page_title: Kingdom of Mysore
section_title: Under Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan
hierarchical_section_title: Kingdom of Mysore / History / Under Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan
context_page_description: The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. The kingdom, which was founded and ruled for most part by the Hindu Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire. The 17th century saw a steady expansion of its territory and during the rule of Narasaraja Wodeyar I and Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar, the kingdom annexed large expanses of what is now southern Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu to become a powerful state in the southern Deccan.
  During a brief Muslim rule, the kingdom shifted to a Sultanate style of administration. During this time Mysore experienced sustained growth in per capita income, structural change in the economy, increased pace of technological innovation, and reached the height of its economic and military power and dominion in the latter half of the 18th century under the de facto ruler Haider Ali and his son Tipu Sultan.
  During this time, it came into conflict with the Marathas, the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Kingdom of Travancore and the British, which culminated in the four Anglo-Mysore Wars.
context_section_description: Haider Ali has earned an important place in the history of Karnataka for his fighting skills and administrative acumen. The rise of Haidar came at a time of important political developments in the sub-continent. While the European powers were busy transforming themselves from trading companies to political powers, the Nizam as the subedar of the Mughals pursued his ambitions in the Deccan, and the Marathas, following their defeat at Panipat, sought safe havens in the south. The period also saw the French vie with the British for control of the Carnatic—a contest in which the British would eventually prevail as British commander Sir Eyre Coote decisively defeated the French under the Comte de Lally at the Battle of Wandiwash in 1760, a watershed in Indian history as it cemented British supremacy in South Asia. Though the Wodeyars remained the nominal heads of Mysore during this period, real power lay in the hands of Haider Ali and his son Tipu.
  By 1761, the Maratha menace had diminished and by 1763, Haider Ali had captured the Keladi kingdom, defeated the rulers of Bilgi, Bednur and Gutti, invaded the Malabar in the south and conquered the Zamorin's capital Calicut with ease in 1766 and extended the Mysore kingdom up to Dharwad and Bellary in the north. Mysore was now a major political power in the subcontinent and Haider's meteoric rise from relative obscurity and his defiance formed one of the last remaining challenges to complete British hegemony over the Indian subcontinent—a challenge which would take them more than three decades to overcome.
  In a bid to stem Haidar's rise, the British formed an alliance with the Marathas and the Nizam of Golconda, culminating in the First Anglo-Mysore War in 1767. Despite numerical superiority Haider Ali suffered defeats at the battles of Chengham and Tiruvannamalai. The British ignored his overtures for peace until Haider Ali had strategically moved his armies to within five miles of Madras (modern Chennai) and was able to successfully sue for peace. In 1770, when the Maratha armies of Madhavrao Peshwa invaded Mysore (three wars were fought between 1764 and 1772 by Madhavrao against Haider, in which Haider lost), Haider expected British support as per the 1769 treaty but they betrayed him by staying out of the conflict. The British betrayal and Haider's subsequent defeat reinforced Haider's deep distrust of the British—a sentiment that would be shared by his son and one which would inform Anglo-Mysore rivalries of the next three decades. In 1777, 
  Haider Ali recovered the previously lost territories of Coorg and Malabar from the Marathas.Haider Ali's army advanced towards the Marathas and fought them at the Battle of Saunshi and came out victorious during the same year.
  By 1779, Haider Ali had captured parts of modern Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the south, extending the Kingdom's area to about 80,000 mi² (205,000 km²). In 1780, he befriended the French and made peace with the Marathas and the Nizam. However, Haider Ali was betrayed by the Marathas and the Nizam, who made treaties with the British as well. In July 1779,Haider Ali headed an army of 80,000, mostly cavalry, descending through the passes of the Ghats amid burning villages, before laying siege to British forts in northern Arcot starting the Second Anglo-Mysore War. Haider Ali had some initial successes against the British notably at Pollilur, the worst defeat the British suffered in India until Chillianwala, and Arcot, until the arrival of Sir Eyre Coote, when the fortunes of the British began to change. On 1 June 1781 Coote struck the first heavy blow against Haider Ali in the decisive Battle of Porto Novo. The battle was won by Coote against odds of five to one, and is regarded as one of the greatest feats of the British in India. It was followed up by another hard-fought battle at Pollilur (the scene of an earlier triumph of Haider Ali over a British force) on 27 August, in which the British won another success, and by the rout of the Mysore troops at Sholinghur a month later. Haider Ali died on 7 December 1782, even as 
caption: Mural of the famous Battle of Pollilur in Tipu Sultan's summer palace in Srirangapatna
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