Koh-i-Noor

The Koh-i-Noor is a historic diamond mined in India and now part of the British Crown Jewels. Its transfer to Britain followed conquest of the Sikh Empire in 1849.

Golconda: A historic diamond-producing region and kingdom in present-day Telangana, India. The Koh-i-Noor is traditionally associated with the diamond trade and mines of this region.
Battle of Karnal: A 1739 battle in which Nader Shah defeated the Mughal army near Delhi. Its outcome enabled Nader Shah’s seizure of Delhi’s treasury and royal jewels.
Ahmad Shah Durrani: An Afghan ruler who founded the Durrani Empire in 1747. He inherited the diamond from Nader Shah’s successors and took it to Afghanistan.
Diamond: A crystalline form of carbon prized for hardness, optical properties, and use as a gemstone. The Koh-i-Noor’s identity rests on its material as a large, cut diamond.
British Raj: The period of direct British Crown rule over India from 1858 to 1947. The diamond’s acquisition became part of the larger history of British rule in India.
Kakatiya dynasty: A medieval South Indian dynasty that ruled much of the Deccan from its capital at Warangal. A later tradition links the diamond’s early history to the Kakatiya rulers.
Treaty of Lahore (1846): A treaty that ended the First Anglo-Sikh War and imposed terms on the Sikh Empire. Its terms set the political conditions preceding the diamond’s transfer to Britain.
Shah Shuja Durrani: An Afghan ruler of the Durrani dynasty who was deposed in 1809. He brought the diamond to Punjab while seeking help from Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom: A collection of royal ceremonial objects and regalia held for the British nation. The Koh-i-Noor is set in a crown within this collection.
Colonialism: A system in which one power controls another territory and its people for political or economic benefit. The diamond’s transfer is debated within the history of colonial extraction.

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