Sultanate of Mysore
State in southern India (1761–1799)
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History
Hyder Ali (c. 1720–1782) rose through military service under the Wodeyar rulers and became the effective ruler of Mysore by 1761. Although the Wodeyars remained nominal monarchs, Hyder centralized military and fiscal authority. He expanded Mysorean territory across the Malabar Coast, Coorg, and parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, creating direct confrontation with the Marathas, the Nizam of Hyderabad, and the British East India Company.
Tipu Sultan implemented centralized revenue administration, replacing intermediary tax farmers with salaried officials. State monopolies were established over sandalwood, pepper, silk, cardamom, and areca nut. Its estimated annual revenue in the 1790s ranged between 20–30 million rupees.
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Foreign Relations
Tipu Sultan corresponded with Louis XVI and maintained military cooperation with French officers; he also attempted to coordinate efforts against British expansion with embassies to the Ottoman Empire, and correspondence with Zaman Shah Durrani.
Anglo–Mysore Wars
During the First Anglo-Mysore War (1767–1769), Hyder Ali's rapid cavalry maneuvers led to an advance toward Madras, resulting in the Treaty of Madras (1769), which restored conquered territories and established a defensive agreement. The Second Anglo–Mysore War (1780–1784) conflict coincided with global Anglo-French rivalry during the American Revolutionary era. Mysorean rocket artillery played a decisive role at Pollilur. The Treaty of Mangalore (1784) restored territorial status and affirmed Mysore’s diplomatic standing. In the Third Anglo–Mysore War, a coalition of the British, the Marathas, and the Nizam defeated Mysore after campaigns led by Charles Cornwallis. The Treaty of Seringapatam (1792) required Mysore to cede approximately half its territory. The Fourth Anglo–Mysore War saw British forces besiege Seringapatam in 1799. Tipu Sultan was killed defending the capital. Mysore was subsequently partitioned, and the Wodeyar dynasty restored under British supervision.
Military
Mysore is known to have had one of the highest quality armies of any Indian state. Under Hyder Ali, the Mysorean army was largely reorganized using a hybrid model combining Indo-Persian cavalry traditions with European artillery and infantry training, with French officers being used to train the army. By the 1780s, Mysore maintained approximately 50,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, organized artillery brigades, and a dedicated rocket corps.
Infantry
Mysore’s infantry was one of its strongest military forces, as these were more often than not trained in European tactics and warfare. In addition, infantrymen were well equipped with (for the time) modern firearms such as the Brown Bess and Charleville Muskets.
Cavalry
While not as prominent as the infantry, the cavalry were still a very formidable force in the Mysorean army, receiving more or less the same level of training from European officers as the infantry. The cavalry were armed with the Pistolet modèle 1786 and the Pistolet modèle 1766, with the latter being favored as it was easier to clean and repair, although this came at the expense of recoil.
Rocketeers
Mysore developed iron-cased rockets with greater range and structural strength than earlier designs. These rockets were deployed effectively at the Battle of Pollilur (1780), contributing to a major British defeat. British forces later studied captured rockets following the Siege of Seringapatam (1799), influencing the development of the Congreve rocket system.
Artillery
Under both Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, Mysore procured dozens of cannons, mortars, and howitzers in variable models from France, Portugal, and Denmark-Norway. The most commonly used models were those introduced in France courtesy of the Gribeauval system. Other models such as the Grasshopper cannon, 6-pounder smoothbore, the 6-pound howitzer, and the 18-pounder long gun were also used.