Tippu Sultan

Infobox Monarch
name = Tipu Sultan
title = Ruler of Mysore


reign = 1782 - 1799
coronation =
predecessor = Hyder Ali
successor =
suc-type =
heir =
issue =
royal house =
royal anthem =
father = Hyder Ali
mother = Fakhr-un-nissa
date of birth = November 20, 1750
place of birth = Devanahalli
date of death = May 4, 1799
place of death = Srirangapattana
buried = Srirangapattana

Sultan Fateh Ali Tipu (November 20, 1750, Devanahalli – May 4, 1799, Srirangapattana), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the "de facto" ruler of the Indian Kingdom of Mysore from 1782 (the time of his father's death) until his own demise in 1799. He was the first son of Haidar Ali by his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-nissa.

Tipu Sultan was a learned man and an able soldier. He was reputed to be a good poet. He was a devout Muslim but the majority of his subjects were Hindus. At the request of the French, he built a church, the first in Mysore. In alliance with the French in their struggle with the British both Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali did not hesitate to use their French trained army against the Maharattas, Sira, Malabar, Coorg and Bednur. He was proficient in the languages he spoke cite book
last = Brittlebank
first = Kate.
authorlink = Kate Brittlebank
title = Tipu Sultan's Search for Legitimacy: Islam and Kingship in a Hindu Domain, Vol 5. Pp. 184
publisher = Oxford University Press] .He helped his father Haidar Ali defeat the British in the Second Mysore War, and negotiated the Treaty of Mangalore with them. However, he was defeated in the Third Anglo-Mysore War and in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War by the combined forces of the English East India Company, the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Mahratta Confederacy, and to a lesser extent, Travancore. Tipu Sultan died defending his capital Srirangapattana, on May 4, 1799.

Sir Walter Scott, commenting on the abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814, wrote:

"Although I never supposed that he [Napoleon] possessed, allowing for some difference of education, the liberality of conduct and political views which were sometimes exhibited by old Haidar Ally, yet I did think he [Napoleon] might have shown the same resolved and dogged spirit of resolution which induced Tippoo Saib to die manfully upon the breach of his capital city with his sabre clenched in his hand."

Early life

Tipu Sultan was born at Devanahalli, in present-day Bangalore District, some 45 miles east of Banglore city. The exact date of his birth is not known; various sources claim various dates between 1749 and 1753. According to one widely accepted dating, he was born on Nov 10, 1750 (Friday, 10th Zil-Hijja, 1163 AH). His father, Haidar Ali, was the de-facto ruler of Mysore. His mother, Fakhr-un-nissa (also called Fatima), was a daughter of Shahal Tharique, governor of the fort of Cuddapah. Tipu Sultan was a religious man practising Sunni branch of Islam.

His rule

During his rule, Tipu Sultan laid the foundation for a dam where the famous Krishna Raja Sagara Dam across the river Cauvery was later built.cite web
url = http://www.tipusultan.org/biog4c.htm
title = Tipu Sultan - Step towards Economic development
accessdate = 2006-10-17
author = Prof. Sheik Ali
last =
first =
date =
year =
month =
format =
work =
publisher = Cal-Info
pages =
language =
archiveurl =
archivedate =] cite web
url = http://www.tipusultan.org/script1.htm
title = Persian script of Tipu Sultan on the gateway to Krishnaraja Sagar Dam (KRS)
accessdate = 2006-10-17
author =
last =
first =
date =
year =
month =
format =
work =
publisher = Cal-Info
pages =
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archiveurl =
archivedate =] He also completed the project of Lal Bagh started by his father Haidar Ali, and built roads, public buildings, and ports along the Kerala shoreline. His trade extended to countries which included Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, France, Turkey, and Iran. Under his leadership, the Mysore army proved to be a school of military science to Indian princes. The serious blows that Tipu Sultan inflicted on the British in the First and Second Mysore Wars affected their reputation as an invincible power. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the former President of India, in his Tipu Sultan Shaheed Memorial Lecture in Bangalore (30 November 1991), called Tipu Sultan the innovator of the world’s first war rocket. Two of these rockets, captured by the British at Srirangapatna, are displayed in the Woolwich Museum Artillery in London. Most of Tipu Sultan's campaigns resulted in remarkable successes. He managed to subdue all the petty kingdoms in the south. He defeated the Marathas and the Nizams several times and was also one of the few Indian rulers to have defeated British armies. He is said to have started a coinage system, a new calendar, and a new system of weights and measures. He was well versed in Urdu, Kannada, Persian and Arabic. Tipu was supposed to become a Sufi but his father Haider Ali insisted him to become a capable soldier and a great leader.

