Hyder Ali

Hyder Ali was the Sultan and de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. He distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers. Rising to the post of Dalavayi (commander-in-chief) to Krishnaraja Wodeyar II, he came to dominate the titular monarch and the Mysore government. He became the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore as Sarvadhikari by 1761, and served as the country's primary military leader in intermittent conflicts against the East India Company during the First and Second Anglo–Mysore Wars.