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THE ORLOFF.
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paper by Mr. Whittaker, son of the historian of Craven, who had long resided in India :—
"
The Prince Aulumgeer (Aurung-zeb) in 1658 deposed his father Shah
Jehan, emperor of Delhi, and usurped his throne. He caused to be
constructed the famous ' Takht-i-Taüs,' or ' Peacock Throne,' which
represented in appropriate jewels a peacock with its head overlooking,
and its raised and spread tail overshadowing the person of the emperor
when sitting on the throne. The natural hues of the bird were
exquisitely imitated by the richest gems of the world, and the eyes
were supplied by two celebrated diamonds, the largest known, called (as
every Asiatic double name must have a jingle) ' Koh-i-Nür,' the
Mountain of Light, and ' Koh-i-Tur,' the Mountain of Sinai. Having
completed this throne, relinquishing the name of Aulumgeer, or '
Grasper of the Globe,' he assumed that of Aurung-zeb, or ' Ornament of
the Throne.' He died in 1707, aged 87, and his throne remained in
possession of his successors till 1728,* when Nadir Shah invaded
Hindoostan, took and plundered Delhi, and massacred 125,000 men, women,
and children. Together with sixty millions of other plunder, he carried
off, and broke up the Peacock throne, but being assassinated on his
return towards Persia in 1729, his treasures fell to general Ahmed,
Chief of the Abdalli Afghans, of Cabul, called also the Durani, from
each man wearing a dür, or pearl, in
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