Religious policy

As a Muslim ruler in a largely Hindu domain, Tipu Sultan never faced any problems in establishing the legitimacy of his rule, and in reconciling his desire to be seen as a devout Islamic ruler with the need to be pragmatic to avoid antagonising the majority of his subjects. His religious legacy has become a source of considerable controversy in the subcontinent, as in Pakistan some groups proclaim him a great warrior for the faith or "Ghazi", while in India some groups revile him as a bigot who massacred Hindus. [ Brittlebank "Tipu Sultan" pp1-3; Phillip B. Wagoner “Tipu Sultan's Search for Legitimacy: Islam and Kingship in a Hindu Domain by Kate Brittlebank (Review)” "The Journal of Asian Studies" Vol. 58, No. 2 (May, 1999) pp. 541-543] cite book
last = Valath
first = V. V. K.
authorlink =
coauthors =
editor =
others =
title = Keralathile Sthacharithrangal - Thrissur Jilla
origdate =
origyear =
origmonth =
url =
format =
accessdate =
accessyear = 2006
accessmonth =
edition =
date =
year = 1981
month =
publisher = Kerala Sahithya Academy
location =
language = Malayalam
id =
doi =
pages = 74-79
chapter =
chapterurl =
quote = ]

Tippu Sultan has been criticized as being anti-Hindu. While some Marxist historians claim that he had an egalitarian attitude towards Hindus and was harsh towards them only when politically expedient, [Kate Brittlebank "Tipu Sultan’s Search for Legitimacy: Islam and Kingship in a Hindu domain" (Delhi: Oxford University Press) 1997] In the first part of his reign in particular he appears to have been notably more aggressive and religiously doctrinaire than his father, Haidar Ali. [Lewin Bowring "Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan and the struggle with the Musalman powers of the south" (Oxford: Clarendon Press) 1893 ] There are some historianscite book
last = Valath
first = V. V. K.
authorlink =
coauthors =
editor =
others =
title = Keralathile Sthacharithrangal - Thrissur Jilla
origdate =
origyear =
origmonth =
url =
format =
accessdate =
accessyear = 2006
accessmonth =
edition =
date =
year = 1981
month =
publisher = Kerala Sahithya Academy
location =
language = Malayalam
id =
doi =
pages = 74-79
chapter =
chapterurl =
quote = ] who claim that Tippu Sultan was a religious persecutor of Hindus. In 1780 CE he declared himself to be the "Padishah" or Emperor of Mysore, and struck coinage in his own name without reference to the reigning Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. H. D. Sharma writes that in his correspondence with other Islamic rulers such as Shah Zaman of Afghanistan, Tippu Sultan used this title and declared that he intended to establish an Islamic Empire in the entire country, along the lines of the Mughal Empire which was at its nadir during the period in question.cite book
last = Sharma
first = H.D
authorlink = H.D Sharma
title = The Real Tipu
date = January 16, 1991
year =1991
month = January
publisher = Rishi Publications, Varanasi
language = English ] His alliance with the French was supposedly aimed at achieving this goal by driving his main rivals, the British, out of the subcontinent.

C. K. Kareem also notes that Tippu Sultan issued an edict for the destruction of Hindu temples in Kerala.cite book
last = Kareem
first = C.K
authorlink =
coauthors =
editor =
others =
title = Kerala Under Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan P187
origdate =
origyear = 1973
origmonth =
url =
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accessmonth =
edition =
date =
year = 1973
month =
publisher = Kerala History Association : distributors, Paico Pub. House
location =
language =
id =
doi =
pages = 322
chapter =
chapterurl =
quote = ]

Historian Hayavadana C. Rao wrote about Tippu in his encyclopaedic work on the History of Mysore. He asserted that Tippu's "religious fanaticism and the excesses committed in the name of religion, both in Mysore and in the provinces, stand condemned for all time. His bigotry, indeed, was so great that it precluded all ideas of toleration". He further asserts that the acts of Tippu that were constructive towards Hindus were largely political and ostentatious rather than an indication of genuine tolerance.cite book
last = Rao
first = Hayavadana C.
authorlink = Hayavadana C. Rao
title = History of Mysore 1399-1799: Incorporating the latest Epigraphical, Literary and Historical Researches Vol. 3 pgs 1047-53
publisher = Bangalore Government Press]

