History of Tipu Sultan
The Tiger of Mysore, Tipu Sultan will always be
remembered as one of the most powerful rulers India
ever had. From a very early age, he was exposed to
politics and military by his father and that helped him to
grow into the most influential leader of the country. Here
are more lesser-known facts about Tipu Sultan that may
help you know him better:
How Tipu Sultan got his name?
Tipu Sultan was born to Hyder Ali and his Fatima Fakhr
Un Nisa. They named their baby Fath Ali but often called
him Tipu after the local saint Tipu Mastan Aulia. Tipu
Sultan's full name was Sultan Fateh Ali Khan Shahab.
The Tiger of Mysore
Tipu was commonly known as the Tiger of Mysore and
adopted this animal as the symbol of his rule. It is said that
Tipu 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".
A great soldier
He learnt shooting, riding and swordsmanship at a very
young age, that is the reason he, at the young age of 15,
captured the family of the Malabar chief with a force that
was only two to three thousand people strong.
Tipu Destroyed Hindu Temples
During his reign, one of the major goals of Tipu Sultan
was to destroy ruin Hindu temples in Malabar, and let
Islam establish and thrive. Historians William Logan has
mentioned in the “Malabar Manual” that Thalipparampu
and Thrichambaram temples of Chirackal Taluqa, Ponmeri
Temple of Badakara, and Thiruvangatu of Tellicherry were
among the major temples smashed by Tipu Sultan.
The father of rockets
The first rocket invented by the French was based on the
technology devised by Tipu Sultan and his father, Haider
Ali. The rockets which used to launch swords were better
than those used in France.
The sword of Tipu Sultan
After the death of Tipu Sultan, the British forces took
away the sword and ring of Tipu Sultan as war trophies.
The irony is that the ring he owned reads "Ram" and
Sultan hated Hindu religion. Both the leftovers of Tipu
Sultan were displayed in the British Museum till 2004
after which Vijay Mallya bought the sword of Tipu Sultan
in an auction.
Tipu Wanted to Be an Emperor
Tipu sultan wanted to defeat the British with an intention
to become a Padishah and rule India. Amusingly, he used
to consult some Brahmin astrologers regarding his
ambition. His longing intensified when astrologers
predicted that he could become an emperor if some of
rituals suggested by them were performed!
Mysore Navy
He played a major role in building a navy in Mysore
consisting of 20 battleships of 72 cannons and 20 frigates
of 62 cannons.
Renamed Places with Muslim Names
Tipu Sultan got several names of places replaced with
Muslim names. Mangalore or Mangalapuri was changed
to Jalalabad, Mysore to Nazarabad, Bepur to
Sultanpatanam, Cannanore to Kusanabad, Gooty to Faiz-
Hissar, Dharwar to Quarshed-Sawad, Dindigul to
Khaliqabad, Ratnagiri to Mustafabad, Kozhikode to
Islamabad, and Dindigul to Khaliqabad. The local
residents of all these places could revert to old names
only after Tipu Sultan's death.
He Touched Heights of Islamic Brutalities
As per an official report by Colonel Fullarton, the then in-
charge of British forces in Mangalore, Tipu Sultan
committed the worst possible brutalities on Brahmin
during his acquisition of Palghat Fort in the year 1783. His
soldiers scared Hindus by exposing the heads of all
innocent Brahmins that were brutally killed by them from
the fort Zamorin.
The lost sword
Tipu Sultan had lost his sword in a war with the Nairs of
Travancore during the Battle of the Nedumkotta (1789),
in which he was forced to withdraw due to the severe
joint attack from the Travancore army and the British
army.
A great scholar and soldier
Tipu Sultan was a great soldier and saved the South India
from British invasions for a long time. He learnt military
strategies from the French.
Unniyarcha
There is also a recent finding that the popular legendary
woman warrior Unniyarcha was a contemporary of Tipu
Sultan and in fact Tipu had captured her in war and taken
her to Mysore in 1790 May and forced her to be one of
his wives.
Gardening his passion
Tipu Sultan had an obsession for horticulture and
gardening. The statement is supported by the fact that
much of his correspondence with foreign dignitaries
would invariably carry a request for new varieties of
seeds and plants. He is attributed for establishing the 40-
acre Lalbagh Botanical Garden in Bangalore.
Tippoo Sahib
He saved Deccan India from British attacks for a long time
and was addressed as Tippoo sahib by them.
Farsi ruled his kingdom
Before Tipu overtook the thrown of Mysore, official works
were done on Kannada and Marathi language. But after
he sat on the thrown, Farsi was introduced as the new
official language of Mysore state.
A self-admirer
Tipu Sultan’s letters reflect his enthusiasm. Nowhere,
those letters showed that he was guilty of his barbaric
acts. In fact, he was proud of converting Hindus and
Christians to Islam.
They loved to hate him
People in Malabar, Mangalore and Coorg loved to hate
him to such an extent that they joined hands with the
British for his doom. This helped the British in winning the
fourth Anglo Mysore War. He lost his sons in the third
war and his own life in the fourth one.
