Aurangzeb was born on 3rd November, 1618 A.D. at Dohad near Ujjain. He was the Governor of Deccan at the time of his father Shah Jahan. He had commanded much military expedition in his father’s reign. A horrible home war was fought when Shah Jahan was about to die. Aurangzeb got success in it and sat upon Mughal Throne in 1658 A.D.

The Formal Ceremony was celebrated in 1659 A.D. On the latter occasion, Aurangzeb assumed the Title of “Abdul Mizaffar Muin-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Bahadur Alamgeer Badshah-i-Gazi.”

According to Sir J. N. Sarkar, the Famous Biographer of Aurangzeb, “The History of Aurangzeb is practically the History of India for sixty years. His own Reign (1658-1707) covers the second half of the seventeenth century and stands forth as a most important epoch in the annals of our country. Under him the Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent, and the largest single state ever known in India from the dawn of History to the rise of the British Power was formed.

From Ghzani to Chittagong, from Kashmir to the Karnatak, the continent of India obeyed one scepter. Islam made its last onward movement in India in this reign. The Empire thus formed, while unprecedented in size, was also one political unit. Its provinces were governed not by the mediation of sub-kings, but directly by servants of the Crown. Herein Aurangzeb’s Indian Empire was vaster than that of Asoka or Samudragupta or Harshavardhan”.

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Again, “The life of Aurangzeb was one long tragedy, the story of a man battling in vain against an invisible but inexorable fate. And this tragedy in history was developed with all the regularity of a perfect drama.”

After having settled with his brothers, Aurangzeb ascended the throne in July 1658. However, the formal accession did not take place till June 1659. On the latter occasion Aurangzeb assumed the Title of Alamgir. In 1661, he received Ambassadors from Persia and Bokhara who were sent to congratulate him on his succession. As all the possible rivals had already been disposed of, Aurangzeb enjoyed comparative peace.