Tipu Sultan

Tipu Sultan, also known as the The Tiger of Mysore (December 10, 1750, Devanhalli – May 4, 1799, Srirangapatnam) was the second son of Haider Ali by his second wife, Fatima or Fakr-un-nissa. He ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from the time of his father's death in 1782 until his own demise in 1799. Tipu was a learned man and an able soldier. He was reputed to be a good poet. He was also a strongly religious man, and practised the Sunni branch of Islam. He was also a fanatic muslim and massacred thousands of Hindus, and considerable number of Christians in North Kerala, Coorg, Mangalore, and other parts of Karnataka. He destroyed about 8000 temples and churches in his invasion of Malabar and converted thousands of terrified villagers to Islam under the thread of death. His atrocities are the stuff of legend in North Kerala to this day. He continued the war against the British begun by his father. He helped ensure the defeat of the British in the Second Mysore War, and negotiated the Treaty of Mangalore with them. However, he was unsuccessful in preventing his neighbours allying themselves with the British, and was defeated in the Third and Fourth Mysore Wars by their combined forces. He died defending his capital Srirangapatnam, on May 4, 1799.

Early Life

Tipu was born at Devanahalli, in Kolar District, some 45 miles east of Bangalore, probably on Nov 20, 1750 (Friday, 20th Zil-Hijja, 1163 AH). His father was Haider Ali the de-facto ruler of Mysore. His mother was Fakr-un-nissa (also called Fatima), daughter of Muin-ud-din who was the Governor of the Fort of Cuddapah. The exact date of his birth is not known, with different sources claiming dates between 1749 and 1753.

Related Topics:
Devanahalli - Kolar District - Bangalore - Nov 20 - 1750 - Zil-Hijja - AH - Haider Ali - Fakr-un-nissa - Fatima - Muin-ud-din - Fort of Cuddapah

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~