A large committee of scholars compiled the Fatawa-e-Alamgiri (al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya) under Aurangzeb’s patronage, producing a major Hanafi legal compilation that became influential for governance and jurisprudence in South Asia.
Around 1679, Aurangzeb issued orders for the destruction of several prominent temples associated (in Mughal framing) with political rebellion, illustrating how religious policy, public signaling, and security concerns could intertwine in imperial actions.
After the 1679 jizya order, Shivaji is widely credited with sending a protest letter to Aurangzeb criticizing the tax as unjust and politically dangerous—an important example of elite, non-military opposition to Mughal religious-fiscal policy.
Aurangzeb ordered the reimposition of jizya (a poll tax on many non-Muslim subjects), reversing Akbar’s earlier abolition (1564). The measure became a defining symbol of Aurangzeb’s later religious-policy turn and drew criticism and resistance from contemporaries and later historians.
Aurangzeb moved south to personally direct the long Deccan wars and never returned to North India. The shift shaped how policies like jizya were administered and contested amid protracted warfare and fiscal strain.
The Mughal capture of Bijapur (an important Deccan sultanate) intensified the imperial war footing and enlarged the scope of governance challenges—including questions of taxation, legal administration, and religious policy in newly conquered regions.
The Mughal capture of Golconda further consolidated Aurangzeb’s Deccan conquest. The continuing campaigns increased reliance on revenue measures and sharpened political conflict with regional powers (notably the Marathas).
Aurangzeb’s forces captured and executed Sambhaji (Shivaji’s son). The episode deepened Mughal–Maratha hostility, contributing to decades of warfare that affected revenue capacity, provincial stability, and the practical limits of coercive policy.
As Deccan warfare dragged on, jizya collection became politically and administratively fraught; later accounts describe growing pressure on transporters and market communities and the difficulties of enforcing the tax consistently in conflict zones.
Facing famine distress and the ongoing Maratha war, Aurangzeb suspended jizya in the Deccan (for the duration of the war)—a significant retreat in practice from the 1679 proclamation, at least regionally.
Aurangzeb died in the Deccan after decades of campaigning. His death triggered succession struggle and accelerated institutional stresses that had grown during his late reign, including revenue shortfalls and regional-military fragmentation.
Mustaʿid Khan completed the Maasir-i-Alamgiri three years after Aurangzeb’s death. It became a major narrative source for Aurangzeb’s religious and administrative measures (including temple actions and fiscal policy).
Reimposition of jizya and Aurangzeb's religious policies (1679–1707)
