The Russian diamond fund contains one beautiful and unusual stone - an octahedron-shaped diamond engraved in Persian. The 88.7-carat Shah diamond is not cut, but simply polished, completely transparent and has a slight yellowish tint.
This is an unusual diamond with an unusual fate. It has been in the hands of brilliant jewelers and was owned by the rulers of several countries. And in 1824 he was brought to Nicholas I from Persia to pay off for the murder of the great author of "Woe from Wit" A. S. Griboyedov …
In the Diamond Fund of the Moscow Kremlin, among the diamond crown of the Russian Empire, the state and the scepter, in which the Orlov diamond sparkles with a coldish blue fire, an elongated stone the size of a little finger is almost invisible. An attentive visitor may see strange writing on it. Ready in this room of miracles for all sorts of miracles, he still will not believe that an ordinary-looking stone was valued at 80 thousand gold rubles. Meanwhile, this is the Shah diamond, whose history goes back four centuries. He is a ransom for the blood of A. S. Griboyedov.
The oldest and richest diamond deposits are concentrated on the banks of the Krishna River in India. A yellowish elongated diamond "Shah" was found somewhere here.
According to the rule of Indian craftsmen, a diamond of the highest quality has tops, faces, edges in the amount of 6, 8 and 12. They should be sharp, even and straight. In other words, the diamond must have the crystallographic shape of an octahedron - an octahedron (in Arabic "hawai al-mas"). In addition, the stone must be brahmana, that is, absolutely colorless and transparent. The yellowish Shah diamond belongs to the Vaishya variety, and its shape is far from an ideal octahedron. In this regard, he did not linger in the hands of the Hindus and was sold to the ruler of Ahmadnagar - the sultanate on the western coast of the Indian subcontinent.
The sultan of Ahmadnagar was the Muslim Burkhan II. Indian superstitions about diamonds worried him little. But a huge elongated diamond is the finger of Allah! - struck the imagination. In addition, the vast, flat facets of the diamond seemed to him the ideal tablets of history on which to perpetuate their name. Burkhan II was vain and even appropriated the title of Nizam Shah, that is, "Lord of Order".
Apparently, a talented, if not brilliant, master worked in Burkhan's court stone-cutting and lapidary workshop. One of the first in the East, he learned to engrave inscriptions on a diamond. We know that diamond is the hardest mineral on earth: it cannot be scratched. How, then, did the nameless master write the inscription on the edge of the octahedron, the hardest edge of the stone? He guessed that only a diamond can scratch a diamond!
And so the master covered the octahedral face with a thin layer of wax, scribbled the necessary words on it with a needle. Then, on the tip of a steel or copper needle dipped in oil, he collected diamond dust and scratched endlessly along the edge. As a result of many days of work, the first inscription appeared. In Russian transcription it looks like this: "Brkhan sani Nzmshah 1000 snt". The exact translation reads: “Burkhan Second Nizam-Shah. 1000 year ". Since Muslims trace their chronology since the flight of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina (622), the time of the appearance of the first inscription dates back to 1591 from the birth of Christ. In other words, the Shah diamond is 412 years old.
Promotional video:
The Shah diamond did not adorn the treasury of Burkhan II for long. In the north ruled a formidable neighbor - Shah Akbar from the Mughal dynasty (The Mughals were a Muslim dynasty that ruled in India for more than three hundred years (1526 - 1858). Its founder is Babur, a direct descendant of the formidable Timur. Shah Akbar was the grandson of Babur). He was an outstanding statesman, a brave and capable military leader. Without knowing the literacy, he introduced the new religion "din-illahi" ("divine faith"), in which he eclectically mixed Islam, Hinduism, Parsism and Jainism. He proclaimed himself the head of the new faith, and expanded the boundaries of his state. In 1595 Shah Akbar conquered Ahmadnagar and appropriated most of Burkhan's treasures.
So the Shah diamond became the dynastic regalia of the Great Mughals. For more than forty years he lay in the treasury until he caught the eye of Akbar's grandson, Jihan Shah. "The Lord of the Universe" (as his name is translated) further exalted the state of the Great Mughals. At the beginning of his career, fighting for power, he fought with his father Jihangir Shah, killed his older brother Khosrov and cut out the rest of the contenders for the Peacock Throne. He built irrigation canals in the Punjab, but at the same time doubled the taxes on his subjects. He led a flexible policy with the Europeans: he allowed English merchants to trade in the country. His life was adorned with love for the beautiful wife of Mumtaz Mahal. When she died, Jikhan Shah gathered the best masters and ordered to erect a mausoleum, which should not be equal in the Universe. This is how the Taj Mahal appeared - one of the wonders of the world.