While eminent scholars have denied that, in common with most rulers of his period, Tipu Sultan’s campaigns were often characterized by lesser brutality, as compared with the British who, looted, massacred, raped and pillaged Srirangapatan immediately after its fall. Some historians have said that the extent of force was not exclusively motivated by religion, and it did not amount to a anti-Kafir policy. Brittlebank, Hasan, Chetty, Habib and Saletare, amongst others, argue that stories of Tipu Sultan's religious persecution of Hindus and Christians are largely derived from the work of early British authors such as Kirkpatrick [W. Kirkpatrick "Select Letters of Tippoo Sultan" (London) 1811] and Wilks, [M. Wilks "Report on the Interior Administration, Resources and Expenditure of the Government of Mysore under the System prescribed by the Order of the Governor-General in Council dated 4 September 1799" (Bangalore) 1864 & "Historical Sketches of the South of India in an Attempt to Trace the History of Mysore" Ed. M. Hammick (Mysore) 1930 2 Vols.] whom they do not consider to be entirely reliable. [C.C. Davies "Review of "The History of Tipu Sultan" by Mohibbul Hasan" in "The English Historical Review" Vol.68 №.266 (Jan, 1953) pp144-5] A. S. Chetty argues that Wilks’ account in particular cannot be trusted, [A. Subbaraya Chetty “Tipu’s endowments to Hindus and Hindu institutions” in Habib (Ed.) "Confronting Colonialism" p111 ] Irfan Habib and Mohibbul Hasan argues that these early British authors had a strong vested interest in presenting Tipu Sultan as a tyrant from whom the British had "liberated" Mysore. [Irfan Habib "War and Peace. Tipu Sultan's Account of the last Phase of the Second War with the English, 1783-4" "State and Diplomacy Under Tipu Sultan" (Delhi) 2001 p5; Mohibbul Hasan writes "The reasons why Tipu was reviled are not far to seek. Englishmen were prejudiced against him because they regarded him as their most formidable rival and an inveterate enemy, and because, unlike other Indian rulers, he refused to become a tributary of the English Company. Many of the atrocities of which he has been accused were allegedly fabricated either by persons embittered and angry on account of the defeats which they had sustained at his hands, or by the prisoners of war who had suffered punishments which they thought they did not deserve. He was also misrepresented by those who were anxious to justify the wars of aggression which the Company's Government had waged against him. Moreover, his achievements were belittled and his character blackened in order that the people of Mysore might forget him and rally round the Raja, thus helping in the consolidation of the new regime" "The History of Tipu Sultan" (Delhi) 1971 p368] This assessment is echoed by Brittlebank in her recent work where she writes that Wilks and Kirkpatrick must be used with particular care as both authors had taken part in the wars against Tipu Sultan and were closely connected to the administrations of Lord Cornwallis and Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley. [ Brittlebank "Tipu Sultan’s search for legitimacy" p10-12. On p2 she writes “it is perhaps ironic that the aggressive Hinduism of some members of the Indian Community in the 1990s should draw upon an image of Tipu which, as we shall see, was initially constructed by the Subcontinent’s colonisers.” ]

Mohibbul Hasan, Prof.Sheikh Ali and eminents Historians cast great doubt on the scale of the deportations and forced conversions in Coorg in particular, and Hasan says that the English versions of what happened were intended to malign Tipu Sultan, and to be used as propaganda against him. [cite news
first = Sheikh
last = Ali
authorlink =
author =
coauthors =
title = Tipu had in him Italian Renaissance, German Reformation, French Revolution
url = http://www.twocircles.net/2008aug17/tipu_had_him_italian_renaissance_german_reformation_french_revolution_dr_b_shaikh_ali.html
format =
work =
publisher = TwoCircles.net
pages =
page =
date = 2008-08-17
accessdate = 2008-08-18
language =] He argues that little reliance can be placed in Muslim accounts such as Kirmani’s "Nishan-e Haidari"; in their anxiety to represent the Sultan as a champion of Islam, they had a tendency to exaggerate and distort the facts: Kirmani claims that 70,000 Coorgis were converted, when forty years later the entire population of Coorg was still less than that number. According to Ramchandra Rao "Punganuri" the true number of converts was about 500. [ Mohibbul Hasan "The History of Tipu Sultan" (Delhi) 1971 pp362-3] The portrayal of Tipu Sultan as a religious bigot is disputed, and some sources suggest that he in fact often embraced religious pluralism.cite news
first = Vikram
last = Sampath
authorlink =
author =
coauthors =
title = He stuck to his dream of a united Mysore
url = http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/oct42006/panorama152482006103.asp
format =
work = Panorama
publisher = Deccan Herald
pages =
page =
date = 2006-10-04
accessdate = 2006-10-17
language =] Tipu Sultan's treasurer was Krishna Rao, Shamaiya Iyengar was his Minister of Post and Police, his brother Ranga Iyengar was also an officer and Purnaiya held the very important post of "Mir Asaf". Moolchand and Sujan Rai were his chief agents at the Mughal court, and his chief "Peshkar", Suba Rao, was also a Hindu. [Mohibbul Hasan "History of Tipu Sultan" (Delhi) 1971 pp357-8 ] There is such evidence as grant deeds, and correspondence between his court and temples, and his having donated jewelry and deeded land grants to several temples, which some claim he was compelled to do in order to make alliances with Hindu rulers. Between 1782 and 1799 Tipu Sultan issued 34 "Sanads" (deeds) of endowment to temples in his domain, while also presenting many of them with gifts of silver and gold plate. The Srikanteswara Temple in Nanjangud still possesses a jewelled cup presented by the Sultan. [ A. Subbaraya Chetty “Tipu’s endowments to Hindus” pp111-115.]

