Aurangzeb drained the military and financial resources of the Mughal empire by fighting a long war, lasting over twenty-five years, in which region?

Aurangzeb drained the military and financial resources of the Mughal empire by fighting a long war in the Deccan, where he spent the last 26 years of his life.

Why Aurangzeb went to the Deccan:

• He wanted to bring the Deccan Sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda under direct Mughal rule.
• He wanted to crush the growing power of the Marathas, who had become a major threat under Shivaji.
• His rebel son, Prince Akbar, had fled to the Deccan and joined the Maratha ruler Sambhaji, which alarmed him.

The Deccan campaigns:

• Aurangzeb moved to the Deccan in 1681-82 with a large army, and never returned to the north.
• He annexed Bijapur and Golconda in the 1680s.
• He captured and executed Sambhaji in 1689.
• However, the Marathas continued to resist, using guerrilla warfare.
• Aurangzeb spent his last years besieging Maratha forts, one after another.

Effects of the long war:

• It cost huge amounts of money and men.
• The north of the empire was neglected, and rebellions and disorder increased there.
• The administration weakened, and corruption increased.
• The jagirdari system faced a crisis, as there were not enough productive jagirs to pay the many mansabdars.
• The Deccan itself was devastated by war, famine and plague.
• The war has been described as the "Deccan ulcer", which drained the strength of the empire, just as the "Spanish ulcer" drained Napoleon's France.

Historians' views:

• Many historians see the Deccan war as a major cause of the decline of the Mughal empire.
• Others stress that the decline had many causes, including the jagirdari crisis and the rise of regional powers.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Bengal, Afghanistan and Assam saw campaigns in Aurangzeb's reign, but the long war was in the Deccan.