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The Jagersfontein: Koh-i-Tur

The true name of the "Orloff" is said to be the "Koh-i-Tur," or "Mount Sinai," a circumstance which lands us in fresh difficulties; for Aurung-zeb is reported to have possessed a large diamond of this name, which he set in one of the eyes of the peacock overshadowing his throne. On this point Murray quotes the subjoined curious passage from a manuscript 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-Taus,' 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-Nur,' 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 dur, or pearl, in the right ear. He seized on the throne of Cabul, and in the confusion of this exploit the 'Koh-i-Tur' was lost for ever."