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Tipu Sultan Biography

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Tipu Sultan: Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, who later fondly came to be known as Tipu Sultan, was the ruler of the Mysore Kingdom in South India.

He was the man behind many reforms and administrative works like the growth of the Mysore silk industry, and a pioneer of the rocket artillery, land revenue system, calendar, and coinage system. Owing to his courage and valor, the natives called him “The Tiger of Mysore“.

Mysore Kingdom Map

Mysore Kingdom

Birth and Early Days of Tipu Sultan

Tipu Sultan is the eldest son of Hyder Ali and  Fatima Fakhr-un-Nisa. It was on 01 December 1751 in Devanahalli, when Mysore experienced the birth of one of its bravest rulers. Tipu was given a very good education and was trained in subjects like Urdu, Persian, Arabic, Kannada, Quran, Horse riding, and fencing.

It was very early for Tipu Sultan to look over the significant military and political missions at the age of 17. Tipu Sultan was the right-hand man of his dad in the conflicts and this assisted Hyder Ali in capturing the lofty thrones of southern India.

Family of Tipu Sultan

Tipu Sultan had many wives which included Ruqayya Banu, Khadjia Zaman Begum and Sindh Sahiba. He had 16 sons, which include Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Abdul Khan Sultan, Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Hyder Ali Khan Sultan and so forth.

Tipu Sultan Death

In the year 1799, three armies marched to Mysore, two of those armies came from the United Kingdom, and one from Bombay. The forces of Tipu were around 30,000 whereas of British East India Company were 26,000 troops.

Tipu Sultan’s brother-in-law betrayed him and collaborated with the British and undermined the walls, making the journey of the Britishers easier. Even though Tipu was advised by his French military advisors to flee, he declined and was killed in Srirangapatna Fort. His body was buried at Gumbaz.

More About Tipu Sultan

Tipu Sultan was the monarch of the Kingdom of Mysore in South India from 1751 to 1799. He contributed immensely in the field of rocket artillery and instituted a number of administrative reforms, along with the introduction of a new currency system and calendar, as well as a new land payment system, and also sparked open the Mysore Silk Industry. He commissioned the military treatise Fathul Mujahidin and developed Mysorean rockets. He used the rockets to repel British and allies’ fights, notable being the Battle of Pollilur as well as Seize of Srirangapatna.

A number of battles were fought by the Marathas, Sira, and leaders of Malabar, Bednore, Carnatic, and Travancore with their French-trained army in alliance with the French against the British. His father, Hyder Ali had come to the importance and when he died in 1782, Tipu became ruler of Mysore. In the second Anglo-Mysore War, he scored significant successes over the British and negotiated the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784.

Anglo-Mysore Wars

In the last three decades of the 18th century, a series of wars have been fought between the kingdom of Mysore under the rule of Hyder Ali and also Tipu Sultan on one side and the British East India Company, Nizam of Hyderabad and Maratha Empire on the other side.

First Anglo-Mysore War

The First Anglo-Mysore war was fought between the Kingdom of Mysore, under the leadership of Hyder Ali, and the British East India Company, who had the assistance as well as the support of Nizam of Hyderabad. The year of the war was between 1767 and 1769. The end of first Anglo-Mysore War ended with the Treaty of Madras.

Second Anglo-Mysore War

The second Anglo-Mysore war was fought between 1780 and 1784. Battle of Porto Novo, which was a part of the Second Anglo-Mysore War, Hyder Ali was defeated by British Commander Sir Eyre Coote. The war came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Mangalore on 11th March 1784.

Third Anglo-Mysore War

The Third Anglo-Mysore war was fought between 1790 and 1792 it was started when the ally of the British, the ruler of Travancore, was attacked by Tipu Sultan and it ended with the Treaty of Seringapatnam in 1792 and Tipu Sultan was defeated.

Fourth Anglo-Mysore War

The Kingdom of Mysore had been attacked on four sides. The northern part of Mysore saw the invasion of Marathas and Nizams of Hyderabad. The final battle, Seize of Seringapatnam, resulted in the complete defeat of the Mysore Kingdom and Tipu Sultan died in the war. The Mysore kingdom had been restored to the Wodeyar Dynasty with the help of a subsidiary alliance.

Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace

The Palance of Tipu Sultan in Bangalore is an example of Indo-Islamic architecture and was also the summer residence of Tipu. Hyder Ali had commenced its construction within the walls of Bangalore Fort and was completed during the reign of Tipu in 1791. After his death, Britishers used the palace as its Secretariat before moving into Attara Kacheri in 1868. The rooms on the ground floor have been converted into small museums to showcase various achievements of Tipu and his administration.

Tipu Sultan Administration

With the able administration and zeal of Tipu Sultan, most of the small petty kingdoms were taken up and he was one of few Indian rulers to beat British armies. The use of rocketry was expanded by Hyder Ali, who made important innovations and developed his army of up to 1,200 specialized troops to control rocket launchers.

The navy led by Tipu Sultan was made of around 20 battleships, 72 cannons, and 20 frigates. With the presence of highly productive agriculture and textile manufacturing, Mysore was overtaking Bengal Subah to become the dominant force of the Indian subcontinent. Tipu led the base of the Kannambadi dam and a new land revenue system was developed which initiated the growth of Mysore silk in the industry. He also introduced a new coinage system and also calendar.

