In the present work, an attempt has been made to give an accurate picture of Tipu Sultan by disengaging his personality from masses of fictions and distortions which have gathered round him. As practically the whole of Tipu’s life was taken up with fighting, the author has devoted considerable space to campaigns and battles. However, he has not ignored other aspects of his career. He has paid sufficient attention to the causes and results of wars, while Tipu’s relations with the English, the French, the Nizam, the Marathas and the Ottoman Sultan have been fully discussed. The last three chapters of the book have been devoted to a description of the Sultan’s Government and army, his reforms and religious policy, his efforts at industrialization and State Socialism, his character, his failures and achievements. This pioneering study will enables the reader to appraise the career and character of this extraordinary man. Its scholarly value is enhanced by Professor Hasan’s extensive use of English, French, Persian and Urdu sources. In this revised and enlarged edition Professor Mohibbul Hasan has made a reassessment of the sources, and attempted, with the help of works, hitherto unutilized, to make a more detailed study of Tipu and fill in the gaps left out in his earlier work. He has accordingly, rewritten a number of chapters, made alterations and additions in others, and corrected misstatements and removed obscurities which occurred in the first edition.
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