The diamond hadn’t been named Kohinoor yet. Around 100 years later, under the Mughals, Delhi had become one of the wealthiest cities in the world, more than 2 million people lived here, greater than the combined population of London and Paris. But by this point in time, the Mughal Empire had weakened. The wealth of Delhi attracted Persia’s, Nadir Shah.
In 1739, Nadir Shah invaded Delhi, and defeated Mohammed Shah. Mohammed Shah was the 15th Mughal emperor, the great-grandson of Aurangzeb. Nadir Shah too many treasures from Delhi with him when he returned. 700 elephants, 4,000 camels, and 12,000 horses were needed to carry the treasures. Among these treasures, was the Kohinoor diamond as well. A common belief has it that Nadir Shah had received a tip from an official working in the Mughal Empire, that Mohammed Shah had hidden the Kohinoor diamond in his turban.
There used to be an old war custom of exchanging turbans, so Nadir Shah proposed to exchange turbans with Mohammed Shah, when the Kohinoor diamond fell to the ground. It shone so brightly under the light that Nadir Shah uttered Koh-i-Nur. It literally meant Mountain of Light. And thus this diamond was named. But Nadir Shah’s financial official of the time, wrote a book Tarikh‐i ‘Alam‐ara‐yi Nadiri. The content of the book provided us with a written record. That the Kohinoor was attached to the head of the Peacock Throne.
