Koh-i-Nor

The Koh-i-Nor (meaning “Mountain of Light”) Diamond has an amazing, and fairly bloodthirsty history. It was originally taken from a diamond mine in India. The earliest documentation about it appeared as late as approx, two and a half centuries prior to the birth of Christ, although records later show evidence of it being in the hands of royalty some five thousand years before.

The Koh-i-Nor is a large, oval-shaped blue/white, totally uncut diamond, and it is still incredibly beautiful - the kind of thing for which men will go to war, killing many people, in order simply to achieve ownership of this stunning stone.

The earliest authentic evidence of the Koh-i-Nor is found in the Baburnama, the memoirs of Babur, the first Mogul ruler of India. Born in 1483, Babur (meaning “lion” a nickname which was descended in the fifth generation from Tamerlane on the male side, and in the fifteenth degree from Genghis Khan on the female side) grew up to be a very strong, and very capable warrior.

With the blood in his veins of two of the greatest conquerors Asia has ever seen, it is not at all surprising that Babur himself should have become a great conqueror in his own right. Babur, in addition to being a warrior, was also a cultured and civilised man - a writer and a poet.

After many bloody battles - victories and defeats - Babur had decided to hand the responsibility of the Koh-i-Nor to his eldest son, Humayan, who not much later, became very sick. It was strongly emphasized to Babur by his medical men (what would probably be called, today, “witch doctors”) that he would need to sacrifice this special stone in order to save his son’s life. Thereupon, Babar donated the Koh-i-Nor to the Sultan of Delhi. Once Humayan had recovered to full health, Babur went into battle again, and ransacked the Sultan’s palace, and, after much bloodshed, regained possession of the Koh-i-Nor diamond.

After several centuries of a relatively peaceful existence, the Koh-i-Nor Diamond made its way to the United Kingdom, where it now resides in The Maltese Cross, which is part of the crown worn by the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. It is now on permanent display, along with the rest of The House of Windsor’s jewelery, in London