Editing Tipu Sultan (section)

=== Early Conflicts ===
Tipu Sultan was instructed in military tactics by French officers in the employment of his father. At age 15, he accompanied his father against the British in the [[First Mysore War]] in 1766. He commanded a corps of cavalry in the invasion of [[Carnatic region|Carnatic]] in 1767 at age 16. He also took part in the [[First Anglo-Maratha War]] of 1775–1779.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

[[Alexander Beatson]], who published a volume on the [[Fourth Mysore War]] entitled ''View of the Origin and Conduct of the War with Tippoo Sultaun'', described Tipu Sultan as follows: "His stature was about five feet eight inches; he had a short neck, square shoulders, and was rather corpulent: his limbs were small, particularly his feet and hands; he had large full eyes, small arched eyebrows, and an aquiline nose; his complexion was fair, and the general expression of his countenance, not void of dignity".<ref name=Beatson1>{{cite book |last=Beatson |first=Alexander |year=1800 |title=A View of the Origin and Conduct of the War with Tippoo Sultaun |chapter-url=http://www.lib.mq.edu.au/digital/seringapatam/other/tipu.html |publisher=G. & W. Nichol |location=London |pages=ci–civ |chapter=Appendix No. XXXIII |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130609104725/http://www.lib.mq.edu.au/digital/seringapatam/other/tipu.html |archive-date=9 June 2013}}</ref>