Koh-i-Noor Read online

Cullinan Diamonds, here

  Currie, Sir Frederick, here, here

  da Orta, Garcia, here, here, here

  dagger, sardonyx-hilted, here

  Dagmar necklace, here

  Dalhousie, Lady, here, here

  Dalhousie, Lord, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here Anglo-Sikh Wars, here, here, here, here

  and Duleep Singh’s conversion, here

  and Koh-i-Noor’s passage to England, here, here

  Dara Shukoh, here

  Darya-i-Noor, here, here, here, here

  Datar Kaur, here

  DelhiAhmad Shah’s conquest, here

  Nader Shah’s conquest, here

  Delhi Gazette, here

  Dhian Singh, Raja, here, here, here, here

  diamondsancient, here

  ‘brilliant cut’, here

  demythologising of, here

  and diplomacy, here

  favoured over rubies, here, here

  in literature, here

  magical qualities, here

  mythology of, here

  rising price of, here

  use as abrasives, here

  Disraeli, Benjamin, here, here

  Doms, here

  Duleep Singh, Maharaja, here, here, here, here conversion to Christianity, here, here, here

  death en route to India, here

  and Elveden Hall, here

  and loss of Koh-i-Noor, here

  marriage, here

  prisoner of British, here, here, here

  resides in England, here, here, here, here

  reunited with mother, here, here

  signs surrender treaty, here, here, here, here

  surrenders Koh-i-Noor to queen, here, here, here, here, here

  Durrani Empire, here, here, here

  Dutch East India Company, here

  East India Company, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and invasion of Afghanistan, here, here

