the Mughal Empire. In 1707, Aurangzeb, at about eighty-nine years old, died and was buried in a "Chishti Sufi shrine of Zaynuddin Shirazi in Khuldabad" (Truschke, 99). His will stated that the Empire would be divided to each of his remaining sons where infighting among them caused all the land gained under Aurangzeb's rule to be