Tipu Sultan, the monarch of the Kingdom of Mysore, died in 1799.
Tipu Sultan, also known as the Tiger of Mysore or Tippoo Sahib by the British, was an Indian prince who fought against the East India Company's takeover of southern India. Public opinion in England regarded him as a terrible despot, while modern Indian nationalists lauded him as a liberation fighter, yet both are wishful thinking. When the morning of May 4th arrived, Tipu was informed that the omens were not favourable. He sought to ward off disaster by offering a gold purse, an elephant, a black bullock and two buffalo, a black nanny goat, and a black cloak and cap to Hindu priests and Brahmins, but in vain. Troops equipped with bamboo ladders for scaling the walls commenced the attack just after one o'clock. As the defenders withdrew, a British flag was hoisted in the breach within minutes. Tipu battled valiantly, dressed to the nines and loading and shooting muskets delivered to him by his servants as if he were at a sports event, but the odds were too high. He was injured, and his attendants attempted to rush him away in a palanquin, but he was slain by an anonymous British soldier for his jewellery. As darkness fell, a British party discovered the sultan's body behind a stack of bodies. He was laid to rest in his family tomb in the city.
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