Explore the political challenges and succession issues during the Mughal period, including the War of Succession, Dara's mistakes, and Aurangzeb's rise to power.
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Problems of Succession
Succession Issues
Shah Jahan’s later reign was troubled by a war of succession among his sons.
There was no clear tradition of succession among Muslims or Timurids.
The ruler's right of nomination was accepted by some Muslim political thinkers but was not asserted in India during the Sultanate period.
The Timurid tradition of partitioning had failed and was not applied in India.
Hindu traditions on succession were unclear. Tulsidas, a contemporary of Akbar, believed a ruler could give the tikka to any son, but this was often contested among brothers.
Sanga had to struggle with his brothers before claiming the throne.
Shah Jahan's Illness and Dara’s Nomination
In late 1657, Shah Jahan fell ill in Delhi, leading to rumors of his death, but he eventually recovered.
Princes Shuja, Murad, and Aurangzeb prepared for war believing Shah Jahan was dead or pretending to believe so.
Shah Jahan, hoping to avoid conflict, nominated Dara as his successor, raising his mansab to 60,000 and instructing nobles to obey him. This only strengthened the other princes' resolve to claim the throne.
War of Succession
Aurangzeb’s ultimate triumph was due to Dara's divided counsel and underestimation of his opponents.
Shah Jahan sent an army east led by Dara’s son Sulaiman Shikoh and Mirza Raja Jai Singh to deal with Shuja, while another army under Raja Jaswant Singh faced Aurangzeb and Murad in Malwa.
Jaswant Singh, despite odds, fought Aurangzeb at Dharmat (April 15, 1658), but lost, boosting Aurangzeb's prestige and demoralizing Dara.
Dara’s Mistakes and Defeats
Dara mistakenly sent his best troops east, denuding Agra. Sulaiman Shikoh defeated Shuja near Banaras (February 1658) but couldn’t return in time for the conflict with Aurangzeb.
Dara sought allies like Jaswant Singh and the Rana of Udaipur, but Aurangzeb won them over.
The battle of Samugarh (May 29, 1658) highlighted Aurangzeb’s superior generalship. Dara’s hastily recruited army couldn’t match Aurangzeb’s battle-hardened troops.
Aurangzeb pretended to come to Agra to see his father and release him from Dara’s control. Both Muslim and Hindu nobles were divided in their support based on personal interests.
Shah Jahan’s Imprisonment
After Dara’s defeat, Shah Jahan was besieged in the Agra fort, forced to surrender by Aurangzeb cutting off the water supply. He was confined but not ill-treated, living under his daughter Jahanara’s care for eight years.
Aurangzeb, reneging on an agreement to share power, imprisoned Murad and later had him killed.
Dara’s End and Aurangzeb’s Consolidation
After losing at Samugarh, Dara fled to Lahore, then Sindh, and later Gujarat and Ajmer, where he faced treachery from Jaswant Singh.
The battle of Deorai (March 1659) was Dara’s last stand. Captured in the Bolan Pass by a treacherous Afghan chief, Dara was executed on religious and state grounds.
Dara’s son, Sulaiman Shikoh, was later captured and executed.
Aurangzeb defeated Shuja at Khajwah (December 1658), who then fled to Arakan and met a dishonorable end.
Aftermath and Aurangzeb’s Policies
The civil war showed that succession could only be determined by military force, leading to more destructive conflicts.
Aurangzeb tried to mitigate the harshness of Mughal succession conflicts. At Jahanara Begum’s instance, he released and married off the children of his defeated brothers into his family, integrating them into the Mughal hierarchy.
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