Koh-i-Noor
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"Koh-i-noor" is from the Persian language and means "Mountain of Light". The Koh-i-Noor, Koh-i-Nur, or Kohinoor is a 108 carat (21.6 g) diamond that originated in the subcontinent of India and belonged to various rulers at different points in its history, very often passing from one to another by force or deceit.
In 1851 the diamond was given, in controversial circumstances, to Queen Victoria and taken to England. It is currently in a crown of the British royal family that belonged to the late Queen Mother.
Like all significant jewels, the Koh-i-Noor diamond has its share of legends. This particular stone is reputed to bring misfortune or death to any male who wears or owns it - a claim which its history has, so far, not disproven. It is, by legend, worth the amount of wealth generated around the whole world in seven days.
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Origins and early history
The stone is surrounded with myth and legend, and accurate records are hard to verify. Despite claims it was discovered 5,000 years ago, the first reliable note mentioning it dates from 1526, in the Baburnama, the memoirs of Babur, the first Mogul ruler of India. In this document the stone was described as belonging to the Rajah of Malwa, India, in 1294.
Stone of the emperors
The diamond was taken from the Rajah of Malwa by force by Sultan Ala-ed-din Khilji and then owned by a succession of Mogul rulers including Babur himself in 1526.
The Taj Mahal was constructed by the Emperor Shah Jahan between 1630 and 1653. When Shah Jahan's son, Emperor Aurangazeb, put his ailing father under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort, legend has it that he had the Koh-i-noor 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. Certainly there is no reference to this name before 1739.
After the assassination of Nadir Shah in 1747 it came into the hands of Ahmad Shah 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.
The diamond passes out of India
Ranjit Singh later crowned himself as the ruler of Punjab and willed the Koh-i-noor to a Hindu 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 29th, 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 English contemporary 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 ough 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 England to do this. The presentation of the Koh-i-Noor to Victoria was the latest in the long history of transfers of the stone as a spoil of war.
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 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.
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 108 1/16 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.
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 2005, the gem remains in the United Kingdom.
References
- The Great Diamonds of the World by Edwin Streeter,
- 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 London Times.
External links
The World of Famous Diamonds (http://famousdiamonds.tripod.com/koh-i-noordiamond.html)bg:Кохинор de:Koh-i-Noor fr:Koh-I Nor sv:Koh-i-Noor nl:Koh-i-Noor