He was old. Really old. When you think about the high-stakes, violent world of the 17th-century Mughal Empire, it's almost a miracle that the sixth emperor lived to see 88. Most people looking into how was Aurangzeb killed expect a dramatic assassination or a bloody battlefield execution. After all, he spent the last 26 years of his life in a grueling, non-stop war in the Deccan. He was surrounded by enemies—Marathas, Sikhs, Rajputs, and even his own rebellious sons.
But the truth is far less cinematic.
Aurangzeb wasn't killed by a sword or a poison chalice. He died of natural causes, likely a combination of extreme old age, physical exhaustion, and a severe terminal fever. He died in a military camp at Ahmednagar on February 20, 1707. It’s kinda wild to think that a man who spent his life expanding an empire through sheer, uncompromising force ended up fading away in a tent, clutching a prayer book, while his kingdom literally began to crumble around him.
The Long Decline: Why People Think He Was Assassinated
History buffs often confuse Aurangzeb’s death with the violent ends of his brothers or his successors. You’ve got Dara Shikoh, who was executed by Aurangzeb himself. Then there’s the later Mughals like Farrukhsiyar, who was blinded and strangled. Because the Mughal line is so soaked in blood, the question of how was Aurangzeb killed naturally leads people to look for a conspiracy.
There wasn't one. Not a successful one, anyway.
By 1705, Aurangzeb’s health was tanking. He was nearly 90. He had been living in the saddle for decades, fighting the Marathas in a "war of attrition" that he was technically winning on paper but losing in reality. His joints were stiff. His eyesight was failing. Most importantly, his spirit was flagging. In his final letters to his sons, Azam and Kam Bakhsh, he sounds like a man who knows the clock has run out. He wrote about his soul departing and the "burden of sin" he was carrying. It wasn't the talk of a man who feared an assassin; it was the talk of a man who feared the afterlife.
The Siege of the Body: Fever and Frailty
In early 1707, the imperial camp was stationed at Ahmednagar. The Emperor had retreated there after yet another exhausting campaign. The chronicles of the time, like the Maasir-i-Alamgiri, detail his final days with a surprising amount of clinical gloom. He developed a high fever. In the pre-modern world, a fever at age 88 is basically a death sentence.
He lingered for several days. He continued to perform his prayers until he literally couldn't stand. On the morning of Friday, February 20, he performed his morning prayers, and shortly after, he passed away.
No palace coup. No Maratha raid on his tent. Just a very old man finally giving out.
How Was Aurangzeb Killed? Debunking the Battlefield Myths
There is a persistent myth in some folk histories that Aurangzeb died in battle against the Maratha king or a specific general. This is factually wrong. While it's true that the Marathas, under leaders like Tarabai, were making life a living hell for the Mughal army, they never actually got a killing blow on the Emperor.
Instead, they killed his empire.
The Marathas used scorched-earth tactics. They avoided big, pitched battles and focused on raiding supply lines. This meant Aurangzeb and his massive "moving city" of a camp were often short on food and basic supplies. You could argue that the stress of the Maratha wars killed him. The constant anxiety of an unwinnable war definitely hastened his decline.
- Fact: He died in his bed (or rather, his bedroll in a tent).
- Fact: His last words were reportedly prayers.
- Fact: He left strict instructions for his funeral to be simple and paid for by his own manual labor—sewing caps and copying the Quran.
The Aftermath: A Kingdom in Chaos
The moment the breath left his body, the "killing" of the Mughal Empire truly began. Aurangzeb had refused to name a clear successor, fearing that his sons would do to him what he had done to his own father, Shah Jahan (imprisonment).
As soon as he died, his three sons—Mu'azzam, Azam, and Kam Bakhsh—plunged the country into a brutal civil war. This is why the question of how was Aurangzeb killed matters so much; his death was the "Big Bang" for the decline of Mughal power in India. Within decades of his passing, the empire was a shadow of itself, eventually falling to the Persians, the Afghans, and finally, the British.
What You Should Take Away From This
If you're researching this for a project or just because you’re a history nerd, don't get tripped up by sensationalist YouTube videos or historical fiction. Aurangzeb's end was a quiet, almost lonely event in a tent in Maharashtra.
Next Steps for Deep Diving into Mughal History:
- Read the Primary Sources: Check out the Maasir-i-Alamgiri by Saqi Mustad Khan. It’s the official history of his reign and gives the most "eyewitness" account of his final days you can get.
- Visit the Tomb: If you’re ever in Aurangabad (now Sambhaji Nagar), go to Khuldabad. His tomb is famously open-air and incredibly plain, which is a massive contrast to the Taj Mahal or Humayun’s Tomb. It tells you everything you need to know about his mindset at the end.
- Study the "Deccan Ulcer": Historians like Jadunath Sarkar have written extensively on how the wars in the south "killed" Aurangzeb's health and his treasury. Look for his multi-volume biography of Aurangzeb for the most granular detail.
The real "killer" of Aurangzeb was time, a brutal climate, and a war that lasted twenty years too long. He died an undefeated general but a defeated ruler.