The Timur Ruby (also ''Khiraj-i-alam'', "Tribute to the World") is an unfaceted, polished red

spinel Spinel () is the magnesium/aluminium member of the larger spinel group of minerals. It has the formula in the cubic crystal system. Its name comes from the Latin word , which means ''spine'' in reference to its pointed crystals. Properties S ...

set in a necklace. It is named after the ruler

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kü ...

,Morgan, Diane (2008). ''Fire and Blood: Rubies in Myth, Magic, and History.'' Greenwood Publishing Group, founder of the

Timurid Empire The Timurid Empire ( chg, , fa, ), self-designated as Gurkani (Chagatai language, Chagatai: کورگن, ''Küregen''; fa, , ''Gūrkāniyān''), was a PersianateB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006 Tu ...

and purportedly one of its former owners. It was believed to be a

ruby A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called ...

until 1851. It is inscribed with the titles of five of its previous owners:

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 ...

(who also had the name of his father

Akbar the Great 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 ...

inscribed),

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 ...

Farrukhsiyar Farrukhsiyar or Farrukh Siyar () (20 August 16839 April 1719) was the tenth emperor of the Mughal Empire from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after assassinating his uncle, Emperor Jahandar Shah. Reportedly a handsome man who was easily ...

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian ...

and

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...

.Ball V. (1894)
A Description of Two Large Spinel Rubies, with Persian Characters Engraved upon Them.
''

Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy The ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy'' (''PRIA'') is the journal of the Royal Irish Academy, founded in 1785 to promote the study of science, polite literature, and antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially t ...

'' Vol. 3, (1893 - 1896), pp. 380-400 Since 1612, the owners of the Timur ruby have also owned the

Koh-i-Noor The Koh-i-Noor ( ; from ), also spelled Kohinoor and Koh-i-Nur, is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing . It is part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. The diamond is currently set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth The ...

diamond. It has been in the possessions of the

Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

, Mughal,

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

empires, and is currently part of the British crown jewels .

History

Origins

Spinels are found in various parts of the world, including the

Transoxiana Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...

region that was home to the Mughal ancestors. The Timur ruby is historically associated with Timur, who was believed to have taken the gem during the invasion of Delhi in 1398. In 1996, however, research indicated that it was never owned by Timur.

Possession of the Mughal emperors

During the seventeenth century, the gem was in the ownership of

Shah Abbas I Abbas I ( fa, ; 27 January 157119 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the 5th Safavid Shah (king) of Iran, and is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavid dynasty. He was the third s ...

, the Safavid Emperor of Persia. In 1612 he gave it to the Mughal Emperor Janangir. Jahangir had it engraved with his own name and that of his father (

). The stone passed to subsequent Mughal Emperors, including

(who had it set in the

Peacock Throne The Peacock Throne ( Hindustani: ''Mayūrāsana'', Sanskrit: मयूरासन, Urdu: تخت طاؤس, fa, تخت طاووس, ''Takht-i Tāvūs'') was a famous jewelled throne that was the seat of the emperors of the Mughal Empire in India ...

) and

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

. Shah Jahan and

also inscribed their names on the stone.

Removal from India

In 1739 Persian ruler

seized the gem during his occupation of Delhi. Nader took the Peacock Throne as part of his treasure, but removed the Timur ruby and the Koh-i-Noor diamond to wear on an armband. He called the Timur ruby the "Ayn al-Hur" ("Eye of the Houri), and added to its inscription. In 1747 Nader Shah was assassinated. The Timur ruby was taken by his commander

, who became King of Afghanistan.

Return to the Punjab

In 1810 it returned to India when Ahmad Shah's grandson Shah Shujah was forced into exile in the Punjab. In 1813 Maharaja

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He ...

took possession of the gem. It subsequently passed into the ownership of Maharaja

Sher Singh Sher Singh (4 December 1807 – 15 September 1843) was the fourth Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. Elder of the twins of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and Maharani Mehtab Kaur. His reign began on 18 January 1840 following his ...

(1841) and Maharaja

Duleep Singh Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh, GCSI (4 September 1838 – 22 October 1893), or Sir Dalip Singh, and later in life nicknamed the "Black Prince of Perthshire", was the last ''Maharaja'' of the Sikh Empire. He was Maharaja Ranjit Singh's youngest son, ...

Removal to London

When the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...

invaded

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

in 1849, they took possession of the Timur ruby and the

diamond from

. In 1851 the Timur ruby was displayed at the

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...

in London. That year, it was also reclassified as a spinel rather than a ruby. After the Great Exhibition closed the Court of Directors of the

presented the gem to Queen Victoria as a gift after which it became her private possession.

Crown jewels

The gem was set in a necklace by Garrards in 1853. Shortly afterwards, it was modified so that it could hold the Koh-i-Noor as an occasional alternative. After the necklace was lengthened in 1911, it was rarely worn. The spinel is now part of the British crown jewels.

References

External links

The 'Timur Ruby' necklace
at the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Timur ruby Individual necklaces Medieval India British East India Company Sikh Empire Jewels of the Mughal Empire Individual spinels Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom