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The dynasty was established by Vijaya, who came to Mysore from Dvaraka in Gujarat, India. Vijaya took on the name D eva Rāya and ruled Mysore, then a small town, from 1399 to 1423.
The Mysore kingdom was ruled by a succession of rulers of the Wodeyar dynasty for the next couple of centuries. However, the kingdom remained fairly small during this period and was not independent, being a subsidiary of the Vijayanagara empire.
The Vijayanagara Empire disintegrated in 1565. The power vacuum created soon after was utilized by Rāja Wodeyar, who ruled Mysore from 1578 to 1617. He expanded the borders of the Mysore kingdom and also shifted the capital from the city of Mysore to Srirangapatna, a rare island in the middle of the river, which provided natural protection against military attacks.
Subsequent famous rulers of the dynasty include Ranadhira Kanthirava Narasarāja Wodeyar (ruled 1638-1659) who expanded the frontiers of the Mysore Kingdom to Trichy in Tamil Nadu. The dynasty reached its peak under Chikka Devarāja Wodeyar (ruled 1673-1704), who widely reformed the administration of the empire by dividing it into 18 departments (called chāvadis) and also introduced a coherent system of taxation.
The rule of the Wodeyar dynasty was disrupted during the 18th century by the ascent of Hyder Ali and his son, Tipu Sultan. Hyder Ali was an ordinary soldier who rose through the ranks to become the head of the army. He virtually took control of the Mysore Kingdom, the Wodeyars being sidelined to mere figureheads. Hyder Ali, however, never officially ascended the throne himself, believing in a religious maxim to not betray his king. His son, Tipu Sultan, also known as Sher-E-Mysore (The Tiger of Mysore), ascended the throne himself and ruled from 1782 until he died fighting the British in 1799.
The British re-installed the Wodeyars into the throne of Mysore and shifted the capital back to the city of MysoreMysore is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Mysore is the administrative seat of Mysore District and is the former capital of the Kingdom of Mysore. Mysore is known as the Cultural Capital of Karnataka . Mysore City Mysore is located at 770 m above from Srirangapatna. However, the Wodeyars were now subsidiaries of the British Raj and had severely limited control over the kingdom and its administration.
The Wodeyars, freed from security concerns, shifted attention to the patronage of the fine arts. Under their patronage, Mysore became a cultural center of KarnatakaDate of formation November 1, 1973 Capital Bangalore Official Language Kannada Governor T. Chaturvedi Chief Minister Dharam Singh Area 192,000 kmē Population Total Density 55,868,200 ( 2004) 290. 98/kmē Literacy rate: Total Male Female 58. 34% 50% Urbaniz, fostering a number of famous musicians, writers and painters like Raja Ravi VarmaRaja Ravi Varma ( 1848- 1906) was an Indian painter who achieved recognition for his depiction of scenes from the epics of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Ravi Varma was born in the royal palace of Kilimanoor, which is situated 25 miles from Thiruvananthapu. The last king of the Wodeyar dynasty was Jayachmarja WodeyarMaharaja Jayachamaraja Wodeyar ( 18 July 1919 23 September 1974) was the last Maharaja of Kingdom of Mysore ( 1940- 1950), as well as rajpramukh and later, the first governor of Mysore state of independent India. He was a philosopher, musicologist, politi, who ruled from 1940 until the independence of India from British rule.