Aurangzib and The Decay of The Mughal Empire

He was himself the spring and fount of the sagacious policy of his government and the proof of the soundness of his system is the duration of his undiminished empire in spite of the follies and vices of his successors until it was undone by the puritan reaction of his great.grandson Aurangzib. [...] He had realized from its lessons that if his dynasty was to keep its hold on the country and withstand the onslaught of fresh hordes of invaders it must rest on the loyalty of the native Hindus who formed the bulk of the population supplied the quota of the army and were necessarily entrusted with most of the evil employments. [...] Towards the end of his reign indeed he fell completely under the influence of his imperious and gifted queen the celebrated NuJahan who practically ruled the empire with the aid of her brother Asaf Khan ; and the effects of her sway were seen in the weakening of the old military spirit of the Alughals the driving of the most capable of the Emperor's sons Prince Khurram into open rebelli [...] The French traveller Taveneir speaks of the gracious government of the Eperor as 'like that of a father over his family ' and bears witness to the security of the roads and the just administration of the law. [...] A Hindu writer of the time vies with his Muhammadan and Christian cotemporaries in extolling the equity of Shah-Jahan's rule his wise and liberal administration of the land the probity of his courts of law his personal auditing of the accounts and the prosperity of the country resulting from all these causes.