Koh-i-Noor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Koh-i-noor (Urdu: کوہ نور Hindi: कोहिनूर "Mountain of Light"; also spelled Kohinoor, Koh-i-Noor or Koh-i-Nur) is a 105 carat (21.6 g) diamond that was once the largest known diamond in the world. The Kohinoor originated in India, belonged to various Indian and Persian rulers who fought bitterly over it at various points in history, and seized as a spoil of war, it became part of the Crown Jewels of England when Queen Victoria proclaimed herself empress of India.
Like all significant jewels, the Kohinoor has its share of legends. It is reputed to bring misfortune or death to any male who wears or owns it. Conversely, it is reputed to bring good luck to female owners.
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[edit] Origins and early history
It is likely that the Kohinoor originated in Golconda, in Hyderabad state of Andhra Pradesh, one of the worlds earliest established diamond producing regions. South Indian folklore is definite in claiming a local origin for the stone. It is certain that the stone was mined in India, as until the 19th century India was the only place in the world where diamonds were known.
The stone is surrounded with myth and legend, and its early history is hard to verify. According to one legend, the diamond was mined at the Rayalaseema diamond mines during the rule of the Kakatiya dynasty and was first possessed by them. However, its soon-to-be-notorious ill-luck made an early appearance; the Kakatiya kingdom under Pratapa Rudra was ravaged in 1323 by Muhammad bin Tughluq, who spent much of his life in the Deccan, and the diamond passed into his possession. From then onwards, the stone passed through the hands of successive rulers of the Delhi sultanate, finally passing to Babur, the first Mughal emperor, in 1526.
The first confirmed note historically mentioning the Kohinoor by an identifiable name dates from 1526. Babur mentions in his memoirs, the Baburnama, that the stone had belonged to an un-named Rajah of Malwa in 1294. Babur held the stone's value to be such as to feed the whole world for two days. The Baburnama recounts how this Rajah of Malwa was compelled to yield his prized possession to Ala ud din Khilji; it was then owned by a succession of dynasties that ruled the Delhi sultanate, finally coming into the possession of Babur himself in 1526, following his victory over the last ruler of that kingdom. However, the Baburnama was written c.1526-30; Babur's source for this information is unknown, and he may have been recounting the hearsay of his day. He did not at that time call the stone by its present name, but despite some debate about the identity of 'Babur's Diamond' it seems most likely that it was the stone which later became known as Kohinoor.
[edit] Stone of the emperors
The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan — famous for building the Taj Mahal — had the stone placed into his ornate Peacock Throne. When Shah Jahan's son, Aurangazeb, put his ailing father under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort, legend has it that he had the Kohinoor stationed against a window so that Shah Jahan could look at the stone and see the Taj reflected in it. There it stayed until the invasion of Nadir Shah in 1739 and the sacking of Agra and Delhi. Along with the Peacock Throne, he also carried off the Koh-i-noor to Persia in 1739. It was allegedly Nadir Shah who exclaimed Koh-i-Noor! when he finally managed to obtain the famous stone, and this is how the stone gained its present name. There is no reference to this name before 1739.
The valuation of the Kohinoor is given in the legend that one of Nadir Shah's consorts supposedly said, 'If a strong man should take five stones, and throw one north, one south, one east, and one west, and the last straight up into the air, and the space between filled with gold and gems, that would equal the value of the Koh-i-noor'
After the assassination of Nadir Shah in 1747 it came into the hands of Ahmed Shah Abdali of Afghanistan. It was passed down to his descendants until it was taken by the Sikh Maharaja (King) of Punjab Ranjit Singh, during a campaign in Afghanistan in 1813.
[edit] The diamond passes out of India
Ranjit Singh crowned himself as the ruler of Punjab and willed the Koh-i-noor to Jagannath Temple in Orissa while on his deathbed in 1839. But there was dispute about this last-minute testament, and in any case it was not executed. On March 29, 1849, the British flag was hoisted on the citadel of Lahore and the Punjab was formally proclaimed to be part of the British Empire in India. One of the terms of the Treaty of Lahore, the legal agreement formalising this occupation, was as follows:
- The gem called the Koh-I-Noor which was taken from Shah Shuja-ul-Mulk by Maharajah Ranjit Singh shall be surrendered by the Maharajah of Lahore to the Queen of England.
