Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond

2021-12-29T01:14:59Z

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{{Infobox book
| italic title =force
| name = Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond
| image = Koh-i-Noor - The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond.jpg
| caption = Hardcover edition
| author = [[William Dalrymple (historian)|William Dalrymple]] and [[Anita Anand]]
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| translator =
| illustrator =
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| country = United Kingdom
| language =
| series =
| subject = [[Koh-i-Noor]]
| genre =
| publisher = [[Bloomsbury Publishing]]
| pub_date = 2017
| english_pub_date =
| media_type =
| pages =
| isbn = 978-1-63557-076-2
| isbn_note = (Hardcover)
| oclc =
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| preceded_by =
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'''''Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond''''' is a 2017 book on the [[Koh-i-Noor]] diamond written by [[William Dalrymple (historian)|William Dalrymple]] and [[Anita Anand (journalist)|Anita Anand]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/koh-i-noor-9781408888841/ | title=Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond | publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]] | last1=Dalrymple |first1=William | authorlink1=William Dalrymple (historian)|last2=Anand |first2=Anita |authorlink2=Anita Anand | year=2017 | pages=352 | isbn=9781635570762}}</ref> The gem is one of the [[List of diamonds|largest cut diamonds]] in the world, weighing {{convert|105.6|carat|g}}, and part of the [[British Crown Jewels]]. Koh-i-Noor is Persian for "Mountain of Light"; it has been known by this name since the 18th century. It changed hands between various factions in modern-day India, Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan, until being ceded to [[Queen Victoria]] after the [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]], which resulted in the [[Punjab]] region falling under [[Company rule in India|Company rule]] in 1849.

==Summary==
;Introduction
The introduction of the book describes the event at the center of contemporary controversy, which is that the [[East India Company]] compelled 10-year-old [[Duleep Singh]], heir to the [[Sikh Empire]], to agree to the 1849 [[Treaty of Lahore]], and its stipulation that he give the [[Koh-i-Noor]] to the East India Company.

Shortly after the diamond came into the possession of the East India Company, [[Governor-General of India|Governor-General]] [[James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie|Lord Dalhousie]] tasked 22-year old civil servant [[Sir Theophilus John Metcalfe, 5th Baronet|Theo Metcalfe]] with compiling the history of the diamond prior to 1849. Metcalfe himself said that he was unable to do a good job, but what he wrote has become the most popular and circulated record of the diamond's history.

===The Jewel in the Throne===
;Indian Prehistory of the Koh-i-Noor
The chapter discusses how India and the rest of the world thought about diamonds before around 1500. Before the 1725 discovery of diamond mines in [[Colonial Brazil|Brazil]], almost all of the world's diamonds came from the [[Indian subcontinent]]. Various classical Hindu texts, including the ''[[Garuda Purana]]'', ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'', ''[[Vishnu Purana]]'', the ''Ratna Shastra'', all talk about diamonds and people's relationship to them. There are Indian cultural traditions to depict jewelry in the arts. There is a summary of the chapter on diamonds in [[Garcia de Orta]]'s 1563 book ''[[Colóquios dos simples e drogas da India]]''.

;The Mughals and the Koh-i-Noor
The chapter begins with the story of [[Babur]] establishing the [[Mughal Empire]] in India. In his autobiography, ''[[Baburnama]]'', he discusses his jewels including large diamonds. There are various accounts of Mughal jewels including reports sent by English ambassador [[Thomas Roe]] from the Mughal court to [[Kingdom of England|England]], [[Jahangir]]'s autobiography, ''[[Tuzk-e-Jahangiri]]'', and the [[Shahjahannama]]. Various reports about the [[Peacock Throne]] describe jewels and the Koh-i-Noor was said to be part of that throne.

;Nader Shah- The Koh-i-Noor goes to Iran
The chapter tells the story of [[Nader Shah]] and his [[Nader Shah's invasion on the Mughal Empire|invasion of the Mughal Empire]]. In 1732 he took the Peacock throne, looted the Mughal treasury, and acquired the Koh-i-Noor. There is a summary of whatever written accounts there are of anyone who saw the transfer of jewels from Delhi to Iran.

;The Durranis- The Koh-i-Noor in Afghanistan
The chapter tells the story of [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] acquired the Koh-i-Noor, The gem passed onto his grandson [[Zaman Shah Durrani]]. His younger brother [[Shah Shujah Durrani]] then had the gem and traded it to [[Ranjit Singh]] in exchange for respite after losing his family empire.

;Ranjit Singh- The Koh-i-Noor in Lahore
[[Ranjit Singh]] was leader of the [[Sikh Empire]]. He acquired the Koh-i-Noor after specifically seeking it out.

===The Jewel in the Crown===

;City of Ash
As [[Ranjit Singh]] aged and as the [[Sikh Empire]] began to fall he participated in discussions about what he would like done with the treasury. Some interpretations say that he left the Koh-i-Noor to the Sikh state. Some say that he committed it to the bramins at [[Jagannath Temple, Puri]]. Various reports including those of [[Claude Martin Wade]] watched what would happen to the jewels.

