• The precise date of Hyder Ali’s birth is unknown.
• Fath Muhammad and Lal Bai were his parents (however it’s unclear if Lal Bai was his mother’s name).
• His birth dates range from 1717 to 1722, according to various historical sources. His early years are unknown; after their father was killed in action, he and his brother Shahbaz joined the military.
• They traveled to Seringapatam, where Hyder’s uncle ruled, after serving for several years under the kings of Arcot.
• He presented them to Devaraja, Krishnaraja Wodeyar II’s dalwai (chief minister, military leader, and virtual ruler), and his brother Nanjaraja, who both served in prominent governmental positions.
• Hyder and his brother were both awarded leadership positions in the Mysorean army; Hyder commanded 100 cavalries and 2,000 infantry under Shahbaz.
• Haidar, who was noted for his effective leadership, ascended to become Nanjraj’s most trusted subordinate before usurping him.
• Some nobility conspired with the Marathas to depose him, but the Marathas retreated due to events in North India, and Haidar regained full power in 1761.
• By 1764, he had expanded his dominance well north of the Tungabhadra.
• Haidar Ali fought the Marathas in the northwest and the British on the east and west coastlines for the remainder of his life, using his excellent diplomacy and powerful army to keep or expand his holdings.

De facto Ruler

• By 1761, he had taken over as minister from Nanjaraja.
• The kingdom had been bankrupted by Nanjarajah, therefore Haider set out to restock the coffers by conquest.
• According to some versions, Haider Ali placed the Rajah under house arrest, while others claim that the king sanctioned his de facto seizure of power.
• He appears to have improved the efficiency of the administration. When the Wadiyar Rajah died in 1766, Haider Ali replaced him, but he was regarded as a Sultan, not a Rajah since he was a Muslim.
• He is commonly referred to as a usurper, yet his ascension does not appear to have been considered unlawful at the time.
• For a long time, the minister of state, rather than the Rajah, wielded actual authority.

Rise of Haider Ali

• Although he is most known for his military leadership, Haider Ali was also a capable civilian administrator.
• He was cautious to govern as a secular king, upholding religious freedom and Hindu legal tradition as a Muslim leading a Hindu-majority state.
• He constructed roads, parks, and fortifications at Bangalore and Seringapatam (where his son would make his last stand in 1799).
• He began modernizing the administration, and the restored Wadiyar dynasty, under British control, continued this process, which his son had also contributed to.
• By 1755, Hyder Ali commanded 3,000 troops and 1,500 cavalries and was said to be profiting himself by pillage during battles.
• He was also named Faujdar (military commander) of Dindigul that year.
• He initially hired French experts to organize and train his artillery companies while in this capacity.
• He is also known to have served alongside de Bussy, and he is said to have encountered Muzaffar Jung and Chanda Sahib.
• During these early wars, he grew to resent and distrust Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah, the Carnatic’s Nawab.
• During the Carnatic Wars, Hyder Ali and his Mysore battalions fought with French commanders such as Joseph Francois Dupleix, Count de Lally, and de Bussy, and he also supported Chanda Sahib on several occasions.
• Hyder Ali first backed Muzaffar Jung’s assertions before siding with Salabat Jung.
• In 1761-63, he took over the Nizami army and the Marathas, seized Dod Ballapur, Sera, Bednur, and Hoskote, and brought the troublesome Poligars of South India to heel (Tamil Nadu).
• From the reign of the Vijayanagara Empire, Poligars or Palaiyakkarars were appointed as military leaders and administrative rulers in portions of Southern India. They also levied levies on the farmers.
• After recouping their losses, the Marathas led by Madhavrao assaulted Mysore and defeated Haidar Ali in 1764, 1766, and 1771.
• Haidar Ali had to offer them significant sums of money to purchase peace, but after Madhavrao’s death in 1772, Haidar Ali invaded the Marathas several times between 1774-76, recovering all of the regions he had previously lost as well as seizing additional ones.