Darya-ye Noor
Encyclopedia
The Darya-ye Noor is one of the largest diamond
s in the world, weighing an estimated 182 carats (36.4 g). Its colour, pale pink, is one of the rarest to be found in diamonds. The Darya-ye Noor presently forms part of the Iranian Crown Jewels
and is on display at the Central Bank of Iran in Tehran.
, was mined at the Golconda
mines, more specifically Paritala
-Kollur Mine
in Andhra Pradesh
, India
. It was owned by the Mughal emperors.
In 1739, Nader Shah
of Iran
invaded Northern India, occupied Delhi
and then massacred many of its inhabitants. As payment for returning the crown of India to the Mughal
emperor, Muhammad, he took possession of the entire fabled treasury of the Mughals, including the Darya-i-noor, in addition to the Koh-i-noor
and the Peacock throne
. All of these treasures were carried to Iran by Nader Shah
and the Darya-i-noor has remained there ever since.
After Nader Shah
's death, the Darya-ye Noor was inherited by his grandson, Shahrokh Mirza. It then passed into the possession of Alam Khan Khozeimeh, and later, of Lotf Ali Khan
Zand, a member of Iran's Zand dynasty
. Agha Mohammad Khan
, founder of Qajar dynasty
, defeated the Zands, and thus the Darya-e-noor came into the possession of the Qajars. Fath Ali Shah Qajar had his name inscribed on one facet of the diamond. Later, Nasser-al-Din Shah Qajar often wore it on an armband. He apparently believed that this diamond had been one adorning the crown of Cyrus
. When armbands fell from royal fashion, he wore the diamond as a brooch. On occasion, the gem would be left in the care of high personages of the land, as a sign of honor. It was eventually kept hidden in the Golestan Palace
treasury museum until Mozaffar al-Din Shah Qajar's time -- this monarch wore it as a hat decoration while visiting Europe in 1902. Reza Shah
, founder of the Pahlavi dynasty
, wore the diamond as a decoration on his military hat during his coronation in 1926, and it was used in Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi's coronation ceremony in 1967.
concluded that the Darya-e-Noor may well have been part of a large pink diamond that had been studded in the throne of the mughal emperor Shah Jahan
, and had been described in the journal of the French jeweller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier
in 1642, who called it the "Diamanta Grande Table". This diamond may have been cut into two pieces; the larger part is the Darya-e-noor ("Sea of Light"); the smaller part is believed to be the 60 carats (12 g) Noor-ol-Ein
diamond, presently studded in a tiara also in the Iranian Imperial collection.
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s in the world, weighing an estimated 182 carats (36.4 g). Its colour, pale pink, is one of the rarest to be found in diamonds. The Darya-ye Noor presently forms part of the Iranian Crown Jewels
Iranian Crown Jewels
The Imperial crown jewels of Iran include several elaborate crowns and decorative thrones, thirty tiaras, and numerous aigrettes, a dozen bejewelled swords and shields, a vast number of unset precious gems, numerous plates and other dining services cast in precious metals and encrusted with gems,...
and is on display at the Central Bank of Iran in Tehran.
History
This diamond, like the Koh-i-NoorKoh-i-Noor
The Kōh-i Nūr which means "Mountain of Light" in Persian, also spelled Koh-i-noor, Koh-e Noor or Koh-i-Nur, is a 105 carat diamond that was once the largest known diamond in the world. The Kōh-i Nūr originated in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India along with its double, the Darya-ye Noor...
, was mined at the Golconda
Golkonda
Golkonda or Golla konda a ruined city of south-central India and capital of ancient Kingdom of Golkonda , is situated 11 km west of Hyderabad.The most important builder of Golkonda was a Hindu Kakatiya King...
mines, more specifically Paritala
Paritala
Paritala is a small village in the Krishna district of the state of Andhra Pradesh, South India.It hosts the tallest statue of Hanuman in India....
-Kollur Mine
Kollur Mine
The Kollur Mine in Guntur district of old Golkonda kingdom, India, was one of the most productive diamond mines in India and the first major diamond center. It is situated on the right bank of the river Krishna. It operated between the sixteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries...
in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It was owned by the Mughal emperors.
In 1739, Nader Shah
Nader Shah
Nāder Shāh Afshār ruled as Shah of Iran and was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty. Because of his military genius, some historians have described him as the Napoleon of Persia or the Second Alexander...
of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
invaded Northern India, occupied Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
and then massacred many of its inhabitants. As payment for returning the crown of India to the Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
emperor, Muhammad, he took possession of the entire fabled treasury of the Mughals, including the Darya-i-noor, in addition to the Koh-i-noor
Koh-i-Noor
The Kōh-i Nūr which means "Mountain of Light" in Persian, also spelled Koh-i-noor, Koh-e Noor or Koh-i-Nur, is a 105 carat diamond that was once the largest known diamond in the world. The Kōh-i Nūr originated in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India along with its double, the Darya-ye Noor...
and the Peacock throne
Peacock Throne
The Peacock Throne, called Takht-e Tâvus in Persian, is the name originally given to a Mughal throne of India, which was later adopted and used to describe the thrones of the Persian emperors from Nader Shah Afshari and erroneously to Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi whose throne was a reconstruction of...
