ASKiIMAN™ MEDIEVAL / HISTORY
--:-- · -- --- ----

Aurangzeb's Religious Policy

Realm 68: The Muhtasibs, The Jizyah Decrees, and the Orthodox Shift

WORLD K — AURANGZEB, MARATHAS & CRISIS

MICRO-REALM 01

Orthodox Shift

  • Departure from Sulh-i-Kul.
  • Strict Sunni Hanafi law.
  • Appeased orthodox Ulema.
  • Legitimized his usurpation.
MICRO-REALM 02

Puritanical Decrees

  • Court music forbidden.
  • Nauroz festival banned.
  • Jharokha Darshan stopped.
  • Solar calendar abolished.
MICRO-REALM 03

The Muhtasibs

  • Censors of public morals.
  • Enforced Islamic injunctions.
  • Banned alcohol, gambling.
  • Regulated market weights.
MICRO-REALM 04

Re-imposition of Jizyah

  • Revived in 1679 CE.
  • Poll tax on non-Muslims.
  • Broke Akbar's century-old policy.
  • Deeply alienated Hindu subjects.
MICRO-REALM 05

Economic Pressures

  • Discriminatory customs duties.
  • 5% for Hindus, 2.5% for Muslims.
  • Later abolished for Muslims entirely.
  • Financial coercion tactics.
MICRO-REALM 06

Temple Destructions

  • Keshava Deva (Mathura).
  • Vishwanath (Kashi/Varanasi).
  • Somnath (Gujarat) targeted.
  • Mosques built on sites.
MICRO-REALM 07

Motives: Faith or Politics?

  • Historians heavily debate causes.
  • Pure religious bigotry?
  • Or punishing rebel strongholds?
  • Often tied to local revolts.
MICRO-REALM 08

Sikh Alienation

  • Guru Tegh Bahadur executed (1675).
  • Refused to convert to Islam.
  • Led to militarization.
  • Guru Gobind Singh creates Khalsa.
MICRO-REALM 09

Rajput Alienation

  • Interference in Marwar succession.
  • Rathore rebellion erupts.
  • Mewar joins the revolt.
  • Loss of crucial military allies.
MICRO-REALM 10

The Fractured Empire

  • Composite nobility destroyed.
  • Endless agrarian revolts (Jats, Satnamis).
  • Moral authority of empire lost.
  • Sowed seeds of ultimate decline.