This brief, accessible biography sheds new light on one of India's most controversial and misunderstood figures, arguing that the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb was not a Hindu-hating fanatic but rather a premodern Indian king driven by a thirst for power, piety, and justice.
Audrey Truschke is Assistant Professor of History at Rutgers University. She is the author of Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court (2016).
