The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c20.71

v4.c20.71

In the midst of this chaos and darkness Aurangzīb closed his eyes. The internal troubles of his camp were even more alarming. Prince A‘zam Shāh’s inordinate vanity and ambition urged him to secure the succession for himself by removing all rivals from his path. So he poisoned the ears of the emperor against ‘Azīm-ush-Shān, the able third son of Shāh ‘Ālam, and had him recalled from the government of Patna. Then he looked out for an opportunity to make a sudden attack on Kām Bakhsh and kill him. Every day A‘zam’s hostile designs against Kām Bakhsh became more evident, and therefore the emperor charged the brave and faithful Sultān Husain (Mīr Malang) with that prince’s defence, which threw A‘zam into uncontrollable anger. Early in February, 1707, Aurangzīb had one more of the attacks of languor and illness which had become rather frequent of late. He recovered for a time, but feeling that the end could not be far off, he tried to secure peace in his camp by making civil war there immediately after his death impossible. So he appointed Kām Bakhsh as viceroy of Bījāpur and sent him away with his army on 20 February. Four days later A‘zam was despatched to Mālwā as its governor; but that cunning prince marched slowly, halting every other day. On the 28th the aged and worn-out monarch was seized with a severe fever, but for three days he obstinately insisted on coming to the court-room and saying the five daily prayers there. During this period he dictated two pathetic letters to A‘zam and Kām Bakhsh entreating them to avoid the slaughter of Muslims and the desolation of the realm by civil war, but to cultivate brotherly love, peace and moderation, and illustrating the vanity of all earthly things. In the morning of 3 March, 1707, he came out of his bedroom, offered the morning prayer, and repeating the Islamic *credo*, gradually sank into unconsciousness, which ended in his death about 8 o’clock.