Hyder Ali: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

The exact date of Hyder Ali's birth is not known with certainty. He was born to [[Fath Muhammad]]. Various historical sources provide dates ranging between 1717 and 1722 for his birth.<ref name=B13>Bowring, p. 13</ref> There are also some variations in reports of his ancestry. There are also some variations in reports of his ancestry. According to some accounts, his grandfather was descended from a line tracing their lineage back to [[Baghdad]],<ref name=B12/> while another traces his lineage instead to the area of present-day [[Afghanistan]]<ref name=B12>Bowring, p. 12</ref> In a third account, written by one of his French military officers, Hyder himself claimed descent from the Bani Hashim clan of the Quraysh.<ref>de la Tour, p. 34</ref> According to some accounts, his great-grandfather, Bhailol, was a [[Punjabi Muslim]] who had migrated to south India.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Olson |first1=James Stuart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f0VnzMelzm8C&dq=hyder+ali+punjabi&pg=PA773 |title=Historical Dictionary of the British Empire |last2=Shadle |first2=Robert |date=1996 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-27917-1 |language=en|page=273|quote=Hyder Ali was originally a Punjabi adventurer in the army of the Hindu king of Mysore .}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Moon |first=Penderel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2GwDin-jzIUC&q=haidar,+who+was+of+punjabi+origin |title=The British Conquest and Dominion of India |date=1989 |publisher=Duckworth |isbn=978-0-253-33836-5 |language=en |quote=Haidar Ali , a Punjabi by origin}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dalrymple |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N5IyEAAAQBAJ&q=the+anarchy |title=The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire |date=2019-09-10 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-63557-395-4 |language=en |quote=Haidar, who was of Punjabi origin, had risen in the ranks of the Mysore army}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bowring |first=Lewin B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ID3gwwEACAAJ&q=Hyder's+great-grandfather+Muhammad+Bhailol+was+a+Muslim+devotee,+who+left+the+Punjab+to+seek+his+fortune+in+southern+India... |title=Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan |date=2019-03-07 |publisher=Creative Media Partners, LLC |isbn=978-0-530-43288-5 |language=en|page=12|quote="...Hyder's great-grandfather Muhammad Bhailol was a Musalman devotee, who left the Punjab to seek his fortune in southern India..."}}</ref> Another legend traces his lineage to the Quraysh of Mecca,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hasan |first=Mohibbul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hkbJ6xA1_jEC&dq=tipu+sultan+ancestry&pg=PA1 |title=History of Tipu Sultan |date=2005 |publisher=Aakar Books |isbn=978-81-87879-57-2 |language=en|page=1}}</ref> although this was most likely a later fabrication.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bowring |first=Lewin B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ID3gwwEACAAJ&q=Hyder's+great-grandfather+Muhammad+Bhailol+was+a+Muslim+devotee,+who+left+the+Punjab+to+seek+his+fortune+in+southern+India... |title=Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan |date=2019-03-07 |publisher=Creative Media Partners, LLC |isbn=978-0-530-43288-5 |language=en|page=12}}</ref> His father, [[Fath Muhammad]], was born in [[Kolar]], and served as a commander of 50 men in the [[bamboo]] [[rocket artillery]] (mainly used for signalling) in the army of the [[Nawab of Carnatic]].<ref name=Narasimha120/> Fath Muhammad eventually entered the service of the [[Wodeyar]] [[Raja]]s of the [[Kingdom of Mysore]], where he rose to become a powerful military commander. The Wodeyars awarded him [[Budikote]] as a [[jagir]] (land grant), where he then served as [[Nayak (title)|Naik]] (Lord).<ref name=B13/>

Hyder Ali was born in Budikote, Kolar district; he was [[Fath Muhammad]]'s fifth child, and the second by his third wife.<ref name=B13/> His early years are not well documented; he entered military service along with his brother Shahbaz after their father died in combat.<ref>Rao Punganuri, p. 1</ref> After serving for a number of years under the rulers of [[Arcot]], they came to [[Srirangapatna]], where Hyder's uncle served. He introduced them to Devaraja, the ''dalwai'' (chief minister, military leader, and virtual ruler) of [[Krishnaraja Wodeyar II]], and his brother Nanjaraja, who also held important ministerial posts.<ref>Brittlebank, p. 18</ref> hyder and his brother were both given commands in the Mysorean army; Hyder served under Shahbaz, commanding 100 cavalry and 2,000 infantry.<ref name=Rao2>Rao Punganuri, p. 2</ref>