Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond
Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond is a 2017 book on the
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,
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
- 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 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 invasion of the Mughal empire. In 1739, 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 Afsharid 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 then 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 brahmins at Jagannath Temple, Puri. Various reports including those of Claude Martin Wade watched what would happen to the jewels.
- The Boy King
After the
- 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 First Cut
The chapter describes scientific and professional examination of the Koh-i-Noor and how it was cut. There is a summary of
- 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 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.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]
References
- ISBN 9781635570762. Archived from the originalon 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
- ^ Sattin, Anthony (18 June 2017). "Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond – review". The Guardian.
- ^ Jasanoff, Maya (20 July 2017). "Koh-i-Noor by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand review – an infamous diamond and imperial bloodshed". The Guardian.
- ^ Kumar, Anuj (9 December 2016). "Chronicles of the Kohinoor". The Hindu.
- ^ IANS (9 May 2017). "A tale of the most infamous diamond 'Kohinoor'". The Indian Express.
- ^ Overdorf, Jason (15 December 2016). "The Kohinoor did seem to leave havoc in its wake". India Today.
- ^ Joseph, Manu (13 November 2016). "Almost Everything That People Think They Know About The Kohinoor Is False: William Dalrymple". Huffington Post India.
- ^ Salim, Yusra (23 February 2017). "William Dalrymple, Anita Anand attempt to set the record straight about Kohinoor". The Express Tribune.
- ^ Crane, David (24 June 2017). "The Koh-i-Noor: the greatest blood diamond in the world". The Spectator.
- ^ Zubrzycki, John (14 July 2017). "Koh-i-Noor history shows diamond lacks the sparkle of real rock star". The Australian.
- ^ Mojiz, Aasma (24 February 2017). "The Kohinoor – a symbol of power through the ages". Dawn.
- ^ Bhaduri, Aditi (29 March 2017). "The story of the world's most infamous diamond". Gulf News.
- ^ Bering, Henrik (8 September 2017). "The Jewel in the Crown". The Wall Street Journal.