Everything about Koh-i-noor Diamond totally explained
» This article is about the diamond. For the Czech pencil manufacturer, see Koh-I-Noor (company). For the brush-footed butterfly, see Amathuxidia amythaon.
The
Kōh-i Nūr (
Telugu: కోహినూరు;,
Urdu: کوہ نور,
Hindi: कोहिनूर,
Bangla: কহিনূর "Mountain of Light"; also spelled
Kohinoor,
Koh-e 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 at
Golconda in the state of
Andhra Pradesh 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, was finally taken by the
British and became part of the
British Crown Jewels when
British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli proclaimed
Queen Victoria Empress of India in
1877.
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's reputed to bring good luck to female owners.
Origins and early history
The origins of the diamond are unclear. Many early stories of great diamonds in southern India exist, but it's hard to establish which one was the Koh-i-noor, if any.
According to some sources, the Koh-i-noor was originally found more than 5000 years ago, and is mentioned in ancient
Sanskrit writings under the name
Syamantaka. According to some
Hindu mythological accounts,
Krishna himself obtained the diamond from
Jambavantha, whose daughter
Jambavati later married Krishna. The legend says that the diamond was stolen from
Krishna as he lay sleeping. Another source claims that the diamond was discovered in a river bed in 3200 B.C..
Historical evidence suggests that the Kohinoor originated in the
Golconda kingdom, in the
south Indian state of
Andhra Pradesh, one of the world's earliest diamond producing regions. This region was the first and only known source for diamonds until 1730 when diamonds were discovered in Brazil. The term "Golconda" diamond has come to define diamonds of the finest white color, clarity and transparency. They are very rare and highly sought after.
South Indian folklore is definite in claiming a local origin for the stone. It is likely that the diamond was mined in the
Kollur mines in the present day
Guntur district of
Andhra Pradesh. The Khilji dynasty at
Delhi ended in 1320 A.D. and
Ghiyas ud din Tughluq Shah I ascended the
Delhi throne.
Tughlaq sent his son Ulugh Khan in 1323 to defeat the
Kakatiya king Prataparudra. Ulugh Khan’s raid was repulsed but he returned in a month with a larger and determined army. The unprepared army of
Warangal was defeated. The loot, plunder and destruction of
Warangal continued for months. Loads of gold, diamonds, pearls and ivory were carried away to Delhi on elephants, horses and camels. The Koh-i-noor diamond was part of the bounty. 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 Koh-i-noor 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 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 didn't at that time call the stone by its present name, but despite some debate
Other claims have been made by India, the Taliban regime of Afghanistan, and Iran.
As of
2007, the gem remains in the
Tower of London.
Koh-i-Noor in popular media
- In the Turkish movie "Hacivat Karagöz neden öldürüldü?" (2006) the Koh-I-Noor was to be given as a present to the Mongols, but because of greed it doesn't get there.
- In "Tooth and Claw", an episode of the 2006 series of Doctor Who set in 1879, the Koh-i-Noor diamond was used by the Doctor to save Queen Victoria from a werewolf. In the story, the reason for Prince Albert cutting down the diamond was to try and make it a suitable prism for a light chamber designed to trap the werewolf. The episode was first broadcast in the UK on 22 April 2006.
- The Koh-i-Noor features as the object of a heist in Lynda La Plante's "Royal Flush" (2002)
- In one of the George MacDonald Fraser "Flashman" novels, Flashman and the Mountain of Light (published in 1990), the Koh-i-Noor diamond forms part of the backdrop to the storyline, set during the First Anglo-Sikh War as fought between 1845 and 1846.
- In Henry David Thoreau's book Walden, the appeal of the Koh-i-Noor diamond is mentioned on page 137 to make a point regarding human's quest for material goods.
- In Hugh Antoine D'Arcy's poem, "The Face on the Barroom Floor" in [1887], the vagabond describes the woman that led to his ruin with the phrase, "...With eyes that would beat the Koh-i-Noor, and a wealth of chestnut hair..."
- In James Joyce's "Ulysses", in the section written in dialogue, it's mentioned in his stage directions that "Bloom holds up his right hand on which sparkles the Koh-i-Noor diamond."
- The plot of Agatha Christie's The Secret of Chimneys revolves around finding the Koh-i-Noor, which, in the novel, was stolen and hidden and replaced by a substitute.
- In The Jewel in the Crown a television mini-series based upon The Raj Quartet, a four-volume novel, written by Paul Scott the title refers to, at one level, a lithograph which depicts Duleep Singh presenting the Koh-I-Noor to Queen Victoria and at another to India (Bharat-Varsh) as the real Jewel in the Crown.
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