Shah Diamond
Encyclopedia
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...
, extremely clear. This diamond was found in Central India, probably in 1450.
It was rendered to the shah
Shah
Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
court in Ahmadnagar
Ahmadnagar
Ahmadnagar is located in Gujranwala DistricTt, Punjab, Pakistan.-References:...
. In 1591, Shah Nizam ordered carving on one of the facets of the diamond: "Burhan-Nizam-Shah Second. Year 1000".
In the same 1591, the ruler of the Northern India, the Great Moghul Akbar, occupied Ahmadnagar and seized the diamond. After Akbar's grandson, Shah Jehan (trans. "the king of the world") came to the throne of Great Moghuls, he commanded to carve another inscription: "The son of Jehangir-Shah Jehan-Shah. Year 1051". By the modern calendar, it was 1641. The son of Jehan-shah Aureng-Zeb hung the diamond above his throne and encircled it with rubies and emeralds. Till 1738, the diamond Shah was kept in 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...
.
In 1738, Nadir Shah attacked India, seized the diamond, and took it back with him to Persia. In 1824, the third inscription appeared on the third facet: "The ruler of the Kadgar-Fath ali-shah Sultan. Year 1242".
In 1829, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n diplomat and writer Alexandr Griboyedov
Alexandr Griboyedov
Aleksander Sergeyevich Griboyedov was a Russian diplomat, playwright, poet, and composer. He is recognized as homo unius libri, a writer of one book, whose fame rests on the brilliant verse comedy Woe from Wit , still one of the most often staged plays in Russia...
was murdered in the capital of Persia, Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
. The Russian government demanded severe punishment of those responsible. In fear, the court of Shah Fath Ali Shah sent the Shah's grandson Khosrow Mirza
Khosrow Mirza
Prince Khosro Mirza , Persian Prince of Qajar Dynasty, was the 7th son of Abbas Mirza and brother of Djahangir Mirza.In 1829 Alexander Griboyedov, the Russian diplomat and play writer was killed in the encirclement of the Russia embassy in Tehran...
to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, where he gave the Shah diamond to the Russian Tsar as a present. In 1914, the Shah diamond came to the Kremlin Diamond Fund
Diamond Fund
Diamond Fund is a unique collection of gems, jewelry and natural nuggets, stored and exhibited in Moscow Kremlin, Russia. The Fund dates back to the Russian Crown treasury instituted by emperor Peter I of Russia in 1719.-Imperial treasury:...
, where it is exhibited as one of Seven Historical Gems.
It remains there at the Kremlin
Kremlin
A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
.