History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v3.c41.s11.2

v3.c41.s11.2

Judged as a military exploit, Mir Jumla's invasion of Assam was a success. He overran the country almost to its farthest limits, kept hold of the capital, forced the Rajah to make a humiliating treaty, realized a large indemnity, and secured the promise of a large cession of territory and further payments. If its political consequences were not permanent, if the ceded districts were lost and even Gauhati wrested from the Mughal grasp only four years after his death, the fault was not his. No race can maintain an empire unless its sons are willing to garrison their conquests, and Mughal soldiers were heartily sick of this land of flood and earthquake, pestilence and witchcraft. It is surprising that Aurangzib did not lay to heart his own experiences in Balkh in his father's reign.