This diamond, like the
Kohinoor, was mined at the
Golconda mines in
Andhra Pradesh,
India. It found its way into the possession of the
mughal emperors.
In 1739,
Nader Shah of
Persia invaded India and sacked
Delhi; the plunder he garnered from the
Mughal treasury included the Darya-i-noor, in addition to the
Kohinoor and the
Peacock throne. All of these treasures were carried to Persia by
Nader Shah and the Darya-i-noor has remained there ever since.
After
Nader Shah's death, the Darya-ye Noor was inherited by his grandson,
Shahrokh Mirza. It then passed into the possession of Alam Khan Khozeimeh, and later, of
Lotf Ali Khan Zand, a member of Iran's
Zand dynasty.
Agha Mohammad Khan, founder of
Qajar dynasty, defeated the Zands, and thus the Darya-e-noor came into the possession of the Qajars.
Fath Ali Shah Qajar had his name inscribed on one facet of the diamond. Later,
Nasser-al-Din Shah Qajar often wore it on an armband. He apparently believed that this diamond had been one adorning the crown of
Cyrus the Great. When armbands fell from royal fashion, he wore the diamond as a brooch. On occasion, the gem would be left in the care of high personages of the land, as a sign of honor. It was eventually kept hidden in the
Golestan Palace treasury museum until
Mozzafar-al-Din Shah Qajar's time -- this monarch wore it as a hat decoration while visiting Europe in 1902.
Reza Shah, founder of the
Pahlavi dynasty, wore the diamond as a decoration on his military hat during his coronation in 1926, and it was used in Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi's coronation ceremony in 1967
