Hyder Ali (, , "Haidarālī"; , "Haidar Alī"; c. 1720 – 7 December 1782, 2 Muharram 1197 in the Islamic calendar) was the "de facto" ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers. Rising to the post of "dalwai", or commander-in-chief to Krishnaraja Wodeyar II, he came to dominate the titular monarch and the Mysore government, and eventually seized control of all of the reins of power. He expanded the kingdom's borders at the expense of the Maratha Empire and Nizam of Hyderabad (among others), and was one of the few local rulers to effectively blunt the military advances of the British East India Company during two wars. In the First and Second Anglo-Mysore Wars he came within striking distance of the British outpost at Madras. He was given a number of honorific titles, and was referred to as Sultan Hyder Ali Khan or Hyder Ali Sahib.