Aureng-zebe is a
RestorationThe English Restoration, often shortened to the Restoration, began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Commonwealth of England that followed the English Civil War...
dramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective...
by
John DrydenJohn Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.-Early life:Dryden was born in the village rectory of Aldwincle...
,
1675The year 1675 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*November 11 - Gottfried Leibniz's notebooks record a breakthrough in his work on calculus.-New books:...
based loosely on the figures of
AurangzebMuhi ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb Bahadur Alamgir I, more commonly known as Aurangzeb Muhi ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb Bahadur Alamgir I, more commonly known as Aurangzeb Muhi ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb Bahadur Alamgir I, more commonly known as Aurangzeb ( (full title: Al-Sultan al-Azam wal Khaqan...
(Aureng-zebe), the then-reigning
MughalThe Mughal Empire was an Islamic and Persianate imperial power of the Indian subcontinent which began in 1526, invaded and ruled most of Hindustan by the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and ended in the mid-19th century...
Emperor of
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
; his brother,
Murad BakshMurad Baksh was the youngest son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and empress Mumtaz Mahal .In 1657 he proclaimed himself emperor after reports that his father had died and later joined hands with Aurangzeb to defeat Dara Shikhoh, the eldest son of Shah Jahan...
(Morat); and their father
Shah JahanShahab-ud-din Muhammad Shah Jahan I was the ruler of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent from 1628 until 1658...
(Emperor). The piece was Dryden's last drama to be written in rhymed verse. It is considered his best heroic work.
Aureng-zebe is a
RestorationThe English Restoration, often shortened to the Restoration, began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Commonwealth of England that followed the English Civil War...
dramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective...
by
John DrydenJohn Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.-Early life:Dryden was born in the village rectory of Aldwincle...
,
1675The year 1675 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*November 11 - Gottfried Leibniz's notebooks record a breakthrough in his work on calculus.-New books:...
based loosely on the figures of
AurangzebMuhi ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb Bahadur Alamgir I, more commonly known as Aurangzeb Muhi ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb Bahadur Alamgir I, more commonly known as Aurangzeb Muhi ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb Bahadur Alamgir I, more commonly known as Aurangzeb ( (full title: Al-Sultan al-Azam wal Khaqan...
(Aureng-zebe), the then-reigning
MughalThe Mughal Empire was an Islamic and Persianate imperial power of the Indian subcontinent which began in 1526, invaded and ruled most of Hindustan by the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and ended in the mid-19th century...
Emperor of
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
; his brother,
Murad BakshMurad Baksh was the youngest son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and empress Mumtaz Mahal .In 1657 he proclaimed himself emperor after reports that his father had died and later joined hands with Aurangzeb to defeat Dara Shikhoh, the eldest son of Shah Jahan...
(Morat); and their father
Shah JahanShahab-ud-din Muhammad Shah Jahan I was the ruler of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent from 1628 until 1658...
(Emperor). The piece was Dryden's last drama to be written in rhymed verse. It is considered his best heroic work.
The premiere production by the
King's CompanyThe King's Company was one of two enterprises granted the rights to mount theatrical productions in London at the start of the English Restoration. It existed from 1660 to 1682.-History:...
featured
Charles HartCharles Hart was a prominent British Restoration actor.A Charles Hart was christened on 11 December 1625, in the parish of St. Giles Cripplegate, in London. It is not absolutely certain that this was the actor, though the name was not common at the time...
in the title role,
Michael MohunMichael Mohun was a leading British actor both before and after the 1642—60 closing of the theatres.Mohun began his stage career as a boy player filling female roles; he was part of Christopher Beeston's theatrical establishment at the Cockpit Theatre, "eventually becoming a key member of Queen...
as the Old Emperor,
Edward KynastonEdward Kynaston was an English actor, one of the last Restoration "boy players," young male actors who played women's roles.-Career:...
as Morat,
William WintershallWilliam Wintershall , also Wintersall or Wintersell, was a noted seventeenth-century English actor. His career spanned the difficult years of mid-century, when English theatres were closed from 1642 to 1660, during the English Civil War and the Interregnum.According to James Wright's Historia...
as Arimant,
Anne MarshallAnne Marshall , also Mrs. Anne Quin, was a leading English actress of the Restoration era, one of the first generation of women performers to appear on the public stage in Britain....
as the Empress Nourmahal, and Elizabeth Cox as Indamora.