Tipu Sultan Quiz | Government

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. When was Tipu born?

Answer: 1749

Tipu was born in Mysore, one of the few independent states of India free of British control. His real name is supposed to be Fateh Ali Tipu, after the great saint Tipu Mastan. His father, Hayder Ali, was a soldier in the Mysorean king's army.

2. In 1761, his father, ________________, was the ruler of all of Mysore.

Answer: Haydar Ali

Hayder Ali rose to the post of commander-in-chief of the Mysorean army. In 1761, he launched a coup, ousting the previous ruler, and naming himself the undisputed ruler.

3. In 1767, Tipu's father was at war with the British, who were allied by the Nizam of Hyderabad and the _______________.

Answer: Marathas

The war ended when the British, deserted by their allies, surrendered. This was Tipu's first participation in a real conflict. He showed bravery and high strategic skills, even though he was only 18 years old.

4. In 1780, Tipu's father attacked Carnatic and routed a British army. He was defeated and died in _______.

Answer: 1782

Tipu was made the Sultan (king) of Mysore in a simple ceremony. He vowed to continue his father's war against the British and not sleep on a bed until he had driven the British off Indian soil.

5. Tipu made peace with the ______________ in 1784.

Answer: British

The peace, however, was short-lived.

6. In 1789, Tipu attacked the British controlled state of Travancore, triggering another war. In 1792, Tipu surrendered to British commander ________________.

Answer: Cornwallis

The war continued for three years. The British were allied by the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad. Tipu was often seen taking part in combat; two horses were shot from under him and he was shot in the arm and the chest. Although many people think that Tipu surrendered because Mysore couldn't finance the war, this wasn't true. Tipu's main reasons of surrender were many: there were a lot of political crises going on at home; Hindus were rebelling; his wife died and he was mentally depressed; and worst, two of his high-ranking officials were found to be involved in a conspiracy with the British to assassinate Tipu and turn over two Mysorean cities to the British.

The wives of the king that Hayder Ali had overthrown in 1761 had been granted amnesty to please the Hindu population of India.

When Ali named Tipu his successor, they began to inspire and fund dissidents, mainly Hindu, throughout Mysore. While Tipu was away at battle, they got an excellent chance to disrupt the religious-political system that Ali and Tipu had set up.

The treaty that Tipu was forced to sign demanded that he ceded half of his territories to the victors.

7. In 1798, Tipu signed a secret agreement with the French leader, __________________.

Answer: Napoleon

The agreement was that the French would provide military assistance to Tipu against the British. Tipu also sent SOS calls to the Sultan of Turkey and the King of Afghanistan. However, Napoleon, who wanted revolutions all around the world against corruption, feudalism and heirarchy that used to dominate French society before the French Revolution and the British were promoting to serve their interests in the world, was the only one who paid any attention to him.

8. In 1799, the British attacked Mysore. Many of Tipu's high-ranking officials were involved in a conspiracy with the British. Most important of these was, ________________, his prime-minister.

Answer: Mir Sadiq

The British promised Mir Sadiq that in return for helping them, they would make him the ruler of Mysore. Also involved in this plot was Pandit Purnia, Tipu's Secretary of Treasury. He was promised the post of prime-minister. They tried various things on Tipu. During a highly important conflict, Purnia told the soldiers to come collect their wages.

The soldiers left the cannons and went for their pay and the British were able to destroy parts of the fort wall. Also, empty cannonballs were provided to the soldiers.

9. The final act of betrayal was when Tipu went himself to fight the British soldiers that were able to enter the fort courtyard. One of the traitors then ordered the inner doors to be shut. Who was this traitor?

Answer: Mir Sadiq

Tipu was trapped in the courtyard with a handful of faithful followers and surrounded by the British soldiers. They fought for a long time. Three horses were shot from under Tipu. In the fort, Mir Sadiq declared that Tipu had abducted. However, one of Tipu's loyal followers attacked and killed Mir Sadiq.

10. On ______________, Tipu Sultan was killed.

Answer: May 5, 1799

He was still trapped in the courtyard with a handful of faithful followers. He, along with four other bodyguards, killed a record 4,500 British soldiers-about fifteen British were left alive and Wellesley was thinking about surrendering when a British bullet hit Tipu on his arm.

Another hit his temple and the Tiger of Mysore, the hope of Indian freedom, the great nationalist who sacrificed every thing for his dream of British-free India, fell. And along with him, shattered the dream of Indian independence-one that will not be able to be achieved till 150 years later by the endless efforts of Ghandi and Nehru and Jinnah-just because some greedy men sold their soul for a few gold. Tipu's body was given a military burial and he was buried by his father's side in Lal Bagh.

Source: Author arsalanrizvi

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Lanni before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Tipu Sultan Trivia Quiz

He was a great nationalist, who tried his hardest to stop the British from dominating all of India. He was martyred in his struggle. Take this quiz to learn about one of Indo-Pak's greatest heroes, Tipu Sultan.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>