Hyder Ali (1721-7 December 1782) was the Sultan of Mysore from 1761 to 1782, succeeding Krishnaraja Wodeyar II of Mysore and preceding Tipu Sultan. He was the leader of Mysore at the time of the American Revolutionary War, during which he fought as an ally of France against Great Britain.
Biography[]
Hyder Ali was the son of Fath Muhammad, a general of Mysore. He was variously reported as being born in 1717 or 1721 and of Persian, Afghan, or Quraysh Arab descent (descended from the Prophet Muhammad). With the assistance of Marquis de Bussy, he took power in Mysore in 1748 and served alongside Joseph Francois Dupleix, De Bussy, and Thomas Arthur de Lally during the Seven Years' War of the 1750s. He was amicable with the Mangalore Catholics, who built him a navy. In 1761, Hyder Ali overthrew Khande Rao to become the new Sultan (king) of Mysore, and built a powerful army.
In 1766, Hyder Ali went to war with Great Britain in the First Anglo-Mysore War, which later joined with the American Revolutionary War when France got involved on the Mysorean side. He was the leader of the Mysorean army until his death in December 1782, upon which he was succeeded by his son Tipu Sultan.