Kohinoor Diamond

The Koh-i-Noor is a 106 carats diamond which was once the largest diamond in the world.

Previously, it has belonged to various rulers in India; today it lies in the hands of the British

royal family and is part of the Crown Jewels.

Legend says that the diamond is 5000 years old and was referred to in Sanskrit writings as the

Syamantaka jewel.

But the first document that attests the existence of the Koh-I-Noor dates back to 1526 when the

Indian conqueror Babur had it in his possession. He mentioned that the diamond was owned by

the Raja of Gwalior in the 13th century.

The diamond belonged to various Indian and Persian rulers who fought bitter battles throughout

history. The Koh-I-Noor was mounted on the Peaccock Throne, the Mughal throne of India. It is

said that Shah Jahan, the ruler who commanded the building of the throne and that of the Taj

Mahal was imprisoned by his son and he could only ever see the Taj Mahal again through the

reflection of the diamond.

Later, Shah’s son, Aurangazeb brought the Koh-I-Noor to the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore. It

was robbed from there by Nadir Shah who took the diamond to Persia in 1739, but the diamond

found its way back to Punjab in 1813 after the deposed ruler of Afghanistan, Shuja Shah Durrani

took it to India and made a deal to surrender the diamond in exchange for help in winning back

the Afghan throne.

The Brits came across the gem when they conquered Punjab in 1849, and Queen Victoria got it

in 1851. The stone was then at 186 carats as before this point, the diamond was not cut. Along

with over 2000 other diamonds, the Koh-I-Noor was mounted on the Crown. For a more

elaborate history of the diamond, head to our history section.

Since getting into British hands, the Koh-I-Noor was used by Queen Victoria, Queen Alexandra

(wife of King Edward VII), Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. The diamond is wore only be

female members of the British Royal Family.

As of today, the Koh-I-Noor is on display in the Tower of London with the Crown Jewels.

Interesting facts

The name means “Mountain of Light” in Persian. It is believed that the name was first used by

Nader Shah who took possession of the diamond in 1739. Prior to this date, the name Kohinoor

wasn’t used.

There is an alleged curse on the Kohinoor that affects males who wear it (but females are

immune). Since being in the possession of Queen Victoria, only women wore the diamond.

It is believed that the famous Darya-ye Noor diamond is the Kohinoor’s double. The Darya-ye

Noor is hosted in Iran and has 182 carats.

Both India and Pakistan claim the diamond should be handed by the British back to them.

Cutting

When the Koh-i-noor diamond arrived in the hands of the British royal family it weighed 186

carats (37 grams). Prince Albert carefully searched for a diamond cutter with a very good

reputation and headed to Netherlands where he gave the mission to cut the diamond to a certain

Mr Cantor who began the difficult task of cutting it. Mr. Cantor worked 38 days on the diamond.

The diamond was cut into an oval shape and the weight was reduced to its current form and

weigh of 108.93 carats. According to witnesses Prince Albert wasn’t satisfied of the cutting work

as the diamond did not shine as much as before.

History of Kohinoor Diamond

The Kohinoor is one of the oldest and most famous diamonds in the world. The history of the

Kohinoor goes back in history to more than 5000 years ago.

The current name of the diamond, Koh-i-noor is in Persian and means "Mountain of Light".

Below you will find a timeline of this

priceless diamond.

Up to 1500

It is

believe

d that

the

diamon

d was

first

mentio

ned

more

than

5000

years

ago in

a

Sanskri

t script,

where

it was

called the Syamantaka.

It is worth mentioning that there is only speculation that the

Syamantaka and the Kohinoor are the same diamond. After

this first written mention, for over 4,000 years the diamond

is not mentioned.

Up until 1304 the diamond was in the possession of the Rajas of Malwa, but back then, the

diamond was still not named Kohinoor.

In 1304, it belonged to the Emperor of Delhi, Allaudin Khilji. In 1339, the diamond was taken

back to the city of Samarkand, where it stayed for almost 300 years.

In 1306 in a Hindi writing, a curse is placed on the men who will wear the diamond: "He who

owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its misfortunes. Only God, or a

woman, can wear it with impunity."

Babur

In 1526 the Mogul ruler Babul mentions the diamond in his writings, Baburmama.

The diamond was gifted to him by the Sultan Ibrahim Lodi.

He was the one who described the diamond’s value equal to half-day production costs of the

world.