. All of these treasures were carried to Iran by Nader Shah
Nader Shah
Nāder Shāh Afshār ruled as Shah of Iran and was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty. Because of his military genius, some historians have described him as the Napoleon of Persia or the Second Alexander...
and the Darya-i-noor has remained there ever since.
Nader Shah
Nāder Shāh Afshār ruled as Shah of Iran and was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty. Because of his military genius, some historians have described him as the Napoleon of Persia or the Second Alexander...
's death, the Darya-ye Noor was inherited by his grandson, Shahrokh Mirza. It then passed into the possession of Alam Khan Khozeimeh, and later, of Lotf Ali Khan
Lotf Ali Khan
Lutf or Lotf Ali Khan was the last Shah of Persia of the Zand dynasty.Lotf Ali Khan Zand came to power after a decade of infighting among a succession of violent and inept Zand chiefs following the death in 1779 of the dynasty's founder, Karim Khan Zand...
Zand, a member of Iran's Zand dynasty
Zand dynasty
The Zand dynasty ruled southern and central Iran in the 18th century.- Karim Khan Zand :The dynasty was founded by Karim Khan, chief of the Zand tribe which was Lur or Lak deportees. Modern scholarships such as Wadie Jwaideh suggested his Kurdishness. He became one of Nader Shah's generals...
. Agha Mohammad Khan
Mohammad Khan Qajar
Agha Muḥammad Khān Qājār was the chief of the Qajar tribe, succeeding his father Mohammad Hassan Khan, who was killed on the orders of Adil Shah. He became the Emperor/Shah of Persia in 1794 and established the Qajar dynasty...
, founder of Qajar dynasty
Qajar dynasty
The Qajar dynasty was an Iranian royal family of Turkic descent who ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925....
, defeated the Zands, and thus the Darya-e-noor came into the possession of the Qajars. Fath Ali Shah Qajar had his name inscribed on one facet of the diamond. Later, Nasser-al-Din Shah Qajar often wore it on an armband. He apparently believed that this diamond had been one adorning the crown of Cyrus
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
. When armbands fell from royal fashion, he wore the diamond as a brooch. On occasion, the gem would be left in the care of high personages of the land, as a sign of honor. It was eventually kept hidden in the Golestan Palace
Golestan Palace
Golestān Palace pronounced "Kakheh Golestān" is the former royal Qajar complex in Iran's capital city.The oldest of the historic monuments in Tehran, the Golestan Palace belongs to a group of royal buildings that were once enclosed within the mud-thatched walls of Tehran’s Historic Arg...
treasury museum until Mozaffar al-Din Shah Qajar's time -- this monarch wore it as a hat decoration while visiting Europe in 1902. Reza Shah
Reza Shah
Rezā Shāh, also known as Rezā Shāh Pahlavi and Rezā Shāh Kabir , , was the Shah of the Imperial State of Iran from December 15, 1925, until he was forced to abdicate by the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran on September 16, 1941.In 1925, Reza Shah overthrew Ahmad Shah Qajar, the last Shah of the Qajar...
, founder of the Pahlavi dynasty
Pahlavi dynasty
The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi (reg. 1925–1941) and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty ...
, wore the diamond as a decoration on his military hat during his coronation in 1926, and it was used in Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi's coronation ceremony in 1967.
Possible association
In 1965, a Canadian team conducting research on the Iranian Crown JewelsIranian Crown Jewels
The Imperial crown jewels of Iran include several elaborate crowns and decorative thrones, thirty tiaras, and numerous aigrettes, a dozen bejewelled swords and shields, a vast number of unset precious gems, numerous plates and other dining services cast in precious metals and encrusted with gems,...
concluded that the Darya-e-Noor may well have been part of a large pink diamond that had been studded in the throne of the mughal emperor Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) (Full title: His Imperial Majesty Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan...
, and had been described in the journal of the French jeweller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier was a French traveller and pioneer of trade with India, and travels through Persia , most known for works in two quarto volumes, Les Six Voyages de Jean-Baptiste Tavernier and diamond merchant for some important diamonds of the century...
in 1642, who called it the "Diamanta Grande Table". This diamond may have been cut into two pieces; the larger part is the Darya-e-noor ("Sea of Light"); the smaller part is believed to be the 60 carats (12 g) Noor-ol-Ein
Nur-Ul-Ain Diamond
The Noor-ol-Ain is the principal diamond mounted in a tiara of the same name made for Iranian Empress Farah Pahlavi's wedding to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1958...
diamond, presently studded in a tiara also in the Iranian Imperial collection.
See also
- Iranian Crown JewelsIranian Crown JewelsThe Imperial crown jewels of Iran include several elaborate crowns and decorative thrones, thirty tiaras, and numerous aigrettes, a dozen bejewelled swords and shields, a vast number of unset precious gems, numerous plates and other dining services cast in precious metals and encrusted with gems,...
- Koh-i-Noor Diamond
- List of famous diamonds