In 1791 some Maratha horsemen under Raghunath Rao Patwardhan raided the temple and monastery of Sringeri Shankaracharya, killing and wounding many, and plundering the monastery of all its valuable possessions. The incumbent Shankaracharya petitioned Tippu Sultan for help. A bunch of about 30 letters written in Kannada, which were exchanged between Tippu Sultan's court and the Sringeri Shankaracharya were discovered in 1916 by the Director of Archaeology in Mysore. Tippu Sultan expressed his indignation and grief at the news of the raid, and wrote:

"People who have sinned against such a holy place are sure to suffer the consequences of their misdeeds at no distant date in this Kali age in accordance with the verse: "Hasadbhih kriyate karma ruladbhir-anubhuyate" (People do [evil] deeds smilingly but suffer the consequences crying)." ["Annual Report of the Mysore Archaeological Department" 1916 pp10-11, 73-6]

He immediately ordered his "Asaf" of Bednur to supply the Swami with 200 "rahatis" (fanams) in cash and other gifts and articles. Tippu Sultan's interest in the Sringeri temple continued for many years, and he was still writing to the Swami in the 1790s CE. [Hasan "Tipu Sultan" p359] In light of this and other events, B.A. Saletare has described Tippu Sultan as a defender of the Hindu Dharma, who also patronized other temples including one at Melkote, for which he issued a Kannada decree that the Shrivaishnava invocatory verses there should be recited in the traditional form. The temple at Melkote still has gold and silver vessels with inscriptions indicating that they were presented by the Sultan. Tippu Sultan also presented four silver cups to the Lakshmikanta Temple at Kalale. [B.A. Saletare “Tipu Sultan as Defender of the Hindu Dharma” in Habib (Ed.) "Confronting Colonialism" pp116-8 ] Tippu Sultan does seem to have repossessed unauthorised grants of land made to Brahmins and temples, but those which had proper "sanads" were not. It was a normal practice for any ruler, Muslim or Hindu, to do on his accession or on the conquest of new territory.

The Srikanteswara temple at Nanjungud was presented with a jewelled cup and some precious stones. To another temple, Nanjundeswara, in the same town of Nanjungud, he gave a greenish linga to Ranganatha temple at Srirangapatana he gifted seven silver cups and a silver camphor burner. This temple was hardly a stone's throw from his palace from where he would listen with equal respect the ringing of temple bells, and the Muezzin's call from the mosque.

Tippu's Right Hand

Yaar Mohammad, the right hand of Sultan Tipu, was born in 18th century, in a Muslim Rajput family to Shah Mohammad, a Sufi saint. He joined the Army of Mysore and soon became one of the favorite generals of Tippu Sultan. Seeing his patriotic and dauntless behavior, Tippu Sultan made him his Commander-in-Chief. He fought dauntlessly in the Battle of Seringapatam (1799), but after Tippu's death, and later the fall of Mysore, he had to run away. However, he managed to evade capture by the British.After the fall of Mysore, he was declared one of the most wanted Mysore officers. They tried their best to capture him, dead or alive, but couldn’t succeed. General Yaar Mohammad's family members and relatives were killed by the British, however, he, along with his father Shah Noor Mohammad and son Ilahi Baksh, escaped. They spent the rest of their lives as fugitives. General Yaar Mohammad died in early 19th century. His descendants still live in Punjab today.

yed Abdul Ghaffar

Syed Abdul Ghaffar was Tipu's key General who had won many battles for him. He fell fighting the British on May 4 1799 [http://www.renaissance.com.pk/Octletf94.html] and this was the final blow to Tipu Sultan after which he never recovered.

Description

Alexander Beatson, considered to be a propagandist Author who, published a volume entitled "View of the Origin and Conduct of the War with the late Tippoo Sultaun" on the Fourth Mysore War, described Tippu Sultan as follows: "His stature was about five feet eight inches; he had a short neck, square shoulders, and was rather corpulent: his limbs were small, particularly his feet and hands; he had large full eyes, small arched eyebrows, and an aquiline nose; his complexion was fair, and the general expression of his countenance, not void of dignity".Fact|date=May 2007

The current popular image of the great Sultan which portrays him as a bald, clean shaven, overweight person is deemed to be a propagandist depiction by the British East India company. A closer depiction of Tipu Sultan can be seen here which, was carved by a French artist visiting the Mysore Durbar.

He was called the Tiger of Mysore. It is said that Tippu Sultan was hunting in the forest with a French friend. He came face to face with a tiger. His gun did not work, and his dagger fell on the ground as the tiger jumped on him. He reached for the dagger, picked it up, and killed the tiger with it. That earned him the name "the Tiger of Mysore". He had the image of a tiger on his flag. Tippu Sultan was also very fond of innovations. Alexander Beatson has mentioned that Tippu Sultan was "passionately fond of new inventions. In his palace was found a great variety of curious swords, daggers, fusils, pistols, and blunderbusses; some were of exquisite workmanship, mounted with gold, or silver, and beautifully inlaid and ornamented with tigers' heads and stripes, or with Persian and Arabic verses". Tipu's Tiger, an automaton representing a tiger attacking a European soldier, made for Tippu Sultan, is on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. [cite news
url = http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/asia/object_stories/Tippoo's_tiger/index.html
title = Tippoo's Tiger
accessdate = 2006-12-10
publisher = Victoria & Albert Museum
date = 2004-04-11] During Tippu Sultan's reign, a new calendar, new coinage, and seven new government departments, were introduced as well as innovations in the use of rocket artillery.

