Legend has it that the Kohinoor diamond is about five thousand years old. It was originally known as Madnayak or the ‘King of Jewels’ before being renamed as the Kohinoor.The Kohinoor diamond was taken away by the British East India Company and adorned the crown of Queen Victoria when she became the Empress Of India in the year 1877. Currently the diamond is set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth and is on display at the Tower Of London.The Kohinoor moved through various dynasties and kings in India and Persia before it reached the Queen. It belonged to various Hindu, Mughal, Afghan and Sikh rulers.It is believed that the Koh-i-Noor diamond carries with it a curse which has caused harm to men but not to women. The men who were in possession of this diamond either lost their fortunes or life.
The Koh-i-Noor (/ˌkoʊɪˈnʊər/; lit. "Mountain of light"), also spelt Kohinoor and Koh-i-Nur, is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing 105.6 carats (21.12 g). ... Originally, the stone was of a similar cut to other Mughal-era diamonds, like the Darya-i-Noor, which are now in the Iranian Crown Jewels.The Persian general Nadir Shah went to India in 1739. He wanted to conquer the throne, which had been weakened during the reign of Sultan Mahamad. The Sultan lost the decisive battle and had to surrender to Nadir. It was him the one that gave the diamond its current name, Koh-i-noor meaning “Mountain of light”.
