Timur ruby
The Timur ruby (also Khiraj-i-alam, "Tribute to the World") is an unfaceted, 361-carat polished red magnesia spinel gemstone set in a necklace in 1853, part of the Crown Jewels of England.[1] It is named after Timur (Quiran or Tamerlaine) 1336-1405.[2] It was believed to be a ruby until 1851.
It is inscribed with the names and dates of six of its previous owners:
- Akbar Shah, 1612
- Shāh Jahāngīr, (Timur), 1628
- Salil Oiran Shah,
- Alamgir Shah, 1659
- Badshah Ghazu Mahamad Farukh Siyar, 1713
- Ahmed Shar Duri-Duran (Aḥmad Shāh Durrānī) 1754 [3]
When the British annexed the Punjab in 1849, they took possession of the Timur Ruby and the Koh-i-Noor diamond from the Lion of Lahore. The two gems have been in the same collection together since 1612. The East India Company presented the Timur ruby to Queen Victoria as a gift in 1851. It was set in a necklace in 1853. After the necklace was lengthened in 1911, it was rarely worn.
References
- ^ Bowersox, Gary W. (1995). Gemstones of Afghanistan. GeoVision, Inc., ISBN 9780945005193
- ^ Morgan, Diane (2008). Fire and Blood: Rubies in Myth, Magic, and History. Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 9780275993047
- ^ Ball V. (1894). A Description of Two Large Spinel Rubies, with Persian Characters Engraved upon Them. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy Vol. 3, (1893 - 1896), pp. 380-400
External links
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