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The Curse and Controversy Surrounding the One of the World’s Largest Diamonds
Its unresolved origin adds to the mystery of the Koh-i-Noor Diamond
The Koh-i-noor is one of the most famous diamonds in the world due to its immense size, however, most do not know its history or understand its mystery.
The name Koh-i-noor is Persian for “mountain of light”. The diamond is believed to have been discovered in the Kollur Mines in the Golconda region (now Telangana, India). Reportedly, this was the only place in the world where diamonds had been discovered until 1725 when diamonds were also uncovered in Brazil. It is currently 105.6 carats but was originally 191 carats before being cut down.
The origin of the jewel is debated, which is what makes its ownership so controversial today. The first mention of the diamond possibly appeared in Sanskrit, where it was referred to as “Syamantaka” as early as 3200 BCE. However, there were no further mentions of the diamond for 4,000 years, so there is speculation that the Syamantaka and the Koh-i-noor are not the same diamond.
Other scholars believe that in 1304, the diamond that was later to be named Koh-i-noor was taken from the Rajas of Malwa, India by the Emperor of Delhi, Alauddin Khilji.
