History
Over the centuries, before and after the Common Era, the region was ruled by different, numerous dynasties, mostly South Indian ones, like the Rashtrakutas, the Western Chalukyas, the Hoysalas, and others, until it was ruled by the last dynasty, the Wadiyars, the government of whose kingdom was transferred to them by its superior predecessor, the Vijayanagara Empire, in 1399, and gradually, the Vijayanagara Empire itself declined to its entirety, resulting in the Wadiyar dynasty's being the very last principal Indian royal family to have ruled the South.
Patrons during Princely India
Most of the construction works undertaken by earlier empires and monarchies have either been completely destroyed over time, owing to rampages of the Deccan Sultanates, or have been dismantled by the following monarchies. However, most of the structures in Mysore City, and in fact, in the cities in the Kingdom of Mysore, which includes as close as Bangalore, Erode, Shimoga, Chitradurga, among others, were built between the early 1700s and the late 1940s, and are, hence, often attributed to the Wadiyars.
Since Mysore was the capital city of the kingdom for almost six centuries (excluding, of course, shifting the capital to Seringapatam for a brief period during Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan's rule), the Wadiyars were directly supervising the construction and progress of the city. Construction in other Mysore Kingdom cities were delegated to subordinates, like that of Bangalore to Kempe Gowda I (between 1510 and 1569 under Chamaraja Wodeyar II and Chamaraja Wodeyar III), Shimoga to Shivappa Nayaka (between 1645 and 1660 under Kanthirava Narasaraja I), et cetera. After the decline of strong subordinates and the influence of British rule, the Wadiyars became principal, direct rulers of Mysore Kingdom, with supervisors mostly being the Diwans (Prime Ministers) of Mysore and British agents. Therefore, while other cities attribute their progress to the subordinates of the Wadiyars, Mysore credits all its progress to the Wadiyars. After the abolishment of absolute monarchy, most of the structures are being used by the democratic government bodies, like the Indian Government's using Cheluvamba Vilas Palace as CFTRI, University of Mysore's using Jayalakshmi Vilas Palace as University Museum and Oriental Research Library as Museum Library, and the Karnataka Government's using several palaces for tourism attraction, just to name a few within Mysore city.
Mysore, officially Mysuru, is the second-most populous city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the Kingdom of Mysore for almost six centuries. Known for its heritage structures, palaces, and its culture, Mysore has been called the "City of Palaces", the "Heritage City", and the "Cultural Capital of Karnataka". It is one of the cleanest cities in India according to the Swachh Survekshan.
The Wadiyar dynasty, also referred to as the Wadiyars of Mysore, is a late-medieval/early-modern South Indian Hindu royal family of former kings of Mysore from the Urs clan originally based in Mysore city.
The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in the southern part of Deccan Plateau traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 by two Hindu brothers, in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary alliance with British India. The British took direct control over the princely state in 1831. Upon accession to the Dominion of India, it became Mysore State, later uniting with other Kannada speaking regions to form the state of Karnataka, with its ruler remaining as Rajapramukh until 1956, when he became the first governor of the reformed state.
Chamarajendra Wadiyar X was the twenty-third Maharaja of Mysore between 1868 and 1894.
Mysore Palace, also known as Amba Vilas Palace, is a historical palace and a royal residence (house). It is located in Mysore, Karnataka, India. It used to be the official residence of the Wadiyar dynasty and the seat of the Kingdom of Mysore. The palace is in the centre of Mysore, and faces the Chamundi Hills eastward. Mysore is commonly described as the 'City of the Palaces', and there are seven palaces including this one. However, the Mysore Palace refers specifically to the one within the new fort.
Mysore district, officially Mysuru district, is an administrative district located in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mysore division. Chamarajanagar District was carved out of the original larger Mysore District in the year 1998. The district is bounded by Chamrajanagar district to the southeast, Mandya district to the east and northeast, Kerala state to the south, Kodagu district to the west, and Hassan district to the north.
Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, sometimes simply Jayachamaraja Wadiyar, was the twenty-fifth and last ruling Maharaja of Mysore, reigning from 1940 to 1950, who later served as the governor of Mysore until 1964 and as governor of Madras from 1964 to 1966.
The maharaja of Mysore was the king and principal ruler of the southern Indian Kingdom of Mysore and briefly of Mysore State in the Indian Dominion roughly between the mid- to late-1300s and 1950. The maharaja's consort was called the maharani of Mysore.
Mysore Dasara is a state festival in the state of Karnataka in India. It is a 10-day festival, starting with nine nights called Navaratri and the last day being Vijayadashami. The festival is observed on the tenth day in the Hindu calendar month of Ashvina, which typically falls in the Gregorian months of September and October.
The History of Karnataka goes back several millennia. Several great empires and dynasties have ruled over Karnataka and have contributed greatly to the history, culture and development of Karnataka as well as the entire Indian subcontinent. The Chindaka Nagas of central India Gangas, Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta, Chalukyas of Vengi, Yadava Dynasty of Devagiri were all of Kannada origin who later took to encouraging local languages.
The political history of the region on the Deccan Plateau in west-central peninsular India that was later divided into Mysore state and Coorg province saw many changes after the fall of the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire in 1565. The rise of Sultan Haidar Ali in 1761 introduced a new period.
The Mysore Commission, also known as commissioners' rule or simply the Commission Rule, was a period and form of government in the history of the Kingdom of Mysore and the neighbouring province of Coorg from 1831 to 1881 when British commissioners administered the kingdom due to the deposition of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar III and later due to minority of Yuvaraja Chamaraja Wadiyar X. A board of commissioners constituted the chief executive body and provincial head of the kingdom's government. The commission began with uninstallation of Krishnaraja Wodeyar III as King in 1831 and ended with investing Chamaraja Wadiyar X as King in 1881.
The group of temples at the Amba Vilas Palace in Mysore were constructed during various periods by the kings of the Wodeyar dynasty who ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from about 1399 to 1947 A.D. These temples are protected monuments under the Karnataka state division of the Archaeological Survey of India.
Chamaraja Wodeyar I was the second raja of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1423, after his father's death, until his own in 1459. He was the elder son of Yaduraya.
Chamarajara Wodeyar II was the fourth raja of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1478 until 1513.
Chamaraja Wodeyar III was fifth raja of the Kingdom of Mysore and the last one to rule as feudal king under the Vijayanagara Empire. He reigned after his father's demise in 1513 until his death in 1553.
Chamaraja Wodeyar IV was the seventh maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the youngest son of Chamaraja Wodeyar III, the fifth raja of Mysore. He took over the kingdom at the age of 65 after his older brother's death in 1572 and ruled for four years until 1576.
Raja Wodeyar I was the ninth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was eldest son of Chamaraja Wodeyar IV, the seventh maharaja of Mysore. He ruled from 1578, after his cousin Chamaraja Wodeyar V's death, until his death in 1617.
Chamaraja Wodeyar VI was the tenth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1617 after his grandfather Raja Wodeyar I's death that year until his death in 1637.
Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar is a member of a former Indian royal family and the great-grandson of Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar. He was adopted by Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, the wife of his great-uncle Prince Srikantadatta Wadiyar fourteen months after the latter's demise on 10 December 2013. Yaduveer Wadiyar was installed as the "Maharaja of Mysore" in a private ceremony in 2015.
