he Jumma Masjid, one of the three main landmarks on the Seringapatam skyline, was built by Tipu in 1787, and stands close to the Ganjam or Bangalore Gate of Seringapatam.

Here, on 23rd February 1792, at the close of the third Mysore War, Tipu met his principal officers to discuss the proposed terms of the peace treaty. The scene is described by Wilks: 'Tippoo assembled in the great mosque all the principal officers of his army, laid before them the Koran, and adjured them,by its sacred contents, to give him their undisguised advice on the question he was about to propose. He then read to them the ultimatum of the confederates……….
- the cession to the allies from the countries adjacent to their of one-half of the dominions which he possessed before the war
- the payment of three crores and thirty lacs of rupees
- the release of all prisoners from the time of Hyder Ali
- and the delivery of two of his sons as hostages for the due performance of the conditions
'You have heard,' said the Sultaun,'the conditions of peace, and you have now to hear and answer my question: shall it be peace or war?' The officers unanimously replied that they were ready to lay down their own lives in the defence of their sovereign and his capital; but….they were in substance equally unanimous that the troops were disheartened and had become undeserving of confidence….'

Nearly two hundred years later, in 1984, the mosque was the scene of happier activity. Here, the late Professor Mir Mahmood Husine, was studying and researching a small collection of Tipu manuscripts, carefully preserved at the Mosque. These manuscripts became the nucleus for the Tipu Sultan Research Institute and Museum, established at Gumbaz in 1983. The Founder- Chairman, Mohammad Moienuddin, continues to co-ordinate the activities of Institute and Museum, whilst actively pursuing his own research on Tipu Sultan