This is a 3 page essay i wrote, my real first essay to be honnest im quite nervous on how i wrote, If there are any mistake or things i should improve please tell. Thanks:
Aurangzeb a great mughal emperor? or a failure as a ruler?
Aurangzeb was a great general, saint, and a remarkable man in his personal life, but a failure as a ruler.
There are a number of reasons why Aurangzeb was responsible for the decline of the Mughal Empire, and therefore should not be called a great emperor.
Aurangzeb was : Strictly Religious, and ambitious for power.
Aurangzeb strict religious beliefs made him dull and rigid in his outlook, to him his religion was the only true religion he did not respect the ideals and beliefs of the majority of Hindus in his empire, He lacked the sort of vision a ruler should have, he tried to force his beliefs,customs,ideals,and religion on his people which played a major part in the revolts against him (some of which were a devastating blow to his empire such as: The Maratha's and Sikhs). His ambition for power led him to fight long-drawn wars that almost bankrupt the empire when he passed away, to support these long-drawn wars Aurangzeb revised the jizya tax (which is said to be his worst mistake in his reign), although it is also believed that he revised the tax to force the Hindus to convert to Islam which fired up violent protests against him, but nonetheless Aurangzeb was determined to keep the tax and this made the decline of the Mughal Empire even more clear.
Aurangzeb created the biggest Mughal empire by the end of his reign (1707) but as it grew he could not communicate with it and thus could not control it, He was constantly away from his capital, his policy of heavy taxes put hardship on his people, the Hindus lost trust in him and resented him (which later on made governing the empire for other emperors even harder), and soon his grip on the government steadily weakened, he also forbid non-Muslims to be awarded high administrative positions. Aurangzeb did not trust his kith or kin and he kept most of all the power in his hands as a result when he died in (1707) there was no one good enough to take over the throne. Aurangzeb s focus on reducing the threat of rebels and expanding his empire made him unaware of the increasing powers in the west and therefore left the empire in an desperate state after his death.
Should Aurangzeb be called a "great Mughal Emperor?" according to the majority of the sources and my opinion no.
