Page:Aurangzíb and the Decay of the Mughal Empire.djvu/66

 CHAPTER III

The Puritan

When Aurengzíb was for a second time proclaimed Emperor in May 1659, he took for his title the Persian word engraved on the sword which his captive father had given him – 'Álamgír, 'World-compeller' – and by this title he was known to his subjects and to succeeding generations of Muslims. Before we consider the use he made of his power we must realize something of his character. All Muhammadan writers extol him as a saint; all contemporary Chistians – except Dryden, and he was no historian, – denounce him as a hypocrite who used religion as a cloak for ambition. and said prayers to cover the most unnatural murders. Aurangzíb has experienced the fate of his great contemporary, Cromwell, whom he resembled in many features of the soul. He has had his Ludlow among his biographers, and his Baxter, with their theories of selfish ambition and virtue vitiated by success; he has also been slavered with the panegyrics of Muhammadan Flecknoes and Dawbeneys. These opposite views, however, are less contradictory than might be supposed.