Proclamations

The following proclamations were issued by Tippu Sultan:
* "Agriculture is the life-blood of the nation. This land, rich and fertile, will reward those that work on it. Famine and want are either the result of sloth and ignorance or of corruption" (Tipu's circular to all Amildars, 1788).
* "There can be no glory or achievement if the foundation of our palaces, roads and dams are mingled with the tears and blood of humanity…" (1789 CE)He is quoted as having said: "It is far better to live like a Tiger for a day than to live like a jackal for a hundred years".

Early Military Career

Tippu Sultan was instructed in military tactics by French officers in the employment of his father, Hyder Ali (also spelled as "Haidar Ali"). At age 15, he accompanied his father Haidar Ali against the British in the First Mysore War in 1766. He commanded a corps of cavalry in the invasion of Carnatic in 1767 at age 16. He also distinguished himself in the First Anglo-Maratha War of 1775–1779.

A Model Army

Under Tipu's leadership the Mysore army became a model and a school of military science to Indian powers. The dread of a European army had no longer any effect on them. A lad of 17 years, Tipu made such a surprising dash on Madras in 1767, that the entire English council, who were all members of the Madras Government, sought refuge in a ship. He fell with such fury on Colonel Bailey in 1782, that the entire English army was either cut or taken prisoners. Bailey himself languished for long in prisons of Srirangapatna.

The hero of Buxar, Sir Hector Munro, who had defeated three rulers at Buxar-Shah Alam, Shuja-ud-daula and Mir Qasim-and who had paved the way for the consolidation of British Power in India, was forced to throw off all his guns into the tank of Conjeevaram and run for life to Madras, when Tipu chased him. Similarly the entire detachment of Colonel Braithwaite was captured, and Braithwaite himself was kept for long captive in Srirangapatna. General Medows, and Lord Cornvallis were harassed for two long years in the third Mysore War. It was only an All India Confederacy of the Nizam, the Maratha and the English together with an Surreptitious entry into Srirangapatna in the dead of night that enabled the confederates to beat Tipu in 1792. Even Arthur Wellesley, the duke of Wellington, who later became the conqueror of Napoleon, was harassed greatly in 1799 and was forced to join the camp of General Harris.cite web
url = http://www.tipusultan.org/script1.htm
title = Persian script of Tipu Sultan on the gateway to Krishnaraja Sagar Dam (KRS)
accessdate = 2006-10-17
author =Prof.Sheikh Ali
last =Ali
first =Sheikh
date =
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econd Mysore War

Tippu Sultan led a large body of troops in the Second Mysore War, in February 1782, and defeated Braithwaite on the banks of the Kollidam. Although the British were defeated this time, Tippu Sultan realized that the British were a new kind of threat in India. Upon becoming the Sultan after his father's death later that year, he worked to check the advances of the British by making alliances with the Marathas and the Mughals.

Tippu Sultan had defeated Colonel Braithwaite at Annagudi near Tanjore on 18 February 1782. The British army, consisting of 100 Europeans, 300 cavalry, 1400 sepoys and 10 field pieces, was the standard size of the colonial armies. Tippu Sultan had seized all the guns and taken the entire detachment prisoners. In December 1781 Tippu Sultan had successfully seized Chittur from the British. Tippu Sultan had thus gained sufficient military experience by the time Haidar Ali died in December 1782.

The Second Mysore War came to an end with the Treaty of Mangalore. It was the last occasion when an Indian king had dictated terms to the mighty British, and the treaty is a prestigious document in the history of India. [ [http://www.tipusultan.org/wars3.htm Tipu Sultan - Wars & Peace] ]

Battle of Pollilur

The Battle of Pollilur took place in 1780 at Pollilur near the city of Kanchipuram. It was a part of the second Anglo-Mysore war. Tippu Sultan was dispatched by Haidar Ali with 10,000 men and 18 guns to intercept Colonel Baillie who was on his way to join Sir Hector Munro. Out of 360 Europeans, about 200 were captured alive, and the sepoys, who were about 3800 men, suffered very high casualties. Sir Hector Munro, the victor of the Battle of Buxar, who had earlier defeated three Indian rulers (the Mughal emperor Shah Alam, the Nawab of Oudh Shuja-ud-daula, and the Nawab of Bengal Mir Qasim) in a single battle, was forced to retreat to Madras, abandoning his artillery in the tank of Kanchipuram. [ [http://www.nationalgalleries.org/tipu/tipu311.htm National Galleries of Scotland ] ]

Fourth Mysore War

After Horatio Nelson had defeated Napoleon at the Battle of the Nile in Egypt in 1798 CE, three armies, one from Bombay, and two British (one of which included Arthur Wellesley, the future first Duke of Wellington), marched into Mysore in 1799 and besieged the capital Srirangapatnam in the Fourth Mysore War.There were over 26,000 soldiers of the British East India Company comprising about 4000 Europeans and the rest Indians. A column was supplied by the Nizam of Hyderabad consisting of ten battalions and over 16,000 cavalry, and many soldiers were sent by the Marathas. Thus the soldiers in the British force numbered over 50,000 soldiers whereas Tippu Sultan had only about 30,000 soldiers. The British broke through the city walls, and Tippu Sultan died defending his capital on May 4.

