Origin of name
The Akbar Shah diamond is a historic diamond of the early
17th century associated with the great Mogul Emperor Akbar the Great and his
successors Jehangir Shah and Shah Jahaan. The diamond gets its name from
Emperor Akbar (1556-1605), whose name is inscribed on the diamond in Arabic.
The English translation of this inscription reads as follows :- Shah Akbar,
Shah of the world, 1028 A.H.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The information available on the historic Akbar Shah
diamond comes mainly from Edwin Streeter's book "The Great Diamonds of the
World," in which the diamond is said to have weighed 120 Arabic carats or
116 English carats. It is also said to have adorned one of the eyes of the
peacock in the renowned peacock throne of Shah Jahaan. Besides this nothing
is said about the color, clarity or the shape/cut of the diamond. Being a
diamond of Indian origin we may assume the color of the stone to be white or
colorless, one of the commonest colors of most of the historic Indian
diamonds, that originated in the diamond mines of the Southern India,
including the famous Golconda diamonds.
Early history
Chapter XXV of Edwin Streeter's book, deals with the
Akbar Shah or Jehanjir Shah diamond. The following is an excerpt from that
chapter :-
In every respect a very remarkable stone the "Akbar Shah"
entirely disappeared about the close of the seventeenth century, but it has
again recently come to light. Thanks to information courteously
communicated to us by Messrs George Blogg & Co. of London, we are enabled to
trace its history back to the famous Mogul Emperor Akbar Shah, apparently
its first owner. It remained in the Mogul's treasury till the time of Shah
Jahaan, by whom it was beautifully engraved in Arabic characters on both
sides. After its long disappearance it suddenly came to light again a few
years ago in Turkey, where it was known by the name of "Shepherd Stone." But
the two inscriptions left no doubt as to its true origin. Mr. George Blogg
who purchased it at Constantinople, in February 1866, was told at the time
that according to the tradition, it formed one of the eyes of the Peacock
Throne, destroyed by Nadir Shah. By him it was brought to London, where it
was re-cut to a drop as the most advantageous form by the late Mr. L. M.
Auerhaan. It was then sold by Messrs Blogg to the notorious Gaekwar of
Baroda, in 1867 for 3 ½ lacs of rupees (£35,000),
and now lies hidden away with the other treasures accumulated by that
prince during his oppressive reign.
The stone weighed originally 120 Arabic or 116 English
carats. But in the hands of the cutter it was reduced to about 71 or 72
carats, and during the process the two inscriptions were totally
destroyed. Facsimile copies however were first taken and are here appended
with the English Translations :-
1) Shah Akbar -Shah of the world - 1028 A. H.
2) To the Lord of the Two Worlds - 1039 A. H. -
Shah Jahan
The date on No 1, 1028 A. H. corresponds to 1650 A. D.
But Akbar who succeeded Humayun in 1556, died in 1605. Hence the Inscription
could not have been engraved by Akbar himself. The date obviously indicates
the year when Shah Jahaan caused it to be made, while the terms of the
inscription record the fact that the stone had belonged to Akbar. The second
inscription was evidently added eleven years later on, also by Shah Jahaan,
the then owner who reigned from 1627 to 1666, his reign thus covering both
dates.
There are two glaring errors in the last paragraph of
Edwin Streeter's account of the diamond.
1) The year 1028 A. H. he says corresponds to 1650 A. D.
which is not correct. It actually corresponds to 1619 A. D.
2) He says that Shah Jahaan reigned from 1627 to 1666,
which is also incorrect. Shah Jahaan's period of rule is actually from 1627
to 1658.
The relationship between the Gregorian Calendar and the
Islamic Hijra Calendar is given by the following mathematical formula
developed by M. G. S. Hodgson :-
G = H - H/33 + 622
where G represents the Gregorian year and H the Hijra
year.
by substituting for H in the above formula, we can
calculate the corresponding Gregorian Year.
Test of the formula
The current year in the Islamic calendar is 1428 A. H.
Calculate the corresponding Gregorian year equivlent to 1428 A. H.