One of the descendants of Babur, Aurangzeb , protected the diamond diligently and passed it on

to his heirs. Mahamad, the grandson of Aurangzeb, however, was not a fear-inspiring and great

ruler like his grandfather.

Nadir and Mahamad

The Persian general Nadir Shah went to India in 1739. He wanted to conquer the throne, which

had been weakened during the reign of Sultan Mahamad. The Sultan lost the decisive battle and

had to surrender to Nadir.

When Nadir Shah heard of the

diamond, he decided he wants it in

his possession. It was him the one

that gave the diamond its current

name, Koh-i-noor meaning

“Mountain of light”.

But Nadir Shah did not live for long, because in 1747 he was assassinated and the diamond got

to one of his generals, Ahmad Shah Durrani.

A descendant of Ahmad Shah, Shah Shuja Durrani brought the Koh-i-noor back to India in 1813

and gave it to Ranjit Singh (the founder of the Sikh Empire). In exchange Ranjit Singh helped

Shah Shuja get back the throne of Afghanistan.

British

East

India

Com

pany

In 1849, after the conquest of the Punjab by the British forces, the properties of the Sikh Empire

were confiscated. The Koh-i-noor was transferred to the treasury of the British East India

Company in Lahore.

The properties of the Sikh Empire were taken as war compensations. Even one line of the Treaty

of Lahore was dedicated to the fate of the

Koh-i-Noor.

The diamond was shipped to Britain on a

ship where cholera broke out and supposedly

the keeper of the diamond lost it for some

days and it was returned to him by his

servant. The diamond was handed to Queen

Victoria in July 1850.

Queen Victoria

After the diamond was handed to Queen Victoria, it was exhibited at the Crystal Palace a year

later. But the “Mountain of Light” was not shiny as the other cut gemstones of that era and there

was a general disappointment regarding it.

In 1852 the Queen decided to reshape the diamond and it was taken to a Dutch jeweler, Mr

Cantor who cut it to 108.93 carats.

Queen Victoria wore the diamond occasionally afterwards. She left in her will that the Koh-i-

noor should only be worn by a female queen.

The Koh-i-noor Diamond

In April 2002, a few days after the death of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, her crown was

taken from behind its ultra-high-security armoured glass in the Tower of London and carried in

open view through the streets of London, surmounting her coffin as it processed from St James's

Palace to Westminster Hall. It remained there during her Lying-in-State as members of the

public filed past to pay their last respects to the Queen Mother, the last Empress of India.

Interestingly enough, she had only ever worn this crown once, 65 years earlier, at the Coronation

of herself and her husband, King George VI, in 1937. The largest and most important jewel in

this crown is the priceless Koh-i-noor Diamond, which had been presented to Queen Victoria by

Lord Dalhousie in June 1850. This followed the British annexation of the Punjab, India, after the

British had defeated the Sikhs. From that date the diamond became part of the British Crown

Jewels.

The Origins of the Koh-i-noor

Some say that the Koh-i-noor was originally found more than 5,000 years ago, and is mentioned

in ancient Sanskrit writings. Devout Hindus claim that it was once worn by the great god

Krishna, but was stolen from him as he lay sleeping. By contrast, another source has it that the

diamond was discovered in a river bed in 3200 BC. The first reliable evidence of it, however, is

in the writings of Babur, the founder of the Mogul Empire, who names this diamond as part of

the treasure won by Ala-ud-deen (Aladdin) at the conquest of Malwah in 1304 AD. The Moguls

acquired the diamond in 1526.

At that time it was said to weigh 793 carats, but through some incredibly ham-fisted cutting and

polishing by a jeweller named Borgio it was reduced to 186 carats. Borgio had been working on

it for years, but so enraged was Aurungzebe (the Emperor at the time) at the result that he

confiscated all Borgio's worldly goods and contemplated executing him as well.

How the Koh-i-noor Got Its Name

The Koh-i-noor remained with the Mogul emperors until 1739, when Nadir Shah of Persia, the

conqueror of India, got hold of it after laying siege to Delhi. According to legend it was a

member of the harem of the Mogul Emperor Mohammed Shah who told Nadir Shah that the

jewel was kept hidden in the Emperor's turban. So, at a victory celebration, Nadir used a cunning

ploy. He suggested that he and the Emperor partake in a well-known Oriental custom whereby

the two leaders would exchange turbans. This would symbolise their close ties and eternal

friendship. For the Mogul to refuse would have been a great insult to the conqueror. Later that

night, when Nadir Shah unfolded his host's turban he duly found the gem, and cried out 'Koh-i-

noor', which means 'mountain of light'. Nadir Shah then brought the jewel back with him to

Persia.

