THE FRAGMENTED THRONE and LEGACY of TIPU SULTAN

 Treasures from India: Jewels from the Al-Thani Collection 

 

THE FRAGMENTED THRONE

and

LEGACY

of

TIPU SULTAN

Al Thani Collection

Hassan Al Thani is a Qatari art collector and between him and his family members there is a large art collection showcased in various museums and gallerias internationally.

Recently closed, there was an exhibition of his collections at the Met, titled Treasures from India. It caught my attention as it contained the finial, the top portion, of the throne of Tipu Sultan.
http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2014/treasures-from-india

There were supposedly eight of them, the throne was broken in order to share the spoils of war. One is in Windsor Castle. This one was found in a Scottish home, and auctioned a few years back.

Another of his collection was a magic box.



Not really clear what was the purpose of it, but divided in twenty equilateral triangles, all have an Arabic number on them, supposedly to solve some arithmetic problem.

We have been fascinated by Tipu Sultan, and while growing up, he is one of the few undisputed heroes we read of. He is the one credited with the quote that one day of tiger's live is better than hundred years of a jackal.

We were raised with superhuman image of Tipu Sultan, who would have defeated East India Company had it not been the conspiracies of fellow Muslims, the Nizams of Deccan and his own vizir Mir Sadiq, who betrayed by pulling troops during the Siege of Sirangapatam to collect their salaries.

Reading up on him make me realize that he was perhaps the only one who defeated the English more than once. He was smart, clever and had reached out to Afghanistan, Constantinople and Napoleon to find an alliance against the British.  He may even be credited with the first one using rockets in warfare.
 
Although many Muslims rulers of India who fought and were defeated or killed by the East India Company like, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Sirajud Dula and likes occupy a hero's status in India, Tipu Sultan does not.

And the reason is not that complementary. There are many accounts of his intolerance and savagery to non Muslims. Granted most of the accounts are by English and Hindus and have their biases but his own writings in letters to others do not help either. He seems to be very clear in his goal to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. His proclamations are clearly laced with concepts of religious war against the infidels. He is fighting with Marhattas as much as he is fighting the East India Company.

By some accounts, he had destroyed multiple Churches and Temples, and forcibly converted Christians and Hindus to Islam. And by forcible conversion I mean forcible circumcision.

 We were also told as kids the the English were smart enough to make sure that there is no more Tipu and thus had taken his sons to England and were completely brainwashed. I could not see any reference to that. There was a revolt ie the Vellore Mutiny in 1806 where the family members and other prisoners revolted and were mercilessly crushed. Perhaps most of the surviving family lives in Calcutta and rest scattered all over the world.

Sufi Hazrat Inayat Khan, father of the Noor Inayat Khan, who was portrayed in the World Unit Production movie Enemy of the Reich, was grandson of a granddaughter of Tipu Sultan.

Well that is what it is. History is always a mixed bag. He was one who chose to die with sword in his hand rather than running away to fight for another day.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasirgondal/sets/72157650282810866/