fortunate or unfortunate possessor of this ill-omened treasure,
"a stone of fate," and from him it descended to his heirs.
The last of the line, Shah Soujah, kept this one cherished
treasure during his imprisonment and exile until Runjeet Singh
compelled him to sell it for one hundred and fifty thousand
rupees. After the subjugation of the Sikhs by the English,
and the annexation of the Punjaub to British India, in 1849,
the civil authorities took possession of the treasury at Lahore
under the stipulation that all the property of the State
should be confiscated to the East India Company, and
that the Koh-i-noor should be presented to the Queen
of England : thus the " talisman of Indian sway passed
from the land of its birth to the royal treasury of Windsor
Castle."
There is not much doubt, says King, that it is the same
diamond mentioned by Baber, the founder of the Mogul Empire
of India, in 1526, and the one captured by the Rajah of
Malwar, in 1304.* After falling into the hands of Baber it
became associated with the most stormy events of modern
history. The unfortunate Shah Rokh, when subjected to the
most cruel tortures by Aga Mohammed, to compel him to
reveal the hiding-place of this coveted treasure, refused to
yield it, though suffering the keenest agonies.
Tavernier saw this diamond in the treasury of the Great
Mogul, Aurungzeeb, in 1665. Professor Tennant says there
is strong probability that it is a part of the original gem of the
same name, which was taken from the mines near Raolconda,
and was seen by this traveller during his explorations of the
Indian diamond-fields. Tennant concurs with the opinion of
Professor Nicol that the Great Mogul, the' Koh-i-noor, the
* This author believes its career can be fully authenticated from the time of its
possession by the Rajah of Malwar to the present time.
