How did the Kohinoor come to the British? History of the 90th largest diamond in the world

Koh-i-Noor is the world’s most famous and controversial diamond. This 105.6 carat gem was worn by Mughal princes to Punjabi Maharajas. It was occupied by the British in the middle of the 19th century. The diamond is now on display in the Tower of London jewelery collection. The ownership of this diamond is still a matter of debate.

According to reports, the center of the Kohinoor diamond has yellow spots. Hence the diamond’s ability to refract light is said to be reduced. Kohinoor is currently the 90th largest diamond in the world.

History of Kohinoor Gem

1526: Historical records indicate that the Mughal ruler acquired the Kohinoor diamond after defeating Ibrahim Lodi in the First Battle of Panipat. Later it was handed over to Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. The diamond later passed to Aurangzeb’s grandson, Sultan Mahamad.

Also Read- The Kohinoor Ratnam in the Crown of the British Queen was claimed by the Puri Jagannath Temple; Organizations with claims

1739: Nadir Shah, founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran, defeats Muhammad in battle and takes the diamond to his native Iran, later giving the diamond its current name. Eight years later, the Shah was assassinated. Kohinoor was handed over to one of his trusted generals, Ahmad Shah Abdali.

1813: Ahmad Shah’s successor Shah Shuja Durrani flees persecution by his brothers and takes refuge in India. So the diamond came back to India again. According to reports, he was jailed by the Governor of Kashmir. Shuja’s wife made a deal with Ranjit Singh, the Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, that she would give him the Kohinoor if he rescued Shah Shuja. Thus Ranjit saved Singhshuja. Then the diamond came into the possession of Ranjit Singh.

world’s most controversial diamond The Koh-i-Noor – News18 Malayalam","excerpt_description":"History of one of the world’s most controversial diamond The Koh-i-Noor" data-loading-strategy="prefer-viewability-over-views" data-multi-size-validation="false" rtc-config=""vendors": "openwrap": "PROFILE_ID" : "5142","PUB_ID" : "113941","timeoutMillis": 1000" class="i-amphtml-layout-fixed i-amphtml-layout-size-defined" style="width:300px;height:600px;" i-amphtml-layout="fixed">

1849: Ten-year-old Duleep Singh, son of Ranjit Singh, succeeds his father to the throne. This was after the elder brothers were killed. After the Treaty of Lahore, Duleep Singh was forced to hand over Kohinoor to the British.

1852: The diamond is taken to England. There are also reports that Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, ordered some polishing done on the diamond. So some parts of the stone were cut away. Weight reduced by 42 percent. The Kohinoor diamond was changed from 186 carats to the current 105.6 carats.

‘Proof of Kohinoor diamond heist’

Political activist and author Shashi Tharoor in his book An Era of Darkness says that Britain owes India the Kohinoor gem. Tharoor says in his book that this is proof of looting and abuse of power.