Analytical Study of Tipu Sultan’s Relations with the Ottoman Empire

Abstract

Tipu Sultan faced a united and stronger British power in India because the Governor-General since 1784 also became the Commander-in-Chief and now had complete authority over the other subordinate governments in India. More significantly, the Company which had largely functioned independently and had limited resources was now controlled fully by the British government. The British through trade, diplomacy, duplicity, subversion, coercion and war had extended their influence to large parts of India. In southern India Tipu was the only major Indian ruler who defied the British and refused to become a vassal of them not due to any innate hostility to them but because he could see their evil designs in India. Being a proud and successful ruler, Tipu was determined to preserve if not expand his kingdom. In order to face the formidable British challenge, he devised several strategies and one of the most notable was his decision to seek foreign military assistance and recognition. This paper which has been divided into three parts makes an attempt to delineate his diplomatic moves mainly with the Ottoman empire. First part examines Tipu’s compulsions which propelled him to seek legitimacy from the Ottoman Sultan. The second part highlights the objectives and functions of the mission sent to the Sublime Porte and in the end an assessment of its implication on Tipu’s rule are presented.