Tipu Sultan (টিপু সুলতান) is also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Mysore from 1782 to 1799. He was also a scholar, soldier and poet. Tipu was the eldest son of Sultan Hyder Ali and his wife Fathima Fakhr-un-Nisar. Tipu Sultan was born in Devanahalli in 1751. 

Tipu Sultan was born in Devanahalli, in present-day Bangalore Rural district, about 33 km (21 mi) north of Bangalore on 1 December 1751 He was named "Tipu Sultan" after the saint Tipu Mastan Aulia of Arcot. Being illiterate, Hyder was very particular in giving his eldest son a prince's education and a very early exposure to military and political affairs. At age of 17 onwards Tipu was given charge of diplomatic and military missions and supported his father Hyder in his wars. Tipu's father, Hyder Ali, was a military officer in service to the Kingdom of Mysore who had become the de facto ruler of Mysore in 1761 while his mother Fatima Fakhr-un-Nisa was the daughter of Mir Muin-ud-Din, the governor of the fort of Kadapa. Hyder Ali appointed able teachers to give Tipu an early education in subjects like Urdu, Persian, Arabic, Kannada, Beary, Quran, Islamic jurisprudence, riding, shooting and fencing.

Tipu Sultan's mother tongue was Urdu. The French noted that "Their language is Moorish but they also speak Persian. Moors at the time was a European designation for Urdu: "I have a deep knowledge of the common tongue of India, called Moors by the English, and Ourdouzebain by the natives of the land.