Kingdom of Mysore
Kingdom of Mysore | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1399–1950 | |||||||||
| Status | Kingdom (subordinate to Vijayanagara Empire until 1565) under a subsidiary alliance with the India Office and British Crown from 1799 Princely state under the India Office and British Crown from 1831 | ||||||||
| Capital | Mysore, Srirangapatna, Bangalore | ||||||||
| Largest city | Bangalore | ||||||||
| Official languages |
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| Religion | Major: Hinduism Islam Minor: Christianity Jainism | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Mysorean | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Maharaja | |||||||||
• 1399–1423 (first) | Yaduraya Wodeyar | ||||||||
• 1940–1950 (last) | Jayachamaraja Wodeyar | ||||||||
• 1761–1782 | Hyder Ali | ||||||||
• 1782–1799 | Tipu Sultan | ||||||||
| Dewan | |||||||||
• 1782–1811 (first) | Purnaiah | ||||||||
• 1946–1949 (last) | Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar | ||||||||
• 1926–1941 | Mirza Ismail | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 1399 | ||||||||
• Earliest records | 1551 | ||||||||
| 1767–1799 | |||||||||
| 1759–1787 | |||||||||
| 1950 | |||||||||
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| Today part of | India | ||||||||
The kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore 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 Vijayanagara Empire, it became a princely state in British Raj from 1799 to 1947, marked in-between by major political changes.
The kingdom, which was founded and ruled for the most part by the Wadiyars, initially served as a feudal vassal under the Vijayanagara Empire. With the gradual decline of the Empire, the 16th-century Timmaraja Wodeyar II declared independence from it. The 17th century saw a steady expansion of its territory and, during the rules of Narasaraja Wodeyar I and Devaraja Wodeyar II, the kingdom annexed large expanses of what is now southern Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu, becoming a formidable power in the Deccan.
During a brief Muslim rule from 1761 to 1799, the kingdom became a sultanate under Hyder Ali and Tipu, often referring to it as Sultanat-e-Khudadad (transl. God gifted empire). During this time, it came into conflict with the Maratha Confederacy, the Nizam of Hyderabad, the kingdom of Travancore, and the British, culminating in four Anglo-Mysore Wars. Mysore's success in the First Anglo-Mysore war and a stalemate in the Second were followed by defeats in the Third and the Fourth. Following Tipu's death in the Fourth War during the Siege of Seringapatam, 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 Krishnaraja Wodeyar III became king.
In 1831, the British took direct control of the kingdom and a commission administered it until 1881. Through an instrument of rendition, power was once again transferred to the Wadiyars in 1881, when Chamaraja Wadiyar X was made king. In 1913, in lieu of the instrument, a proper subsidiary alliance was struck with the kingdom during Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV.
Upon India's independence from the Crown rule in 1947, the kingdom of Mysore acceded to the Union of India. Upon accession, it became Mysore State, later uniting with other Kannada speaking regions to form the present-day Karnataka state. Soon after Independence, Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wadiyar was made Rajapramukh until 1956, when he became the first governor 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 art and culture in India. The maharajas of Mysore 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 rocket science with the use of Mysorean rockets.