Rocket Artillery in War

A military tactic developed by Tippu Sultan and his father, Haidar Ali was the use of mass attacks with rocket brigades on infantry formations. Tippu Sultan wrote a military manual called "Fathul Mujahidin" in which 200 rocket men were prescribed to each Mysorean "cushoon" (brigade). Mysore had 16 to 24 cushoons of infantry. The areas of town where rockets and fireworks were manufactured were known as Taramandal Pet ("Galaxy Market").

The rocket men were trained to launch their rockets at an angle calculated from the diameter of the cylinder and the distance of the target. In addition, wheeled rocket launchers capable of launching five to ten rockets almost simultaneously were used in war. Rockets could be of various sizes, but usually consisted of a tube of soft hammered iron about 8" long and 1½ - 3" diameter, closed at one end and strapped to a shaft of bamboo about 4ft. long. The iron tube acted as a combustion chamber and contained well packed black powder propellant. A rocket carrying about one pound of powder could travel almost 1,000 yards. In contrast, rockets in Europe not being iron cased, could not take large chamber pressures and as a consequence, were not capable of reaching distances anywhere near as great. [Tipu, Biography, Mysore History [http://www.tigerandthistle.net/tipu312.htm] ]

Haidar Ali's father, the Naik or chief constable at Budikote, commanded 50 rocketmen for the Nawab of Arcot. There was a regular Rocket Corps in the Mysore Army, beginning with about 1200 men in Haidar Ali's time. At the Battle of Pollilur (1780), during the Second Anglo-Mysore War, Colonel William Braille's ammunition stores are thought to have been detonated by a hit from one of Haidar Ali's Mysore rockets resulting in a humiliating British defeat.

In the Third Anglo-Mysore War of 1792, there is mention of two rocket units fielded by Tipu Sultan, 120 men and 131 men respectively. Lt. Col. Knox was attacked by rockets near Srirangapatna on the night of 6 February 1792, while advancing towards the Kaveri river from the north. The Rocket Corps ultimately reached a strength of about 5000 in Tipu Sultan's army. Mysore rockets were also used for ceremonial purposes. When the Jacobin Club of Mysore sent a delegation to Tippu Sultan, 500 rockets were launched as part of the gun salute.

During the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, rockets were again used on several occasions. One of these involved Colonel Arthur Wellesley, later famous as the First Duke of Wellington and the hero of the Battle of Waterloo. Arthur Wellesley was defeated by Tipu's Diwan, Purnaiya at the Battle of Sultanpet Tope. Quoting Forrest,

"At this point (near the village of Sultanpet, Figure 5) there was a large tope, or grove, which gave shelter to Tipu's rocketmen and had obviously to be cleaned out before the siege could be pressed closer to Seringapatam island. The commander chosen for this operation was Col. Wellesley, but advancing towards the tope after dark on the 5 April 1799, he was set upon with rockets and musket-fires, lost his way and, as Beatson politely puts it, had to "postpone the attack" until a more favourable opportunity should offer. Wellesley's failure was glossed over by Beatson and other chroniclers, but the next morning he failed to report when a force was being paraded to renew the attack. [Forrest D (1970) "Tiger of Mysore", Chatto & Windus, London]

"On 22 April [1799] , twelve days before the main battle, rocketeers worked their way around to the rear of the British encampment, then 'threw a great number of rockets at the same instant' to signal the beginning of an assault by 6,000 Indian infantry and a corps of Frenchmen, all directed by Mir Golam Hussain and Mohomed Hulleen Mir Mirans. The rockets had a range of about 1,000 yards. Some burst in the air like shells. Otherscalled ground rockets, on striking the ground, would rise again and bound along in a serpentine motion until their force was spent. According to one British observer, a young English officer named Bayly:

"So pestered were we with the rocket boys that there was no moving without danger from the destructive missiles ...". He continued: "The rockets and musketry from 20,000 of the enemy were incessant. No hail could be thicker. Every illumination of blue lights was accompanied by a shower of rockets, some of which entered the head of the column, passing through to the rear, causing death, wounds, and dreadful lacerations from the long bamboos of twenty or thirty feet, which are invariably attached to them'."

During the conclusive British attack on Seringapatam on 2 May 1799, a British shot struck a magazine of rockets within the Tipu Sultan's fort causing it to explode and send a towering cloud of black smoke, with cascades of exploding white light, rising up from the battlements. On the afternoon of 4 May when the final attack on the fort was led by Baird, he was again met by "furious musket and rocket fire", but this did not help much; in about an hour's time the Fort was taken; perhaps in another hour Tipu had been shot (the precise time of his death is not known), and the war was effectively over. [Narasimha Roddam (2 April 1985) Rockets in Mysore and Britain, 1750-1850 A.D., National Aeronautical Laboratory and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560017 India, Project Document DU 8503, [http://nal ir.nal.res.in/2382/01/tr_pd_du_8503_R66305.pdf] ]

After the fall of Seringapatam, 600 launchers, 700 serviceable rockets and 9,000 empty rockets were found. Some of the rockets had pierced cylinders, to allow them to act like incendiaries, while some had iron points or steel blades bound to the bamboo. By attaching these blades to rockets they became very unstable towards the end of their flight causing the blades to spin around like flying scythes, cutting down all in their path.