The Governor-General in charge for the ratification of this treaty was Lord Dalhousie. More than anyone, Dalhousie was responsible for the British acquiring the Koh-i-Noor, in which he continued to show great interest for the rest of his life. Dalhousie's work in India was sometimes controversial, and his acquisition of the diamond, amongst many other things, was criticised by some contemporary British commentators. Although some suggested that the diamond should have been presented as a gift to the Queen, it is clear that Dalhousie felt strongly that the stone was a spoil of war, and treated it accordingly. Writing to his friend Sir George Cooper in August of 1849, he stated this:
- The Court [of the East India Company] you say, are ruffled by my having caused the Maharajah to cede to the Queen the Koh-i-noor; while the 'Daily News' and my Lord Ellenborough [Governor-General of India, 1841-44] are indignant because I did not confiscate everything to her Majesty... [My] motive was simply this: that it was more for the honor of the Queen that the Koh-i-noor should be surrendered directly from the hand of the conquered prince into the hands of the sovereign who was his conqueror, than it should be presented to her as a gift -- which is always a favour -- by any joint-stock company among her subjects. So the Court ought to feel.
Dalhousie arranged that the diamond should be presented by Ranjit Singh's successor, Duleep Singh, to Queen Victoria in 1851. Duleep travelled to the United Kingdom to do this. The presentation of the Koh-i-Noor to Queen Victoria was the latest in the long history of transfers of the stone as a spoil of war.
[edit] The Great Exhibition
The British public were given a chance to see the Koh-i-Noor when the Great Exhibition was staged in Hyde Park, London in 1851. The correspondent of The Times reported:
- The Koh-i-noor is at present decidedly the lion of the Exhibition. A mysterious interest appears to be attached to it, and now that so many precautions have been restored to, and so much difficulty attends its inspection, the crowd is enormously enhanced, and the policemen at either end of the covered entrance have much trouble in restraining the struggling and impatient multitude. For some hours yesterday there were never less than a couple of hundred persons waiting their turn of admission, and yet, after all, the diamond does not satisfy. Either from the imperfect cutting or the difficulty of placing the lights advantageously, or the immovability of the stone itself, which should be made to revolve on its axis, few catch any of the brilliant rays it reflects when viewed at a particular angle.
[edit] The Crown Jewels
This disappointment in the appearance of the stone was shared by many. In 1852, under the personal supervision of Victoria's consort, Prince Albert, the diamond was cut from 186 1/16 carats (37.21 g) to its current 105.602 carats (21.61 g), to increase its brilliance. Albert consulted widely, took enormous pains, and spent some £8,000 on the operation, which reduced the weight of the stone by a huge 42% - but nevertheless Albert was still dissatisfied with the result. The stone was mounted in a tiara with more than two thousand other diamonds.
Later the stone was to be used as the centre piece of the crowns of the Queens consort of the United Kingdom. Queen Alexandra was the first to use the stone, followed by Queen Mary. In 1936, the stone was set into the crown of the new Queen Elizabeth (later known as the Queen Mother), wife of King George VI. In 2002, the crown rested atop her coffin as she lay in state.
[edit] Campaign to return the Koh-i-noor to India
The Government of India has repeatedly lobbied the British Government and the British monarchy for the return of this diamond. Claims have also been made by Pakistan and Iran. As of 2006, the gem remains in the Tower of London.
[edit] References
- The Great Diamonds of the World by Edwin Streeter,
- Koh-I-Nur chapter in "the Great Diamonds of the world"
- The Baburnama by Babur, translated into English by Annette Beveridge 1922,
- Akbarnama by Abul Fazal, translated into English by Henry Beveridge
- Travels in India by Jean Baptiste Tavernier, translated into English by Valentine Ball and William Crooke
- The archives of The Times.