The most curious thing is that Jihan Shah combined royal grandeur with the profession of a master cutter. He spent many hours in the court workshop, processing gems with his own hand. Maybe it was he who polished some facets of the Shah diamond in order to increase the transparency and see the water of the stone (Water of the stone is a qualitative indicator of the purity and transparency of diamonds. A stone of pure water is a stone that is completely transparent, without turbidity, inclusions, cracks and other defects.). He also ordered to cut a second inscription on the edge of the diamond. The inscription transcribed in Russian letters reads like this: "Ibn Jhangir shah Jhan Shah 1051", which means: "Son of Jihangir-Shah Jihan-Shah, 1051" (that is, 1641).
The second inscription on the Shah diamond is made much more inventive than the first. The unknown master made full use of the ornamental properties of Arabic graphics. The inscription repeats itself rhythmically and gives the full impression of a whimsical and ornate pattern, and not a prosaic text.
Jihan Shah had four sons: Dara, Alamgir, Suja and Murad. Each of them wanted to become the new "ruler of the universe." The massacre began again (and Jihan Shah was still alive). The winner was Alamgir, whose hands were stained with the blood of the brothers. He took the name Aurang-Zeba ("Throne Decoration"). This happened in 1658. Jihan Shah was imprisoned in an Agri fortress, from the windows of which he could admire the Taj Mahal mausoleum. Died "Master of the Universe" in 1666.
In 1665, a European saw the Shah diamond for the first time. It turned out to be a French merchant Jean Baptiste Tavernier (1605-1689). He visited India several times, was in Agra and Golconda. For unclear reasons, Aurang-Zeb showed him special favors: he gave him diamonds, gold and gems, allowed him to inspect the palace and the famous Peacock Throne. Thanks to Tavernier, we know about the historical Indian diamonds, about the inner splendor of the Shah's palace. Fortunately, Tavernier's diaries have been preserved for history, which says that the Shah diamond was constantly in front of Aurang-Zeb's eyes when he sat on the Peacock Throne. An oblong stone hung from a canopy surrounded by emeralds and rubies. At its thinner end, a furrow was made half a millimeter deep, which was covered by a silk thread.
Then the Shah diamond went out of sight of historians for more than a century and a half. He disappeared in India and appeared in Tehran. The huge time and space gaps are filled with the following events.
After Aurang-Zeb, the Mughal empire lost its former power and greatness. Neighboring states grabbed tidbits from it. In 1737, India was invaded by Nadir Shah, the ruler of Iran. In a two-year war, he conquered North India, captured Delhi. The number of looted treasures surpasses all likelihood. The chronicles testify that sixty boxes were filled with diamonds, yachons and emeralds alone. Jeweled sabers, daggers, shields, rings, turban feathers, timpani and armchairs barely fit into twenty-one packs. It took eight camels just to take away the Peacock Throne. “Seeing such treasures,” the chronicler exclaimed, “everyone went mad!”
In the forties of the 18th century, uprisings and internecine wars of feudal lords began in the empire of Nadir Shah. As a result of the conspiracy, the despot was stabbed to death in 1747. The struggle for power began. In 1796, the eunuch Agha Muhammad Khan became the shah of Iran, who founded the Qajar dynasty. He could not have children, so his nephew Babakhan, who grew up in poverty and destitution, became the heir. Babakhan, before ascending to the throne, stabbed his brother, and then took the name Fath-Ali-Shah. It happened in 1797. Exactly thirty years later, the aged Shah celebrated the anniversary of his reign. In commemoration of this great event, it was decided to inscribe a third inscription on the free edge of the Shah diamond.
Persian stone cutters and cutters were of great experience and skill. The third inscription amazes with the perfection of work, intricate imagination and talent. As if stylized swans with flexible slender necks float on the polished surface of the lake. The masterpiece of ornamentalism reads in Russian transcription as follows: "Shbkran Qajar Fth'li shah alstan 1242". Translated, this means: "Lord Qajar Fath-Ali-Shah Sultan, 1242". In our chronology - 1824.