G = H - H/33 + 622
G = 1428 - 1428/33 + 622
G = 1428 - 43 + 622
G = 1385 + 622
G = 2007
Therefore 1428 A. H. is equivalent to year 2007 A. D.,
which shows that the Hodgson's formula is correct.
a) Conversion of 1028 A. H. to Gregorian year :-
G = 1028 - 1028/33 + 622
G = 1028 - 31 + 622
G = 997 + 622
G = 1619 A. D.
Thus 1028 A. H. is equivalent to 1619 A. D.
b) Conversion of 1039 A. H. to Gregorian year :-
G = 1039 - 1039/33 + 622
G = 1039 - 31 + 622
G = 1008 + 622
G = 1630 A. D.
Thus 1039 A. H. is equivalent to 1630 A. D.
The period of reign of the Mogul Emperors involved
according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica are as follows :-
1) Akbar Shah or Emperor Akbar the Great :- 1556 -1605
2) Jahangir Shah or Emperor Jahangir :- 1605 - 1627
3) Emperor Shah Jahaan :- 1627 - 1658
Thus the year 1028 A. H. in the first inscription which
is equivalent to 1619 A. D. actually corresponds with the period of rule of
Jahangir Shah, 14 years after the death of Akbar the Great. Thus the first
inscription must have been engraved under the instructions of Jahangir Shah,
who perhaps would have been keen in perpetuating the memory of his great
father.
The year 1039 A. H. in the second inscription is
equivalent to 1630 A. D. This corresponds with the period of rule of Emperor
Shah Jahaan, just three years after he ascended the throne. Shah Jahaan had
a penchant for inscribing his name on diamonds, and his name appears on two
other famous diamonds of the Mogul period, the Shah diamond, and the Taj
Mahal diamond.
The next question is how the diamond belonging to the
Mogul Emperors eventfully reached the west. If as stated in Edwin Streeter's
account the Akbar Shah diamond formed one of the eyes of the renowned
Peacock Throne of Shah Jahaan which was dismantled by Nadir Shah of Persia,
then after Shah Jahan, the diamond must have descended down the line of the
following Mogul Emperors, until it reached Muhammad Shah in 1719.
1) Emperor Aurangzeb - 1658 to 1707.
2) Bahadur Shah - 1707 to 1712.
3) Jahandar Shah - 1712 to 1713.
4) Farruk Siyar - 1713 to 1719.
5) Muhammad Shah - 1719 to 1748.
It was during the reign of Muhammad Shah in
February 1739, that Nadir Shah, the ruler and conqueror of neighboring
Persia, who was successful in creating a vast empire that stretched from the
Indus river to the Caucasus mountains, invaded Northern India and captured
Delhi and Agra after defeating the forces of Muhammad Shah. Nadir Shah's
forces sacked Delhi and Agra, and eventually when his army left in May 1739,
carried with them a booty estimated at 70 crores (700 million rupees), which
helped him to exempt all Iranians from taxes for the next three years. His
plunder included most of the crown jewels of the Mogul Emperors which
consisted of the Koh-i-Noor, the Darya-i-Noor, Nur-ul-Ain, and the renowned
Peacock Throne of Shah Jahaan.
Modern history
After Nadir Shah's assassination in 1749. most of his
treasures were stolen by his close associates and commanders. Some of them
were lost forever, but some were recovered later by the founder of the Qajar
dynasty Agha Muhammad Khan Qajar. The Peacock throne was also dismantled
after Nadir Shah's death and the jewels in the throne were stolen. The Akbar
Shah diamond which was mounted on the throne was also lost in the process.
The diamond that was stolen in the 1740s eventually appeared in Istanbul in
Turkey in 1866, and was purchased by Mr. George Blogg of London, who got the
stone re-cut into a drop-shaped diamond of 71 to 72 carats, which also
unfortunately erased the two inscriptions on the diamond. The diamond was
later sold to Mulhar Rao, the Gaekwar of Baroda, and had remained in the
Gaekwar family until as recently as 1988, when Fatehsinhrao Gaekwad and his
wife Shantadevi had declared the diamond together with the Star of the South
diamond, and Empress Eugenie, as part of their valuables in the wealth tax
returns for 1988.
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