The Great Mogul is the fourth largest of all existing diamonds. The complex and dramatic history led a miraculous stone from India to Persia, where information about it was lost in the 18th century. However, scientists and historians have not lost hope of finding a treasure.
Features
Since the middle of the 17th century, there were legends all over the world about a diamond of incomparable beauty, which had not been equal for many centuries. Tragic and almost mystical events are associated with its appearance and disappearance. It is still difficult for some historians to believe that such a treasure actually existed. The famous stone called the “Great Mogul” was found in 1640 in the mines of Golkonda, on the banks of the Krishna River.
The vast Indian deposit stretched in the Middle Ages up to the Bay of Bengal. The walls of the fortress - the citadel of the Sultanate - were towering for many kilometers near it. Golkonda is translated from the ancient Telugu language as a shepherd's hill. The unique field brought a huge income, the Rajis of the Sultanate did not live like modest shepherds, but swam in luxury.
It is known that before the XIX century diamonds were mined mainly in India, from where they fell into the noble yards of Asia and Europe. The first to see this magnificence was Marco Polo at the end of the 13th century. He noticed that at the end of the rainy season on the coast, large diamonds are visible among the pebbles just under their feet. The first description of the mineral "Great Mogul" received from the French merchant Tavernier, who became a famous traveler. Tavernier studied the eastern countries, supplying stones to the court of Louis XIV.
Arriving in Hindustan for the sixth time, he reached the south and visited the Golkonda mines. The famous Frenchman was invited to the court of the ruler Aurangzeb in 1665 before returning to Europe, and he was one of the few Europeans who saw the living diamond. Tavernier, amazed by the beauty of the crystal, described the jewel in detail.
According to the information presented in the notes of the merchant, the unique treasure resembled a high and not very attractive, at first glance, bluish luminous rose with two barely discernible flaws - inside and on the bottom. Then a similar description appeared in the Dictionary of Sciences, Arts and Crafts, which was issued in 1750. This publication, founded by Diderot, was considered authoritative in France; it gathered information from experts and specialists of that time. Who could see the diamond is unknown but the philosopher leads in the encyclopedia drawing, which depicts a large cone-shaped rose.
Cut history
Testifies to the Tavernier and the initial weight and size of the diamond.
The original uncut jewel weight was 787 carats. The size of the crystal is not inferior to a small ping-pong ball.
At that time, Padbar Akbar set the unit of measure for weight - raty or sorh (about 0.126 g). Therefore, it was easy to make a mistake by translating 900 ratti into the usual units - carats. From this moment there has been a debate about how large the diamond really was, since for three and a half centuries it was considered the grandest of all those found in nature.
Venetian diamond cutters worked at the Mughal court. The best of them, master Hortensio Borges, was chosen as a specialist and set to work. After processing the appearance of the treasure disappointed Shah Aurangzeb.
The story says that the reward of 10 thousand rupees was not paid to the master, since a small spot inside and a defect on the bottom of the stone remained. In addition, the diamond, made in the shape of a rose according to the traditions of India, has finally decreased in size. Tavernier called its dimensions comparable to half an egg, while its weight almost halved, losing 500 carats. However, after such processing, the diamond remained unsurpassed in magnitude for several centuries.
The first owners of the diamond
After he was found in the mines, the stone was in the treasury of Raja Golkonda. There are several versions as to how the crystal fell to the padishah of the Mughal Empire. The transfer took place through a servant - the treasurer, who owned a shop for the sale of jewelry. Either the grandee was the owner of the stone and tried to gain the favor of the ruler of the Empire, or he stole a jewel from revenge, trying to punish his master for the offense.
Anyway, a diamond of rare size and beauty was in the hands of Shah Jahan, after whom he was named the “Great Mogul”. The patron of arts, the padishah ordered to build for his wife the Taj Mahal mausoleum, a masterpiece of architectural art, and was revered as a great connoisseur of beauty. He knew a lot about gems, at his leisure he was fond of cutting stones. The son of the padishah, Aurangzeb, chose the throne by force. He imprisoned his father in a fortress in Delhi, and cruelly killed his older brothers and their heirs. The jewel was kept in the Imperial treasury until around 1738.
