History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v1.c17.8

v1.c17.8

The reign had been as prosperous as it had been long. The ‘wealth of Ind’ under this Great Mughal dazzled the eyes of foreign visitors, and on gala days ambassadors from Bukhara and Persia, Turkey and Arabia, as well as travellers from France and Italy, gazed with wonder at the Peacock Throne and the Kohinur and other jewels which cast a luminous halo round the Emperor’s person. The white marble edifices which he loved to build were as costly as they were chaste in design. The nobles of the empire eclipsed the kings of other lands in wealth and pomp. Save for two failures of his arms outside the natural frontiers of India, the Imperial prestige stood higher than ever before. The bounds of the “protected empire” had been stretched further than in any preceding reign. Within the country itself a profound peace reigned. The peasantry were carefully cherished; harsh and exacting governors were in many cases dismissed on the complaint of the people. Wealth and prosperity increased on all hands. As a panegyrist sang:—