53 
HINDOOSTAN. 
by their joint exertions, the array 1 under Azem was driven 
back and defeated. On the news of this difgrace, the an¬ 
gry and irritated Aurungzebe, early in 1684, marched 
himfelf into Vifiapour, at the head of an army three times 
larger than that of the Hindoos, and encamped at no great 
diftance from the capital. Formidable as was his force, 
yet, according to his ufual plan of preferring ftratagem to 
compulfion, he was lavilh of his promifes and his trea- 
fures among the chief officers of both the government 
and army of Vifiapour, to procure their defection; and 
by this means in a fiiort time his confidence of ultimate 
fuccefs was fo ftrong, that he detached his Ion Mauzim, 
with a large proportion of the army, to attack the king 
of Golconda, whole aftive fupport of the rajah of Vifia¬ 
pour was well known. The intimidated king, on the ap¬ 
proach of the Moguls, (hut himfelf up in the fortrefs of 
Golconda, which Mauzim immediately inverted ; where¬ 
upon the rajah, dreading the lofs of his dominions, prof¬ 
fered the humbleft fubmiffion, with, a great quantity of 
gold, and the mod precious diamonds of his mines. 
Thefe terms of capitulation being tranfmitted to Au¬ 
rungzebe, then occupied by Vifiapour, he directed the 
prince his fon to accede to them. 
Aurungzebe, in the mean while, having diftributed mag¬ 
nificent largeffes among the chiefs of Vifiapour, the king 
of that country found his army fo reduced in number, 
that, felefting that portion of it on which he could place 
the firmed reliance, he retired into his capital; but, not 
thinking himfelf fafe within its walls, he retired to a 
neighbouring hill-fort, and left his more experienced ge¬ 
nerals to defend the city. After two or three vigorous 
afiaults, the city furrendered ; and Seconder, the unfor¬ 
tunate young monarch, being clolely befieged in the fort, 
and feeing no chance of efcape, capitulated for the pre- 
fervation of his life, and the pofl'effion of his women and 
children. He appeared before Aurungzebe m filver chains, 
and humbled himfelf to the dull in the prel'ence of the 
haughty viftor. 
Immediately after the fall of Vifiapour, the greedy ful- 
tan, notwithftanding the terms of capitulation juft before 
granted to the king of Golconda, confidered thofe terms 
as nugatory, being ratified only by his fon ! Under co¬ 
vert of this fcandalous fubterfuge, he refolved to march 
to that capital, in oppofition to the repeated remonftrances 
of the prince Mauzim, who declared that the ambition of 
the emperor was about to facrifice the honour of his fon, 
which was pledged to that monarch. Aurungzebe, re- 
gardlefs of thele remonftrances, and of every tie which 
integrity and honour know, marched direftly to Gol¬ 
conda, and inverted that ftrong fortrefs, in the month of 
January, 1687. The emperor himfelf conduced the fiege, 
and fixed his head-quarters in the city of Hyderabad. 
The walls and ramparts of Golconda are fix miles in cir¬ 
cumference ; but were eafily inverted by the immenle ar¬ 
my of Aurungzebe, which conftfted, as fome report, of 
no lefs than five hundred thouland men. On the 27th 
of September, after a clofe fiege of eight months, a gene¬ 
ral attack was made by night; and the garrifon, exhauft- 
ed by famine and fatigue, after a -flight refiftance, were 
overpowered, and for the molt part cut in pieces. The 
•unfortunate king, who had taken ffielter in the meaneft 
office of his palace, was dragged from his hiding-place be¬ 
fore the conqueror, who not only treated him with mark¬ 
ed indignity, but inflicted the fcourge, in order to extort 
a difcovery of treal'ures fuppofed to be concealed. 
Thus, in the year 1687, were the potent and golden 
kingdoms of Vifiapour and Golconda, which had refilled 
for "two centuries all the machinations of the Mogul mo- 
r.archs, added to the over-grown empire of Aurungzebe. 