Mysorean Rocket

The missile man of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam addressed Tipu Sultan as the innovator of the world’s first war rocket. Tipu Sultan significantly extended the utilization of rockets after Hyder’s passing, conveying upwards of 5,000 rocketeers at a time. The rockets sent by Tipu during the Battle of Pollilur were substantially more high level than those the British East India Company had recently seen.

Foreign Relations

  • Relations with the Mughal Empire: Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan owed ostensible devotion to the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II; both were portrayed as Nawabs by the British East India Company in every current arrangement. Yet, dissimilar to the Nawab of Carnatic, they didn’t recognize the overlordship of the Nizam of Hyderabad.
  • Relations with Ottoman Empire: In 1787, Tipu Sultan sent a consulate to the Ottoman capital Constantinople, to the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid I mentioning critical help against the British East India Company. But, the Ottomans were themselves in an emergency regardless of recovering from the staggering Austro-Ottoman War. Hence it couldn’t risk being threatening to the British in the Indian theatre. Thus, Tipu Sultan’s envoys got back just with gifts from their Ottomans.
  • Relations with France: Hyder Ali and Tipu looked for a coalition with the French, the main European power still sufficiently able to challenge the British East India Company in the subcontinent. The great French ruler Napoleon was also impressed by the Tipu Sultan and he wrote a letter of appreciation to the Tipu sultan which never reached him as it got caught by a British spy. All these indicate that Tipu had friendly relations with the French brothers.

Economy

The development of the economy was Tipu and Hyder’s main aim, they wanted Mysore to be the leading economic power in India. Tipu succeeded by improving the agricultural and textile manufacturing norms. The Mysore silk industry was first started during the rule of Tipu Sultan. He sent a specialist to Bengal Subah to concentrate on silk development and handling, after which Mysore started creating polyvoltine silk. This in turn gave results that increased Mysore’s average income by five times the subsistence level at the time.

Who is the Tiger of Mysore and Why Called so?

Tipu Sultan is also known as Tiger of Mysore, was a powerful ruler of Mysore and had fearsome warrior king personality. The state symbol of Tipu was Tiger and he used tiger motifs on arms and uniforms. One incident gave him that name, when his gun was jammed and his knife dropped when he was fighting a tiger, but he took the knife and killed the tiger and came to be known as “Tiger of Mysore”.

Social System

The social system consists of two important parts of Judicial system and the moral administration.

Judicial System

Judges from both Hindu and Muslim religions were appointed by the Tipu sultan, for fair and indiscriminate judgment. He appointed Qadi for Muslims and Pandits for Hindus in each province and the state had upper and lower courts to do justice to its people.

Moral Administration

In the case of inspection of moral administrations, Tipu Sultan was very particular and conscious. The use of liquor and also the prevalence of prostitution were prohibited in the case of administration. Also growing certain intoxicating substances like Cannabis was also prohibited. Polyandry in Kerala was also prohibited by Tipu Sultan and passed certain decrees for moral administration, which were not present previously.

Religious Policy

Tipu was an ardent Muslim who followed regular prayers and Namaz. He also played special attention to mosques during his reign. But Tipu also appointed many Hindus in his administration which portrayed that he was religious and tolerant. But few sources mention the destruction of Temples and churches, revolts, and imprisonment of Hindus during Tipu’s rule. Hence the religious policy of the Tipu sultan is inconceivable.

Navy

Around 1786, following the lead of his father, Tipu decided to build a navy that consists of 20 battleships with 72 cannons and around 20 frigates with 65 canons. In 1790, the appointment of Kamaluddin as Mir Bahar, and established huge dockyards at Jamalabad and Majidabad. A Mir Yam led 30 admirals and each had two ships. He ordered ships to have copper bottoms.

Army

Due to heavy dependence on battles, Hyder and Tipu wanted a disciplined and standing army. Rajputs, Muslims, and also Bedars were enrolled for service in replacement of the local militia called Kandachar.

Removal of the unit of Vokkaligas in place of the local militia, which was taking part in wars for a long and with the imposition of high taxes on them, there was the implementation of the Ryotwari system.

Conclusion

Tipu Sultan was one of a few famous Indian rulers who fought against the British East India Company in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War and is considered to be a legend and hero in the area around Karnataka, where also her mausoleum is found. He was a positive threat to the East India Company and it’s important to study about his administration, valor, and importance of Tipu Sultan in Indian history.

FAQs on Tipu Sultan

Who was Tipu Sultan?

Tipu Sultan, who is also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of Mysore from 1782 to 1799. He was a soldier, poet, and scholar and was the eldest son of Sultan Hyder Ali and his wife Fathima Fakhr-un-Nisar.

How did Tipu Sultan died?

Tipu Sultan died in the fourth Mysore war, betrayed by his ministers in working with the British. He was killed at Hoally Gateway, located 300 yards from N.E. Angle of Seringapatna fort.

Why is Tipu Sultan so famous?

Tipu Sultan is so famous because he won various victories against the British in second Anglo- Mysore war and negotiated the 1784 Treaty of Mangalore with them, which ended the second Anglo- Mysore War.

Who defeated Tipu Sultan?

Tipu Sultan was defeated by the British, the Maratha empire, and the Nizam of Hyderabad.

When did Tipu Sultan become the ruler of Mysore?

In December 1782, Tipu Sultan became ruler of Mysore.



Last Updated : 21 Jan, 2024
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