According to a strange pattern, the appearance of the next inscription on the diamond precedes turbulent historical events that end with a change of owner.
In the twenties of the XIX century, Iran was weakened by feudal civil strife. He became the object of the colonial expansion of the European capitalist powers. The theater of military operations was located on the land of long-suffering Armenia. Abbas Mirza, the warlike son of Fath Ali Shah, with the help of the British, reorganized the army and introduced regular regiments of sarbaz. However, military happiness smiled at him quite rarely. Russian regiments crushed Abbas Mirza at Kanagir, in Karabakh and on the Araks. He almost lost Yerevan when the warriors of Fath Ali Shah himself came to the rescue. However, in 1828 Abbas Mirza suffered a complete and final defeat. Iran was forced to conclude the Turkmanchay agreement, according to which the Russian crown was to receive ten kururs, that is, 20 million rubles in silver. A. S. Griboyedov took part in the development of the terms of the contract. He was also appointed as the Russian envoy (in Persian vazir-mukhtar) in Tehran. The author of the play "Woe from Wit" zealously performed his duty. On January 30, 1829, a crowd of fanatics, raised by the clergy, tore Griboyedov to pieces. The threat of a new war loomed.
The Shah and his entourage were confused. In the spring of the same year, a high embassy headed by Tsarevich Khozrev-Mirza left Tehran for St. Petersburg. Fath Ali Shah, like many eastern rulers, owned a harem, which over the years gave him about a hundred sons. From this number, Khozrev-Mirza was chosen, an intelligent young man of pleasant appearance. The embassy included Mirzas and Beks, doctors and poets. They were served by squires, bedclothes, water supplies, coffee makers and sorbet workers. A special position was occupied by a chest (treasurer), who was carrying the price of blood - the Shah diamond.
In the spring of 1829, the prince reached St. Petersburg. Nicholas I received him with all splendor (this was already working diamond). In response to the ornate Persian speech, the Russian emperor said only seven words: "I consign the ill-fated Tehran incident to eternal oblivion!" At the same time, the last two kururs were forgiven, that is, 4 million rubles in silver.
However, historians believe that the ransom of the death of Griboyedov for the famous diamond is still more a beautiful legend than reality.
The famous writer and orientalist was the first among Russians to read and interpret the inscriptions on the diamond. (Later, the inscriptions were once again examined by Academician S. F. Oldenburg, a Soviet orientalist).
And Prince Khozrev-Mirza was having fun in Petersburg. He visited theaters, museums, met with women (secular and far from the world). As a result, he fell ill with a certain disease, which in those days was treated with leeches, Spanish flies and mercury (mercury ointment). This was not the last grief of the prince. Five years later, during the struggle for the throne, his eyes were gouged out and he lived the rest of his days blind. Khozrev-Mirze's contemplation of the "Shah" diamond stood at such a price.
In 1898, the following text appeared in the inventory of the Russian crown jewels at number 38/37: “Solitaire (large diamond) Khozrev-Mirza of irregular facet (facet) - 86 7/16 carats. Brought up in 1829 by the Persian prince Khozrev-Mirza and delivered to storage from Mr. Courtyard in the letter for No. 3802.
The Shah diamond was kept in the basement safe of the Winter Palace; after the October Revolution, along with other treasures, it was transported to Moscow, to the Kremlin Armory. Here in 1922 it was studied by academician A. E. Fersman, who then wrote a long article. Alexander Evgenievich admired the technique of engraving on an elongated diamond, exceptional and obscure in terms of perfection, sharpness, and gracefulness of execution. According to him, the stone has the shape of an elongated prism, blunt at the ends by pyramidal planes. The faces of the octahedron are gently rounded. The widest of them is divided into long narrow bevels, which are well polished (the work of Jihan Shah!). A. E. Fersman measured the angles between the faces, studied the sculpture of the crystal surface.
In the early twenties, the Soviet Republic threw a large number of cut stones onto the diamond market. The value of the supplied diamonds was estimated at £ 12 million. De Beers was forced to reduce sales of its own diamonds in order to stabilize prices in the market. It should be noted that even in difficult conditions, the Soviet Republic managed to preserve the Shah diamond and other historical stones (with the possible exception of the Sansi diamond). You can still admire them at the exhibition of the Diamond Fund in the Kremlin.