Gem

Koh-i-Noor diamond

Koh-i-Noor diamond
In Indian historiography, Koh-i-Noor has long been considered the prototype of the most precious stone, it was a symbol of the “royal stone”, “the stone of the rulers”. The owner of “Koh-i-noor” seemed to acquire the right to own India.

The diamond was found in South India, in the Golconda mines. The original weight of the diamond is said to have been 800 carats. After cutting this giant stone, a diamond weighing 186 carats was obtained, which is only 23% of the original weight. At present, Koh-i-noor is not overwhelming in size (only 105 carats, 21 g) and is no longer included in the first hundred large diamonds in the world.

History

Koh-i-Noor has the longest history of any other famous diamond. For a long time, “Kohinur” was the ancestral jewel of the Rajas in the Malwa principality (in Central India).

Then the stone passed into the possession of the ruler of the Delhi sultanate Ala-ad-din Khilji (1296-1316) and ended up in his treasury in Delhi. It is believed that Ala-ad-din Khilji came to power in 1296, treacherously killing his uncle, Jalal-ad-din Khilji, and the diamond came to him as a result of the conquest of the Malwa principality in 1304.

During his reign in 1296-1316. Ala-ad-din Khilji created a single state, conquering almost the entire territory of India. From Ala-ad-din Khilji, the stone fell into the hands of Raja Bikermaji (in other sources this name is pronounced as Bikramadzhit) of the Gwalior principality (located in North India and existed until 1948)
In the Panipatek battle (1526) between Babur (1483-1530) and Sultan Ibrahim (? – 1526) from the Afghan dynasty of Lodi, Babur won the victory. Ibrahim Lodi was killed. Bikramadzhi, who had sided with Ibrahim (who owned “Koh-noor”), was also killed.

Babur wrote about this event in his notes: “When Ibrahim was defeated, Bikramadzhi went to hell; his sons and household were in Agra. Upon the arrival of Humayun (the beloved son of Babur and his heir to the throne) in Agra, the household of Bikramadzhi wanted to flee, but Humayun did not let them leave. Of their own free will, they presented Humayun with many jewels and semi-precious stones.

Among them was the famous diamond, which Sultan Ala-ad-din allegedly ordered to bring. This diamond is so famous that one appraiser put it at two and a half days’ expenses all over the world. “It probably weighs eight miskals (miskal – about 4.1 g). When I arrived, Humayun gave me this diamond, and I gave it to Humayun again. ”

Later, the stone became the property of the Great Mughals.

The rulers of this dynasty had the stone for over 200 years. He passed from one ruler to another: after Humayun (1530-1556), Akbar (1556-1605), then Jahangir (1605-1627) and, finally, Shah-Jehan (1627-1658) owned it. Shah-Jehan ordered to cut the rough diamond, the jeweler Hortensius Borgis Venetian cut it in the shape of an Indian rose (the mass of the diamond was, as indicated, 186 carats). Shah-Jahan was dissatisfied with the work of the cutter, admitted the cutting was unsuccessful, although he decorated his famous Peacock throne with a new diamond.

So, washed from the depths of the earth by the river in South India, the diamond was shown and disappeared in the thick of time, then emerging in the lists of loot plundered by the Persian shah, then appearing in a miniature portrait of the ruler of Afghanistan, then being mentioned as an adornment of the throne of emperors from the Mughal dynasty.

The bloody trail was revealed when its owners changed.

However, in those days it was not considered a pearl of the collection: the rulers of India valued red spinel and rubies more highly, and Koh-i-noor himself had two comparable rivals: the Derianur diamond (“Sea of ​​Light”) and the “Great Mogul”. The first is now on display in Tehran, and the second, most likely, became the Orlov diamond and, inserted into the scepter of Catherine II, is kept in the Kremlin’s Diamond Fund.

Koh-i-noor today adorns one of the crowns of the British queen (namely, the crown of the queen-mother) and is exhibited in the Tower.

Passions around him continued to rage: India, Pakistan, Sikhs and the Taliban demanded the return of the stone. And just recently, the Indian government issued a declaration that it was removing all claims about the legendary diamond. All of this happened after Prince William and Kate Middleton visited Prime Minister Narenda Modi during their visit to India. Probably, the Duchess of Cambridge was fascinated by politics !!!
(By the way, Elizabeth II never wore a crown with Koh-noor !!!!)