These experiences eventually led to the Royal Woolwich Arsenal's beginning a military rocket R&D program in 1801, their first demonstration of solid-fuel rockets in 1805 and publication of "A Concise Account of the Origin and Progress of the Rocket System" in 1807 by William Congreve [Stephen Leslie (1887) "Dictionary of National Biography", Congreve, Sir William, Vol.XII, p.9, Macmillan & Co., New York [http://books.google.com/books?id=YTcJAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq=a+concise+account+of+the+origin+and+progress+of+the+rocket+system&source=web&ots=Ckd6Dx5VJL&sig=cf_2GUuMbboUCnwJfE2hHuXCD3o] ] , son of the arsenal's commandant. Congreve rockets were soon systematically used by the British during the Napoleonic Wars and their confrontationwith the US during 1812-14. These descendants of Mysore rockets find mention in the Star Spangled Banner.

Humane treatment for prisoners

A clause in the proposed treaty of alliance with the French stated, " I demanded that male and female prisoners as well English and Portuguese, who shall be taken by the republican troops or by mine, shall be treated with humanity, and with regard to their persons that they shall be transported at our joint expense out of India to some place for distant from the territories of the allies."In short Tipu was an enlightened ruler, the sheet-anchor of whose state-policy was the well-being of all his subjects irrespective of caste, creed or class. He took his stand on the bedrock of humanity, regarding all his subjects as equal citizen to live in peace, harmony and concord.cite web
url = http://www.tipusultan.org/script1.htm
title = Persian script of Tipu Sultan on the gateway to Krishnaraja Sagar Dam (KRS)
accessdate = 2006-10-17
author =Prof.Sheikh Ali
last =Ali
first =Sheikh
date =
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Jacobin Club in Mysore

Tippu Sultan was a founder-member of the Jacobin Club. While accepting the membership, he said of France, "Behold my acknowledgement of the standard of your country, which is dear to me, and to which I am allied; it shall always be supported in my country, as it has been in the Republic, my sister!". He was named as "Citizen Tippu Sultan",

In fiction

* In Jules Verne's Mysterious Island, Captain Nemo is described as a nephew of Tippu Sultan.
* Tippu Sultan's life and adventures were the central theme of a short-running South Indian television series "The Adventures of Tipu Sultan", and of a more popular national television series "The Sword of Tipu Sultan".
* Naseem Hijazi's novels "Muazam Ali" and "Aur Talwar Toot Gaye" ("And The Sword Broke") describe Tippu Sultan's wars.
* Wilkie Collins novel "The Moonstone" contains an account of Tippu Sultan and the Fall of Seringapatam in the prologue.
* In "The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen" by Rudolf Erich Raspe, Munchausen vanquishes Tippoo near the end of the novel.
* "Sharpe's Tiger" is a novel in which Napoleonic soldier Richard Sharpe fights at the Battle of Seringapatam, later killing the Tippu Sultan.
* "The Only King Who Died on the Battlefield: An Historical Novel Based on Truth" (published in 2006), was written by a US-Pakistani resident and a young college student "Mohammed Faisal Iftikhar". The novel claims that in recent history, Tipu Sultan is the only king who died on the battlefield.

Family and Descendants

Tippu Sultan had four wives, by whom he had 16 sons and at least 8 daughters, including:

1. Shahzada Hyder Ali Sultan Sahib (1771-30 July 1815), "desc"

2. Shahzada Abdul Khaliq Sultan Sahib (1782-12 September 1806, "desc"

3. Shahzada Muhi-ud-din Sultan Sahib (1782-30 September 1811), "desc"

4. Shahzada Muiz-ud-din Sultan Sahib (1783-30 March 1818), "desc"

5. Shahzada Miraj-ud-din Sultan Sahib (1784?-?)

6. Shahzada Muin-ud-din Sultan Sahib (1784?-?)

7. Shahzada Muhammad Yasin Sultan Sahib (1784-15 March 1849), "desc"

8. Shahzada Muhammad Subhan Sultan Sahib (1785-27 September 1845), "desc"

9. Shahzada Muhammad Shukru'llah Sultan Sahib (1785-25 September 1837), "desc"

10. Shahzada Sarwar-ud-din Sultan Sahib (1790-20 October 1833), "desc"

11. Shahzada Muhammad Nizam-ud-din Sultan Sahib (1791-20 October 1791)

12. Shahzada Muhammad Jamal-ud-din Sultan Sahib (1795-13 November 1842), "desc"

13. Shahzada Munir-ud-din Sultan Sahib (1795-1 December 1837), "desc"

14. His Highness Shahzada Sir Ghulam Muhammad Sultan Sahib, KCSI (March 1795-11 August 1872), "desc"

15. Shahzada Ghulam Ahmad Sultan Sahib (1796-11 April 1824)

16. Shahzada.............Sultan Sahib (1797-1797)

Tippu Sultan's family was sent to Calcutta by the British. Noor Inayat Khan, who was a major in the British Indian army, is said to be one of Tippu Sultan's descendants who died in France under German occupation.

word of Tippu Sultan

Tippu Sultan had lost his sword in a war with the Nairs of Travancore in which, he was defeated. The Nairs under the leadership of Raja Kesavadas, defeated the Mysore army near Aluva. The Maharaja, Dharma Raja, gifted the famous sword to the Nawab of Arcot, from where the sword went to London. The sword was on display at the Wallace Collection, No. 1 Manchester Square, London. At an auction in London in 2004, the industrialist-politician Vijay Mallya purchased the sword of Tippu Sultan and some other historical artifacts, and brought them back to India for public display after nearly two centuries.

