Tipu Sultan (Urdu: [ʈiːpuː sʊlt̪aːn], Kannada: [ʈipːu sult̪aːn], Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore (Tiger of Mysore), was the Sultan of Mysore from 1782 until his death in 1799. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery. He expanded the iron-cased Mysorean rockets and commissioned the military manual Fathul Mujahidin. The economy of Mysore reached a zenith during his reign. He deployed rockets against advances of British forces and their allies during the Anglo-Mysore Wars, including the Battle of Pollilur and Siege of Srirangapatna.

Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali used their French-trained army in alliance with the French in their struggle with the British, and in Mysore's struggles with other surrounding powers: against the Marathas, Sira, and rulers of Malabar, Kodagu, Bednore, Carnatic, and Travancore. Tipu became the ruler of Mysore upon his father's death from cancer in 1782 during the Second Anglo-Mysore War. He negotiated with the British in 1784 with the Treaty of Mangalore which ended the war in status quo ante bellum.

Tipu's conflicts with his neighbours included the Maratha–Mysore War, which ended with the signing of the Treaty of Gajendragad.

Tipu remained an enemy of the British East India Company. He initiated an attack on British-allied Travancore in 1789. In the Third Anglo-Mysore War, he was forced into the Treaty of Seringapatam, losing a number of previously conquered territories, including Malabar and Mangalore. In the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, a combined force of British East India Company troops supported by the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad defeated Tipu. He was killed on 4 May 1799 while defending his stronghold of Seringapatam.

Tipu also introduced administrative innovations during his rule, including a new coinage system and calendar, and a new land revenue system, which initiated the growth of the Mysore silk industry. He is known for his patronage to Channapatna toys.

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 religious 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[Urdu] but they also speak Persian." Moors at the time was a European designation for Urdu: "I have a deep knowledge [je possède à fond] of the common tongue of India, called Moors by the English, and Ourdouzebain by the natives of the land."