Peacock Throne

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The Peacock Throne, called Takht-e-Tavous (Persian: تخت طاووس) in Persian, is the name originally of a Mughal throne, later used to describe the thrones of the Persian emperors from Nader Shah Afshari to Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.

[edit] History

The name comes from the shape of a throne, having the figures of two peacocks standing behind it, their tails being expanded and the whole so inlaid with sapphires, rubies, emeralds, pearls and other precious stones of appropriate colors as to represent life, created for the Mughal Badshah Shah Jahan in the 17th century, which was in his imperial capital Delhi's Public audience hall, the Diwan-i-Am. Shah Jahan had the famous Koh-i-noor diamond placed in this throne.

The French jeweller Tavernier, who saw Delhi in 1665, described the throne as of the shape of a bed (a "takhta" i.e. platform), 6 ft. by 4 ft., supported by four golden feet, 20 to 25 in. high, from the bars above which rose twelve columns to support the canopy; the bars were decorated with crosses of rubies and emeralds, and also with diamonds and pearls. In all there were 108 large rubies on the throne, and 116 emeralds, but many of the latter had flaws. The twelve columns supporting the canopy were decorated with rows of splendid pearls, and Tavernier considered these to be the most valuable part of the throne. Estimates of its value varied: Rs. 4 crore (Bernier) and Rs. 10 crore (Tavernier). According to The History Channel, the throne would be worth $1 billion today. [1].

Shahanshah Nader Shah invaded the Mughal empire in 1738, and returned to Persia in 1739 with the original Peacock Throne as well as many other treasures as tribute from the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah.

Since then, the term Peacock Throne has come to refer not only to the actual throne, but to the Iranian monarchy itself.

After Nader Shah was assassinated in 1747, the original Peacock Throne was destroyed in the chaos that ensued. However, later Iranian thrones were referred to Peacock Thrones, although they resemble a chair rather than a platform. An example of such a throne is the Naderi Throne, built in 1812 for Fath Ali Shah Qajar. Another Iranian throne, built in 1836 for Mohammad Shah Qajar, is also called the Peacock Throne.