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Stories About Emerald
In the books about China it has been stated:
Sindhi dinars were the legal tender in India of ancient times. One
dinar was sold in lieu of three mithqals of gold or even more. Emerald was brought from Egypt. It was in rings and kept in a box along with coral and jasper. Then the people of India discontinued their purchase and broke this custom. This account does not mention the prices of the dinars of the two
countries. It is quite possible that the Sindhi dinars were of pure gold and the Indian ones of adulterated gold. The ratio of 1:3 between the two is on a very high side. The Indians in their transactions in gold have a measure which they call tola. They do not use the Mithqal measure. That tola measure is in the ratio of 3 dirhams to 7 tolas. I saw an emerald cup having the shape of a pan of the weighing
balance in the hands of a cup-bearer in the assembly of Mamun Khwarizmshah. It is said that it belonged to the Samanid treasury. When the wheel of their fortune underwent an adverse turn at the hands of Bughra Khan, the Turk, it passed into the hands of Mahanak and was sold for about a thousand dinars. Al-Kindi avers: Bakht Yashu' called on the Caliph Mutawwakil on Nawruz.
Mutawwakil asked him what tribute he had brought. To this Bakht Yashu' replied: "I have brought (you) a tribute which was not availed of by a Caliph or a king before you, Sir." Then he took out an emerald spoon, weighing eight mithqals, and said: "My father Jibril had bled Dananir, the slave-girl of Yahya bin Khalid. When I visited her again, I saw her scooping pomegranate grains with this spoon. When the blood had been drained and the vein bandaged, she asked me to take this spoon, which I did." Mutawwakil expressed his astonishment at this and said: "By God, these people never died." Then he sent for 'Attab, the jeweller, and asked him to determine its price. He, however, prevaricated and said he could not estimate its price. Nasr writes that Caliph Mansur had an emerald gem weighing two
mithqals. It was known as the hakr, since, on account of its greenish hue, it resembled the colour of the sea. Its value was 40,000 dinars. It could have been the Isma'ili gem which was thrown by Harun al-Rashid in the Tigris. |
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