From Persia to Afghanistan to India

After the death of Nadir Shah the Koh-i-noor came through devious means into the possession of

Ahmed Shah, the Lord of the Royal Treasury and an Afghan chief. Then Ahmed Shah, after a

series of long and fierce battles, established himself in Kabul as King of Afghanistan, and held

on to 'the great diamond' as a symbol of his authority. Through various subsequent upheavals and

rebellions the diamond came back into the possession of the Indian princes, until the annexation

of the Punjab secured it for the British.

The British

The British colonial officials found the Koh-i-noor in 1849, in the treasury of the Punjabi capital,

Lahore. They confiscated everything they found in the treasury as compensation for having to

fight against the Sikh army, who didn't think much of the British claims to power in India.

Sir John Lawrence, Governor General of India, used to tell the story of how the Sikhs handed the

diamond to him in a plain old battered tin box, which he then forgot about. Weeks later London

was asking him if he had any idea where the diamond was. He replied in the negative. Then

came a second, more urgent letter, in which London expressed a desire to present the jewel to the

Queen. Following another negative reply, the Prime Minister himself, Lord Palmerston, sent a

plea. Sir John searched high and low but couldn't find it, until one of his servants remembered

there was 'a bit of glass in an old tin box'. Luckily the servant was the sort of person who never

throws anything away, and eventually discovered it in the tool-shed. There it was, not even

wrapped - the most famous gem of India, the fabled Koh-i-noor, the 'Mountain of Light', the

jewel to die for (and very many unfortunate people had done just that). And Lawrence didn't

have the faintest idea what it was.

The Curse of the Koh-i-noor

The British were rather disappointed at the lack of 'fire' in the diamond, and so they decided it

should be re-cut to make it more brilliant. This further reduced it from 186 carats to its present

size of just under 109 carats. Over centuries of murder and mayhem, brutality and torture - not to

mention deceit and duplicity - the stone had long carried with it a curse that misfortune would

always befall its owner, though any woman wearing it would remain unharmed. There was some

talk of whether Queen Victoria would return the stone because of the curse. Defiant as always,

however, she was adamant it should instead be re-cut and set in a tiara along with over 2,000

other royal diamonds.

In 1911 a new crown was made for the coronation of Queen Mary, with the Koh-i-noor at its

centre. Then in 1937 the stone was transferred to another new crown, this time for the coronation

of Elizabeth (later to become the Queen Mother) as Queen Consort and Empress of India.

Conflicting Claims

In October 1997, Queen Elizabeth II made a State Visit to India and Pakistan to mark the 50th

anniversary of Independence. Many Sikhs in India and Britain used the occasion to demand the

return of the Koh-i-noor diamond, which had been won from the Sikhs (whose ruler was Duleep

Singh, a young boy at the time) after a fierce battle. But the Sikhs had surrendered, and one of

the terms of the surrender was that they hand over the diamond. A simple Punjabi farmer in his

70s, Beant Singh Sandhawalia, has claimed to be the last surviving descendant of Duleep Singh,

through adoption. He wrote to Buckingham Palace and to Prime Minister Tony Blair asking for

the return of the Koh-i-noor. Sandhawalia says he doesn't want the Koh-i-noor for himself, but

will give it to the museum at the Golden Temple of Amritsar, the holiest Sikh shrine.

The Sikhs, however, are not the only people who want the diamond. In November 2000 the

Taleban regime demanded the return of the Koh-i-noor diamond to Afghanistan, saying that the

British should hand the gem back to them as soon as possible. They have claimed that it is the

property of Afghanistan, and that history shows that it went to India from Afghanistan and

therefore the Afghans have a stronger claim than the Indians. While an Indian parliamentary

committee has insisted that the gem be sent back to New Delhi, the Taleban have claimed that

Maharajah Ranjit Singh (the father of Duleep Singh) stole it from Afghanistan while he was ruler

of the Punjab.

British officials take the view that the multiplicity of competing claims makes it impossible to

establish the gem's former ownership. Thus, for now, at least, it looks likely to remain one of the

jewels in the British Crown.