Yet to fubjugate the other unconquered parts of the pe- 
uinfula was the arduous effort of the remainder of the 
prolonged life of this indefatigable monarch ; who, in fpite 
of increafing age and infirmities, (for he was now in his 
73d year,) continued from this time till his death almoll 
conftantly in the field. The Carnatic, which had been de- 
Vol. X. No. 640. 
pendant on Golconda, the Myfore, tributary to Vifiapour, 
and the rajahs of Tanjore, Tritchinopoly, and other finaller 
kingdoms, were quickly reduced ; butthe Mabrattas, under 
Sahojee, the fon of Sambajee, and grandfon of the famous 
Sevajee, founder of thofe ftates^ohftinately difputed every 
inch of ground, and often reduced the enemy to the great- 
eft llraits, in a country devaftated by perpetual war. The 
war, however, lingered on, until the great objeft upon 
which fo many years of the life of Aurungzebe hau been 
employed, the reduflion of the Deccan, was accomplifli- 
ed ; when, exhaufted with age, and worn down to (kin 
and bone, he retired, fora few weeks previous to his death, 
into winter-quarters at Ahmednagur. There, finding his 
diflolution inevitably approaching, at the advanced age of 
ninety fome glimpfes of remorfe appear to have broken in 
upon a mind long rendered callous by the fouleft crimes 
of bloodftied and murder. Two letters, written by him 
to his Ions Azem and Kambukfh, a IhorC time before hi* 
diflolution, difplay evident fymptoms of a perturbed and 
diilrefled mind. On Friday the 21ft of February, 1707, 
after performing his morning devotions in company with, 
his attendants, he exclaimed, “ Oh ! that my death may 
happen on a Friday, for bieffed is he who dieth on that 
day!” when fuddenly he funk down, and was no more. 
Thus, at an age to which, few of human race attain, ex¬ 
pired the mercilefs dellroyer of his own diftinguilhed fa¬ 
mily, and the fcourge of the Hindoos. He rigidly fol¬ 
lowed the principles of the Mohammedan faith; and we 
cannot but admire the unlhaken refoiution with which, 
during fo long a life, he fubmitted to privations of every 
kind, though prefiding in the moll luxurious court, and 
wielding the richeft feeptre of Afia. His diet conftfted 
chiefly of herbs and pulle ; no fermented liquor ever pall¬ 
ed his lips; in the pleafures of his ha-rem he was, at leaft, 
more temperate than his predeceffors; keeping, indeed, 
according to the cullom of .the Afiatics, a number of wo¬ 
men, but rather for oftentation than ufe.. He allowed 
himfelf but little time for deep or meals; and that por¬ 
tion of his aflive day that was not devoted to the hearing 
of petitions and other public bufinefs in the hall of au¬ 
dience, was parted in a perpetual routine of prayer, ablu¬ 
tion, and reading the Koran. Except on public feftivals, 
the veil he wore l'eldom exceeded the value of eight rupees ; 
nor were his falh and tiara, as had been the cullom with 
the former emperors, loaded with gold and jewels. In 
the camp he was the moll Indefatigable foldier of his 
whole army ; rifing early, retiring late to reft, content 
with the coarfeft fare, and llept often on the bare ground, 
wrapt up in the Ikin of a tiger. 
Aurungzebe, as a fovereign, though deeply ftained with 
blood, yet was otherwile endowed with many excellent 
qualities. He was accomplilhed in literature beyond moll 
of the princes of the houfe of Timour. He was mailer 
of the Perfian and Arabic languages ; and wrote with flu¬ 
ency that of his anceftors, the Moguls. He patronized 
learned men throughout his dominions ; and wrote with 
his own hand many of the government difpatches, which 
were remarkable for their brevity and precifion. He 
erefled many fchools and univerfities in different parts of 
his empire; llored them with books in eveiy branch of 
learning; appointed over them the moll able mailers ; 
and endo r ed them with competent falaries from the funds 
of the empire. Thefe learned feminaries he occafionally 
vifited, and entered with freedom, attempered by dignity, 
into various difputations with the fchoolmen. There cer¬ 
tainly were in his manners much of complacency and af¬ 
fability ; and a benignity reigned in his features, which 
we too well know was foreign to the feelings of his 
heart. He had four fons : Akbar, the eldeft, died in Per- 
fia-; of the three furviving fons, the eldeft, named Shah 
Aulum, or Mauzim, was at the time of his father’s death 
viceroy of Cabul. Azem, tiie fecond Furviving fon, was 
with his father in the Deccan, and was his favourite, 
Kajnbuklh, the youngeft, was governor in the newly-con¬ 
quered province of Vifiapour. Aurungzebe alfo left a 
P Jhort 
