A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India c22.s1.14

c22.s1.14

was bequeathed to his son Taimûr. In 1793 it passed by descent to his son Shâh Zamân, who was blinded and deposed by his brother Muhammad; but he retained possession of the stone in his prison, and in 1795 it became the property of his brother Sultan Shuja. In 1809, after Shuja became king of Kabul, Elphinstone saw the diamond in his bracelet at Peshawur. In 1812, Shuja, being dethroned by Muhammad, fled to Lahore, where he was detained as a quasi-prisoner by Ranjît Singh, the ruler of the Panjâb. In 1813 an agreement was arrived at, and Shuja surrendered the diamond to Ranjît Singh. Ranjît often wore the stone, and it was constantly seen by European visitors to Lahore. Dying in 1839, the *Koh-i-nûr* was placed in the jewel-chamber till the infant Dhulîp Singh was acknowledged as Ranjît’s successor. In 1849 it was handed over to Sir John Lawrence on the annexation of the Panjâb, and by him was sent to England to Her Majesty the Queen. In 1851 it was exhibited at the first great Exhibition, and in 1852 it was re-cut by an Amsterdam cutter, Voorsanger, in the employ of Messrs. Garrards. The weight is now 106 1/16 carats.