Page:History of India Vol 5.djvu/387

 GOLD COIN OP AURAN'GZIB, STRUCK AT BIJAPUB, 1099 A. H. (1687 - 1688 A. D.). CHAPTER XV AUEANGZIB 1659-1707 A. D. AURANGZIB, the Puritan Emperor of India, whose long life of nearly ninety years, including fifty years of sovereignty, was marked by the gradual down- fall of the Moghul Empire, stands as a lonely figure amid scenes of the empire's departing grandeur. " In- comparable courage, long-suffering, and judgment r were the qualities accorded him by the verdict of Mo- hammedan history after his death, and he was always extolled for " devotion, austerity, and justice." Aurang- zib's strictness in all matters appertaining to religion is evident from the Mir*at-l Alam, a work written by Mohammad Baka, an official of high rank at court, a man, moreover, who had the opportunity of knowing his sovereign well. Aurangzib's Moslem orthodoxy and his consecrated idea of the kingly office may be read between the lines of the chronicler's account. ' Be it known to the readers of this work that its author, the humble slave of the Almighty, is going to describe in a correct manner the excellent character,