  and Koh-i-Noor’s pasage to England, here, here, here

  losses at Chillianwala, here

  and ownership of Koh-i-Noor, here, here, here, here

  and Ranjit Singh’s death, here

  see also Anglo-Mysore War; Anglo-Sikh Wars

  Eden, Emily, here, here

  Edward VII, King, here, here, here

  Edward VIII, King, here

  Edward, Prince of Wales (‘Bertie’), see Edward VII, King

  Edwardes, Lieutenant Herbert, here

  Egypt, ancient, here

  Elgin Marbles, here

  Elizabeth II, Queen, here, here

  Elizabeth, Queen, the Queen Mother, here, here, here

  Elliot, Sir Henry, here

  Elphinstone, Mountstuart, here, here

  Elveden Hall, Duleep Singh and, here

  Era, here, here

  Faiz, Faiz Ahmad, here

  Fakhraj Ruby, see Timur Ruby

  Farrukh Siyyar, Emperor, here

  Fategarh Hill Fort, here, here, here

  Feder, Herman, here

  Ferdowsi, here

  Ferozepur, manoeuvres at, here

  Ferozeshah, Battle of, here

  Fraser, James Baillie, here

  Fraser, William, here

  Gardner, Alexander, here

  Garrard’s, here, here, here, here

  Garuda Purana, here

  Gauhar Shad college, here

  George V, King, here

  George VI, King, here

  Ghoree dynasty, here

  Ghulam Hussain Khan, here

  Gilani, Sa’ida-ye, here

  Goa, here, here

  Gobindgarh treasury, here

  Golconda, here, here

  Gowramma of Coorg, Princess, here

  Granth Sahib, here, here

  Great Exhibition, here, here, here

  Great Game, here, here

  Great Mughal Diamond, here, here, here, here

  Great Table Diamond, here

  Guddan, Rani, here

  Hardinge, Sir Henry, here, here, here

  Harris, General George, here

  Hart, Alan, here

  Hartington, Lord, here

  Hatleberg, John Nels, here

  Henri III, King of France, here

  Herat, Persian siege of, here

  Hiriart, Augustin, here

  HMS Medea, here, here

  Hobhouse, Sir John, here, here

  Holi celebrations, here

  Honigberger, John Martin, here, here, here

  Hügel, Baron, here

  Humayun, Emperor, here, here, here

  Hyder Ali. Sultan, here

  Ibrahim Lodhi, Sultan, here

  Illustrated London News, here

  Ishar Singh, here

  I’tmad ud-Daula, here

  Jacquemont, Victor, here

  Jaffrey, Jawaid Iqbal, here

  Jagannath, temple of, here, here, here, here, here

  Jahangir, Emperor, here, here

  Jamal, Mihtar, here

  Jamal-ud-Din Husain, Mir, here

  Jambava (King of the Bears), here

  Jauhar, here

  Jawahar Singh, here, here

  Jindan, Rani, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Jung, Ibrahim Fath, here

  Jung Bahadur, here

  kaleidoscope, invention of, here

  Kandahar, siege of, here

  Karim, Abdul, here

  Kavi-priya (Poet’s Delight), here

  Kerman, capture of, here

  Keshavdas (poet), here

  Khan Singh, Sardar, here

  Kharak Singh, Maharaja, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Khazain al-Futuh, here

  Khur Shah, here

  Khurram, Prince, see Shah Jahan, Emperor

  Khushal Singh, Jamdar, here

  Khusrau, Amir, here

  Khyber Pass, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Kineyri, Battle of, here

  Kishore, Jugal, here

  Koh-i-Noorarrival in England, here

  becomes associated with good luck, here

  and Coronation Crown, here

  and death of Ranjit Singh, here, here

  demands for its return, here

  and destruction of Peacock Throne, here

  displayed at Great Exhibition, here

  estimated worth, here, here, here

  and exchange of turbans, here, here

  guarded by Login, here

  irregular profile, here

  Metcalfe’s history, here, here

  name, here, here, here

  passage to England, here

  in possession of Durranis, here, here, here, here, here, here

  in possession of Ranjit Singh, here, here, here, here

  reconstruction of original form, here

  re-cutting, here, here, here

  reduction in size, here, here, here

  seized by British, here, here

  and Sikh kingdom, here, here

  Kollur mines, here

  Krishna, here, here, here, here

  Kumar, Ranjit, here, here

  Kundavai, Queen, here

  Kurnal, Battle of, here

  ladybirds, plague of, here

  Lahore toshakhana, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Lahori, Ahmad Shah, here

  Lal Singh, here

  Lawrence, Sir Henry, here, here, here, here, here

  Lawrence, John, here, here

  Leopold, King of the Belgians, here

  Leopold, Prince, here

  light, polarisation of, here

  Lloyd’s Weekly, here

  Lockyer, Captain William, here

  Lodhi dynasty, here

  Login, John Spencer, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Login, Lena, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Louis XIV, King of France, here

  Louis XVI, King of France, here

  Machiavelli, Niccolò, here

  Mackeson, Colonel J., her
e, here

  Mahmud of Ghazni, here

  Makraj, Misr, here

  Maldev, Raja, here

  Manrique, Friar, here

  Mansell, Charles G., here, here

  Manucci, Niccolao, here, here, here, here

  Maratha Confederacy, defeat of, here

  Marvi, Muhammad Kazim, here, here

  Mary, Queen, here

  Maudslay Sons and Field, here

  Mauran (dancing girl), here

  Mehtab, Rani, here

  Melbourne, Lord, here

  Metcalfe, Theo, here, here, here, here

  Mining Journal, here

  Mir (poet), here

  Mir Jumla, here, here

  Mirza Ulugh Beg, here

  Modi, Narendra, here, here

  Mohammud Shah, here

  Monserrate, Father Antonio, here

  Morning Post, here

  Mornington, Lord, here

  Mughal dynasty, here, here, here, here conquest of Deccan, here

  decadence and decline, here

  establishment of, here

  jewellery workshops, here

  love of the arts, here

  miniature ateliers, here, here

  Nader Shah’s conquest of, here

  receives large uncut diamond, here

  and Western jewellers, here

  Muhammad Quli Khan, here

  Muhammad Shah, Emperor, here, here, here, here, here

  Muhammad Timur, Prince, here

  Mukhlis, Anand Ram, here, here, here

  Mulgrave Castle, here

  Müller, Bamba, here

  Mulraj, Diwan, here, here, here, here

  Multan, British conquest of, here, here

  Mumtaz Mahal, here, here

  Mutton, Peter, here

  Nader Shah, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here Ahmad Shah Durrani and, here

