The Akbar Shāh, also known as the "Lustre of the Peacock Throne", is a

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

dating back to the Mughal dynasty of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It is an irregular, pear-shaped diamond with a light green hue, weighing 73.60 carat. The names of three Mughal emperors

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

and

Shah Jahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

were elegantly listed on its sides, which makes it prominent

History

The Akbar Shāh diamond was found in the famed mines around Golconda Fort, Golconda, and is thus part of the group of stones collectively known as the Golconda diamonds. The Akbar Shah was once the property of the Mughal emperor

, hence its name. It was engraved on two faces with inscriptions in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

, by order of his grandson Shāh Jahān. The English translation of them is ''Shāh Akbar, the Shāh of the World, 1028'' and ''To the Lord of two worlds, 1039''. The dates are given according to the Hijrī years, and correspond to 1618 and 1629 of the Christian era. It is believed by some historians that this celebrated gem was set as one of the eyes of the peacock in the fabulous Peacock Throne. However, other scholars suggest the possibility of it being the dazzling

s encircled by emeralds and rubies, suspended opposite the throne. In any case, the diamond disappeared. If it had been set in the Peacock Throne it would have disappeared when the

Afsharid Afsharid Iran ( fa, ایران افشاری), also referred as the Afsharid Empire was an Iranian empire established by the Turkoman Afshar tribe in Iran's north-eastern province of Khorasan, ruling Iran (Persia). The state was ruled by the A ...

Persian Emperor Nādir Shāh seized the throne along with other plundered treasures in 1739. The throne was lost on its way back to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in a battle with

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...

, who broke it up for the value of the metal and stones. The stone eventually reappeared in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

, where it had been given the new name 'Shepherd's Stone'. It was then purchased in 1866 in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

merchant George Blogg, who commissioned Levi Moses Auerhaan to re-cut it into drop-form. Unfortunately the historic inscriptions were destroyed in the process. The stone, which had originally weighed 120 Arabic carats (about 119 metric carats 23 g), had been reduced to 73.60 metric carats (14.34 g). In the following year, the diamond was purchased by

Malhar Rao Gaekwad Malhar Rao Gaekwad was the eleventh Maharaja of Baroda State reigning from 1870 to 1875. He was the sixth son of Sayaji Rao Gaekwad II and became Maharaja of Baroda after the death of his elder brother, Malhar Rao -I Gaekwad. Reign Malhar Rao s ...

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

, India, for what was said to have been 350,000 rupees (about £26,000). In 1926, the new ruler of Baroda, Sayājī Rāo Gaekwāḑ III, had

Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier ( , also , , ; br, Jakez Karter; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French- Breton maritime explorer for France. Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of ...

reset the stone in platinum, along with the rest of his jewelry collection; the new metal was becoming more fashionable than gold. The diamond, along with other world-famous diamonds like the

Star of the South The Star of the South, also known as 'Limar', is a diamond found in Brazil in July 1853. The diamond is cut into a cushion shape and weighs . The Star of the South is graded as a type IIa diamond, with a color grading of fancy light pinkish- ...

and the

Empress Eugénie An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

, was in the list of properties disclosed in wealth tax returns of the late Fātehsinh Rāo Gaekwāḑ, dated 31 March 1988. Later his wife, Shanta Devi, also mentioned the diamond in her wealth tax returns. It is uncertain whether the stone is still in the family's possession or has been sold, similar to the Star of the South.

References

{{Reflist Jewels of the Mughal Empire Baroda State Golconda diamonds History of India History of Iran

History

See also

Further reading

References