Then the war began with Persia, the capital was conquered by Nadir Shah. The troops of the latter were taken out of India by a wagon train. All gems from the treasury were stolen and appropriated. The precious Mogul fell to the ruler of Persia and was with him. Shah did not part with the diamond. In 1747, the lord was killed, and from that moment the stone is considered to have disappeared.
Where did the Great Mogul go?
The fate of the world's fourth largest diamond has been unknown for a long time. Experts could only guess where the Indian treasure was gone. Since the stone remained cracked after the first cut, it may have been reprocessed. This hypothesis is presented to jewelers and historians of the most likely of all available.
Two equally famous diamonds - "Eagles" and "Kohinur" - resemble in weight and shape the "Great Mogul".
English jeweler Streetter argued that the "Orlov" is the same stone. The turquoise mineral was found in the Kolur mines in the first half of the 18th century. Its initial weight was 300 carats.
The cut is also the same - a high pointed rose. Both diamonds were originally called the “Great Mogul” and were in the treasury of the Empire, in possession of Shah Jahan. After re-processing in order to improve the appearance of the diamond began to weigh less than 200 carats. He was also shown to Tavernier, and he was delighted with Orlov, describing this jewel in his notes.
Later, the diamond was placed inside the eyes of a statue of Brahma, in a Hindu temple. During the Persian invasion, the treasure fell to Nadir Shah. Then, in about 1767, it was acquired by the Armenian merchant Georgy Safras.
The diamond got its name after it turned out to be from the Russian Count Orlov.
Buy such a large stone was afford the favorite of the Empress, then he presented it to Catherine II. So the count tried to win her favor again, presenting a truly priceless treasure for the day of the angel. The crystal shone in the tops of the queen's scepter in 1774, and in 1914 fell into the Kremlin's Diamond Fund.
Streetter has carefully studied the history of both minerals. His version looked pretty convincing. Only the carat weight of the Orlov is too different from the Great Mogul diamond. But this problem was solved by another expert, the scientist Fersman. The Russian specialist discovered an error in the calculations of Tavernier. Fersman proposed a different ratio between carats and ratti - 6:10, while the Frenchman used the wrong one - 7: 8. With new proportions and detailed calculations, the scientist declared the identity of the stones.To date, his hypothesis has not been challenged by anyone.
Kohinur originates from the mines of Golkonda, and, according to legend, it is several thousand years old. The initial weight is about 600 carats. Diamond adorned the headdress of the newborn son of the Sun God, who was lying on the bank of the Yamuna River. The symbol of enlightenment, "Kohinur" was in the statue of Lord Shiva, in the place of the third eye. The rajahs of the ancient state of Malva put treasure on the parade turban. The crystal is mentioned in sources dating back to the XIV century.
When the jewel came to the Mughals, it was decorated with a peacock throne of gold. After the attack on the capital of the Empire, along with other looted treasures, the “Mountain of Light” moved to Persia, from there to Afghanistan, and then returned to their homeland. When India became a colony of Great Britain, the stone was taken to London. In 1852, the crystal was re-cut.
The traditional form was replaced more flat. As a result, the mass decreased significantly, 110 carats remained instead of 190. The yellowish glow disappeared, the diamond became pure white. Shining in the crown of Queen Elizabeth, the stone is in the Tower of London.
A number of experts are of the opinion that the Great Mogul, divided into two parts, gave birth to two other famous diamonds - Orlov and Kokhinur, or one of them. Calculations are given, dates are compared, but there are weak points in each version. Therefore, it is likely that the real “Great Mogul” is hidden in a private collection, and once its owner will show the diamond to the world.
On the history of the famous diamond "Great Mogul", see below.