  assassinated, here

  conquest of Delhi, here

  descent into madness, here

  removes Peacock Throne, here, here

  Nanak, Guru, here

  Napoleon Bonaparte, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Napoleon III, Emperor, here, here

  Nasir Khan, here

  Nasrullah, prince, here

  Nau Nihal Singh, Maharaja, here, here

  Nau Roz (New Year), here, here, here

  Nayar, Kuldip, here

  Nidha Mal, here

  Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar, here

  Nizam ul-Mulk, here, here, here

  Normanby, Lady, here

  Nur Bai, here, here

  Ochterlony, Sir David, here

  Opium Wars, here

  Orissa, demands return of Koh-i-Noor, here

  Orlov, Count, here

  Orlov Diamond, here, here, here

  Osborne, Captain William, here

  Osborne House, here

  Ottoman Empire, here, here, here

  Padshahnama, here

  Paharganj grain merchants, here

  Panipat, Battle of (1526), here

  Panipat, Battle of (1761), here, here

  Pashaura Singh Kanwar, here

  Pate, Robert Francis, here

  Peacock Throne, here, here, here, here, here destruction and looting of, here

  and Nader Shah’s conquest, here, here, here

  wooden replica, here

  Peel, Sir Robert, here, here

  Phipps, Sir Charles, here

  Pliny, here, here

  Polo, Marco, here

  Porus, King, here

  Potemkin, Prince, here

  prisoners, executions of, here

  Puri, Purn, here

  Qizilbash, here

  Quran, here, here

  Raj Banso, Rani, here

  Rajaraja, Emperor, here

  Rajputs, here

  Ram, Bhai Gobind, here

  Ramsay, Captain James, here, here

  Ramsay, James Andrew Broun, see Dalhouse, Lord

  Ranjit Singh, Maharaja, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and fate of Koh-i-Noor, here, here, here, here

  his funeral, here, here

  and Honigberger’s appointment, here

  and Koh-i-Noor’s arrival in England, here, here

  sons by Mehtab and Jindan, here, here

  and surrender of Koh-i-Noor, here

  ratnashastras, here

  Reza Qoli, here

  Roe, Sir Thomas, here, here

  Rohtas fortress, here

  Rome, Augustan, here

  Rosetta Stone, here

  Roshan ud-Daula mosque, here

  Sa’adat Khan, here, here, here

  Sadashiva Rao, here

  Salah Khan, here

  Samarkand, here

  Samarqandi, Abdur Razzaq, here

  Samugarh, here

  Sandhanwalia, Ajit Singh, here

  Sandhanwalia, Lena Singh, here

  Sanskrit literature, here

  Satadhanva, Prince, here

  sati, here, here

  Satrajit, King of Dwarka, here

  Satyabhama, Princess, here

  sculpture, Indian, here

  Seringapatam, Battle of, here

  shafaq (light of dusk), here

  Shah ‘Abbas, here

  Shah Jahan, Emperor (Prince Khurram), here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Shah Jahan Nama, here, here

  Shah Mahmoud, here, here

  Shah Rukh (grandson of Nader Shah), here

  Shah Rukh (of Herat), here, here

  Shah Shuja, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Shah Tahmasp, Emperor, here