Further reading

* Agha, Shamsu. "Tipu Sultan", "Mirza Ghalib in London";, "Flight Delayed", Paperback, ISBN 0901974420
* Ali, B Sheik. "Tippu Sultan", Nyasanal Buk Trast
* Amjad, Sayyid. °Ali Ashahri, "Savanih Tipu Sultan", Himaliyah Buk Ha®us
* Banglori, Mahmud Khan Mahmud. "Sahifah-yi Tipu Sultan", Hamalayah Pablishing Ha°us,
* Bhagwan, Gidwami S. "The Sword of Tipu Sultan: The Life and Legend of Tipu Sultan of India", Allied Publishers 1978
* Bowring, Lewin. "Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan and the Struggle with the Musalman Powers of the South", Asian Educational Services,India, ISBN 812061299X
* Brittlebank, Kate. "Tipu Sultan's Search for Legitimacy: Islam and Kingship in a Hindu Domain", OUP India, ISBN 0195639774
* Buddle, Anne. "Tigers Round the Throne", Zamana Gallery, ISBN 1869933028
* Campbell, Richard Hamilton. "Tippoo Sultan: The fall of Seringapatam and the restoration of the Hindu raj", Govt. Press
* Chinnian, P. "Tipu Sultan the Great", Siva Publications
* Habib, Irfan. "State and Diplomacy Under Tipu Sultan: Documents and Essays", Manohar Publishers and Distributors, ISBN 818522952X
* Hashimi, Sajjad. "Tipu Sultan", Maktabah-yi Urdu Da®ijast
* Home, Robert. "Select Views in Mysore: The Country of Tipu Sultan from Drawings Taken on the Spot by Mr. Home", Asian Educational Services,India, ISBN 8120615123
* Mohibbul, Hasan. "History of Tipu Sultan",Aakar Books, ISBN 8187879572
* Mohibbul, Hasan. "Tipu Sultan's Mission to Constantinople",Aakar Books, ISBN 8187879564
* Moienuddin, Mohammad. "Sunset at Srirangapatam: After the death of Tipu Sultan", Orient Longman, ISBN 8125019197
* Pande, B. N. "Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan: Evaluation of their religious policies (IOS series)", Institute of Objective Studies
* Siddiqi, Faiz Alam. "Sultan Tipu Shahid", Buk Karnar,
* Strandberg, Samuel. "Tipu Sultan: The Tiger of Mysore : or, to fight against the odds", AB Samuel Travel, ISBN 9163073331
* Taylor, George. "Coins of Tipu Sultan", Asian Educational Services,India, ISBN 8120605039
* Wigington, Robin. "Firearms of Tipu Sultan,1783-99", J.Taylor Book Ventures, ISBN 1871224136

* "Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan and the Struggle with the Mohammadan Powers of the South", Cosmo (Publications,India), ISBN 8177554352
* "Confronting Colonialism: Resistance and Modernization Under Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan (Anthem South Asian Studies)", Anthem Press, ISBN 1843310244

References

External links

* [http://www.kitaabghar.com/bookbase/zahidmalik/historyoftipusultan.html Urdu History of Tipu Sultan]
* [http://www.voi.org/books/tipu Book on Tipu sultan] -http://www.voi.org/books/tipu/
* [http://www.tipusultan.org Biography of Tipu sultan] -www.Tipusultan.org
* [http://87.246.77.58/tipu/ Biograpy at nationalgalleries.org.uk]
* [http://www.indiastar.com/wallia7.htm Review of Tipu Sultan:Villain or Hero?] - IndiaStar Review of Books
* [http://www.storyofpakistan.com/person.asp?perid=P073 Biography]
* [http://www.tipusultan.org/ Dedicated to life and works of Tipu Sultan]
* [http://taher.freeservers.com/tipu_sultan.htm Tipu Sultan Portal]
* [http://sify.com/itihaas/fullstory.php?id=13375042 Rule of Tipu Sultan]
* [http://www.bangalorebest.com/discoverbangalore/sightseeing/TimeLine/tiger.asp Bangalore best]
* [http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/SPACE/space-history1.html Bharath Rakshak]
* [http://www.indhistory.com/mysore-war-4.html India history]
* [http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/itihas/tippu.htm The Sword of Tippu Sultan]
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18813 The Tiger of Mysore] - Dramatised account of the British campaign against Tipu Sultan by G. A. Henty, from Project Gutenberg