;The Boy King
After the [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]] ended in 1849 [[Duleep Singh]] gave the Koh-i-Noor to [[James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie|Lord Dalhousie]] in the context of the [[Treaty of Lahore]]. He was 10 years old and his mother the regent, [[Jind Kaur]], had been taken from him. From there the East India Company agents prepared the Koh-i-Noor for shipment to the British court.

;Passage to England
John Spencer Login, a British [[diplomat]] in India, adopted Duleep Singh to be raised with his wife and family in India. Duleep Singh's mother was exiled to Nepal. Dalhousie organized the shipping of the Koh-i-Noor by boat to England.

;The Great Exhibition
On arrival in England the Koh-i-Noor was displayed to huge crowds at [[the Great Exhibition]].

;The First Cut
The chapter describes scientific and professional examination of the Koh-i-Noor and how it was cut. There is a summary of [[David Brewster]]'s critique of the diamond. [[Garrard & Co]] contracted the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] diamond company [[Mozes Coster]] to plan for cutting the diamond. [[Maudslay, Sons & Field]] provided an engine to grind it. [[James Tennant (mineralogist)|James Tennant]] oversaw the process. The [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]] made the ceremonial first cut in a media sensation.

;Queen Victoria's "Loyal Subject"
After requesting to travel to England Duleep Singh joined [[Queen Victoria]]'s court. When he was 15 he repeated the ceremony of giving the Koh-i-Noor, in this instance to Victoria.

;The Jewel and the Crown
Around age 21 Duleep Singh began to express a great longing for his mother and more distance from the people with whom he lived in the court. At age 22 he traveled to meet her at [[Spence's Hotel]] in [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] then brought her back to England. From this point his life went into chaos with him no longer behaving like his peers in British society and spending huge sums of money.

;"We must take back the Koh-i-Noor"
This chapter reviews the various claims to the Koh-i-Noor and how each party makes its demands to [[the Crown]] to return it to them.

==Reviews==
Various reviewers critiqued the book.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sattin|first1=Anthony|title=Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond – review|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/18/koh-i-noor-history-world-most-infamous-diamond-review-william-dalrymple-anita-anand|website=[[The Guardian]]|date=18 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Jasanoff|first1=Maya|title=Koh-i-Noor by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand review – an infamous diamond and imperial bloodshed|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jul/20/koh-i-noor-by-william-dalrymple-and-anita-anand-review|website=[[The Guardian]]|date=20 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Kumar|first1=Anuj|title=Chronicles of the Kohinoor|url=http://www.thehindu.com/books/books-authors/Chronicles-of-the-Kohinoor/article16783947.ece|website=[[The Hindu]]|language=en-IN|date=9 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=IANS|title=A tale of the most infamous diamond ‘Kohinoor’|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/william-dalrymples-book-a-tale-of-the-most-infamous-diamond-kohinoor-4648241/|website=[[The Indian Express]]|date=9 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Overdorf|first1=Jason|title=The Kohinoor did seem to leave havoc in its wake|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/kohinoor-diamond-book/1/834870.html|website=[[India Today]]|date=15 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Joseph|first1=Manu|title=Almost Everything That People Think They Know About The Kohinoor Is False: William Dalrymple|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/11/13/almost-everything-that-people-think-they-know-about-the-kohinoor_a_21604871/|website=[[HuffPost|Huffington Post India]]|language=en-IN|date=13 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Salim|first1=Yusra|title=William Dalrymple, Anita Anand attempt to set the record straight about Kohinoor|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1336817/william-dalrymple-anita-anand-attempt-set-record-straight-kohinoor/|website=[[The Express Tribune]]|date=23 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Crane|first1=David|title=The Koh-i-Noor: the greatest blood diamond in the world|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/06/the-koh-i-noor-the-greatest-blood-diamond-in-the-world/|website=[[The Spectator]]|date=24 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Zubrzycki|first1=John|title=Koh-i-Noor history shows diamond lacks the sparkle of real rock star|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/books/kohinoor-history-shows-diamond-lacks-the-sparkle-of-real-rock-star/news-story/1421842e34f293e9848b841327144666|website=[[The Australian]]|date=14 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Mojiz|first1=Aasma|title=The Kohinoor – a symbol of power through the ages|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1316648|website=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]|date=24 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Bhaduri|first1=Aditi|title=The story of the world’s most infamous diamond|url=http://gulfnews.com/culture/books/the-story-of-the-world-s-most-infamous-diamond-1.2002326|website=[[Gulf News]]|date=29 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Bering|first1=Henrik|title=The Jewel in the Crown|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-jewel-in-the-crown-1504898413|website=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=8 September 2017}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{official website|https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/koh-i-noor-9781408888841}}

[[Category:2017 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:History books about India]]
[[Category:Bloomsbury Publishing books]]
[[Category:Diamond]]
[[Category:Gemstones in popular culture]]

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Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond