Kingdom of Mysore

The kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in <a href="/facts/South_India/XqkE3NdU">southern India</a> founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of <a href="/facts/Mysore/xpzbccId">Mysore</a> and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted substantially throughout the kingdom's lifetime. While originally a feudal vassal under the <a href="/facts/Vijayanagara_Empire/aVcSqnBj">Vijayanagara Empire</a>, it became a <a href="/facts/Princely_state/3HFwekHD">princely state</a> in <a href="/facts/British_Raj/hBe6wvPS">British Raj</a> from 1799 to 1947, marked in-between by major political changes.
The kingdom, which was founded and ruled for the most part by the <a href="/facts/Wadiyar_dynasty/SrkJ1P7a">Wadiyars</a>, initially served as a feudal vassal under the <a href="/facts/Vijayanagara_Empire/aVcSqnBj">Vijayanagara Empire</a>. With the gradual decline of the Empire, the 16th-century <a href="/facts/Timmaraja_Wodeyar_II/j59jD2bn">Timmaraja Wodeyar II</a> declared independence from it. The 17th century saw a steady expansion of its territory and, during the rules of <a href="/facts/Kanthirava_Narasaraja_I/7JQj3mW0">Narasaraja Wodeyar I</a> and <a href="/facts/Chikka_Devaraja/Y5X1IbxD">Devaraja Wodeyar II</a>, the kingdom annexed large expanses of what is now southern Karnataka and parts of <a href="/facts/Tamil_Nadu/ouqcjUKE">Tamil Nadu</a>, becoming a formidable power in the <a href="/facts/Deccan_Plateau/dDtSAQnd">Deccan</a>.
During a brief <a href="/facts/Muslim_period_in_the_Indian_subcontinent/Dsr46MUv">Muslim rule</a> from 1761 to 1799, the kingdom became a <a href="/facts/Sultan/4vdHlkdf">sultanate</a> under <a href="/facts/Hyder_Ali/MJdrt4jX">Hyder Ali</a> and <a href="/facts/Tipu_Sultan/U7y0Qtfe">Tipu</a>, often referring to it as Sultanat-e-Khudadad (transl. God gifted empire). During this time, it came into conflict with the <a href="/facts/Maratha_Empire/lwSD5RGx">Maratha Confederacy</a>, the <a href="/facts/Nizam_of_Hyderabad/K3y7b0dN">Nizam of Hyderabad</a>, the <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Travancore/7RRoKgwf">kingdom of Travancore</a>, and the <a href="/facts/British_Empire/hrsz0j7A">British</a>, culminating in four <a href="/facts/Anglo-Mysore_Wars/9tC8BEI5">Anglo-Mysore Wars</a>. Mysore's success in the <a href="/facts/First_Anglo-Mysore_War/2CBFmbw7">First Anglo-Mysore war</a> and a stalemate in the <a href="/facts/Second_Anglo-Mysore_War/uazqnz0u">Second</a> were followed by defeats in the <a href="/facts/Third_Anglo-Mysore_War/6hPcEBbc">Third</a> and the <a href="/facts/Fourth_Anglo-Mysore_War/l1TYa2BK">Fourth</a>. Following Tipu's death in the Fourth War during the <a href="/facts/Siege_of_Seringapatam_(1799)/4QNu3sRf">Siege of Seringapatam</a>, large parts of his kingdom were annexed by the British, which signalled the end of a period of Mysorean hegemony over South India. Power returned absolutely to the Wadiyars when <a href="/facts/Krishnaraja_Wodeyar_III/S0ovpnzA">Krishnaraja Wodeyar III</a> became king.
In 1831, the British took direct control of the kingdom and a <a href="/facts/Mysore_Commission/7Yeur3m4">commission</a> administered it until 1881. Through an instrument of rendition, power was once again transferred to the Wadiyars in 1881, when <a href="/facts/Chamarajendra_Wadiyar_X/Ha8qTPbd">Chamaraja Wadiyar X</a> was made king. In 1913, in lieu of the instrument, a proper <a href="/facts/Subsidiary_alliance/uPaKpMAq">subsidiary alliance</a> was struck with the kingdom during Maharaja <a href="/facts/Krishna_Raja_Wadiyar_IV/ydWqxqWr">Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV</a>.
Upon <a href="/facts/Indian_independence_movement/0n35LRk8">India's independence</a> from the Crown rule in 1947, the kingdom of Mysore acceded to the <a href="/facts/Dominion_of_India/slRebax7">Union of India</a>. Upon accession, it became <a href="/facts/Mysore_State/3AG3vpLB">Mysore State</a>, later uniting with other <a href="/facts/Kannada/cooJ3trn">Kannada</a> speaking regions to form the present-day <a href="/facts/Karnataka/NhJAc4t9">Karnataka</a> state. Soon after Independence, Maharaja <a href="/facts/Jayachamarajendra_Wadiyar/hS7vzwVn">Jayachamaraja Wadiyar</a> was made <a href="/facts/Rajapramukh/jSW88VaW">Rajapramukh</a> until 1956, when he became the first <a href="/facts/List_of_governors_of_Karnataka/JgYydJaq">governor</a> of the enlarged state.

Even as a princely state, Mysore came to be counted among the more developed and urbanised regions of South Asia. The period since the penultimate restoration (1799–1947) also saw Mysore emerge as one of the important centres of <a href="/facts/Culture_of_Mysore/x4rQMzc2">art and culture</a> in India. The <a href="/facts/Maharaja_of_Mysore/rzQhyoI8">maharajas of Mysore</a> were not only accomplished exponents of the fine arts and men of letters, they were enthusiastic patrons as well. Their legacies continue to influence music and the arts even today, as well as <a href="/facts/Rocket/b6j4keIl">rocket science</a> with the use of <a href="/facts/Mysorean_rockets/1cs69vCw">Mysorean rockets</a>.

Kingdom of Mysore open-in-new

Kingdom of Mysore