  Shah Wully Khan, here

  Shah Zaman, here, here

  Shahnama, here, here

  Shepherd, John, here

  Sher Singh, Maharaja, here, here, here, here

  Sher Surkh shrine, here

  Shinwaris, here

  Sikh Khalsa, here, here, here

  Sikh kingdomBritish conquest of, here

  defeats Durranis, here, here, here, here, here

  and Koh-i-Noor, here, here, here

  see also Anglo-Sikh Wars

  Simpson, Wallis, here

  Singh, Bhumika, here

  Singh, Jaswant, here

  Singh, Manmohan, here

  Siraj ul-Tawarikh, here, here, here

  Sirhind shrine, here, here

  Sobaron, Battle of, here

  Solomon, King, here

  spectacle lenses, here

  Standard, here

  Strauss, Johann, here

  Sudarshan Chakra, here

  Surya, here

  Syamantaka gem, here, here, here, here, here

  Syed brothers, here

  Syed dynasty, here

  Taj Mahal, here

  Taliban, here, here

  Tara Singh, here

  Tavernier, Jean Baptiste, here, here, here

  Tej Singh, General, here, here

  Tennant, James, here

  Terry, Edward, here

  tiger, mechanical, here

  Times, The, here

  Timur Ruby (Fakhraj Ruby), here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Timur Shah Durrani, here

  Tipu Sultan, here

  Tirukkailaya-nana-ula, here

  Tower of London, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Treaty of Lahore, here, here, here

  Tughluq dynasty, here

  Tukht Nadery, here

  Tukht Taoussee, see Peacock Throne

  Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, here

  Umdat ul-Tawarikh, here

  UNESCO, here

  van Leypsigh, Mattheus, here

  Vans Agnew, Patrick, here, here

  Vaz, Keith, here

  Victoria, Queen, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here coronation necklace, here

  death, here

  and Duleep Singh, here, here, here, here, here

  and Great Exhibition, here, here

  p
resented with Koh-i-Noor, here, here, here, here

  and Prince Albert’s death, here, here

  visits France, here

  wears Koh-i-Noor, here, here, here

  Vijayanagara, here, here, here

  Vishnu Purana, here

  Voorzanger, Levi Benjamin, here

  Wa’fa Begum, here, here

  Wade, Captain C.M., here

  Waterloo, Battle of, here, here

  Wellesley, Richard, Lord, here, here

  Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of, here, here, here

  Winterhalter, Franz Xaver, here, here

  A Note on the Authors

  William Dalrymple wrote the highly acclaimed bestseller In Xanadu when he was just twenty-two. Since then, he has had seven more books published and has won numerous awards for his writing, including the Sunday Times Young British Writer of the Year Award, the Duff Cooper Memorial Award, the Hemingway Prize and the Ryszard Kapuściński Award for Literary Reportage. He lives with his wife and three children on a farm outside Delhi.

  Anita Anand has been a radio and television journalist for over twenty years. On BBC television she has presented, among other shows, Daily Politics, The Heaven and Earth Show and Newsnight. She is currently the presenter of Any Answers on BBC Radio 4. Her first book, Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary, received widespread acclaim. She lives in London with her husband and two children.

  Plate Section

  Dancing celestial divinity, Chandela, Uttar Pradesh, 12th century.

  In many ancient Indian courts, jewellery rather than clothing was the principal form of adornment and a visible sign of court hierarchy, with strict rules being laid down to establish which rank of courtier could wear which gem in which setting.

  Krishna being given the Syamantaka gem by King Shatrajit. From a Bhagavad Purana manuscript, Rajasthan, c. 1520-40.

  Sleeping King Shatrajit, the father-in-law of Krishna, is murdered by Prince Satadhanva in order to steal the Syamantaka. From a Bhagavad Purana manuscript, Rajasthan, c. 1520-40.

  Babur with Humayun and courtiers.

  From the Late Shah Jahan Album, 1640.

  Akbar holding a sarpech.

  From the Late Shah Jahan Album, 1640.

  Prince Salim holding a jewelled mirror.

  By Bichitr, c. 1630.

  Jahangir with Asaf Khan.

  From the Late Shah Jahan Album, 1640.

  Portait of Shah Jahan as a prince, holding a turban ornament.