Aurangzeb

Abul Muzaffar Muhi u'd-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb (4 November 1618 - 3 March 1707) is commonly known as Aurangzeb, and by his imperial title Alamgir ("world-seizer"), he was the sixth Mughal Emperor and ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent. His reign lasted for 49 years from 1658 until his death in 1707. Aurangzeb was a notable expansionist and was among the wealthiest of the Mughal rulers with an annual yearly tribute of £38,624,680 (in 1690). During his lifetime, victories in the south expanded the Mughal Empire to more than 3.2 million square kilometres and he ruled over a population estimated as being in the range of 100-150 million subjects.

He was a very pious Muslim, and his policies partly abandoned the religious toleration of his predecessors, which remains a very controversial aspect of his reign. He was a strong and effective ruler, but with his death the great period of the Mughal dynasty came to an end, and central control of the sub-continent declined rapidly.