05-10-2005, 11:00 PM
From Statesman
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Of gems and jewels
Arup K Datta
P Lal, an erudite scholar and teacher of English, poet and publisher of Writers Workshop books sensing my interest in the mysteries of history, sent me a copy of <b>The Moghul Peacock Throne by KRN Swamy and Meera Ravi</b>. The book, the outcome of a painstaking research, is the only one on the famous Peacock Throne. Though chiefly a chair meant for the emperor, it symbolises the joys and sorrows, triumphs and tribulations of the Mughal rulers and its end, and much like the death of Cleopatra, will always remain a mystery. I write on this magnificent creation of Shah Jajan primarily based on the book, The Moghul Peacock Throne.
<b>The Taj Mahal that took 16 years to complete and cost 50 lakh,</b> remains among the most wondrous creations. But it was not Taj, but the Peacock Throne, that Shah Jahan wanted as the first thing for himself. And he ordered for it the very first day of his reign. <b>It took a talented band of architects and craftsmen seven years and cost one crore!</b>
<b>Very few people have much idea about this great creation of the extravagant emperor and have come to accept that it should be somewhere in Iran after Nadir Shah made off with it along with his other loots in 1739.</b> But it isnât there. <b>In fact, it is to be found nowhere, for the throne was broken to pieces, which were shared by the Kurds of Khorasan immediately upon the death of Nadir Shah. </b>
The sad end of the throne, however, is disputed. It is unlikely that Nadir Shah would have carried the enormous throne to a military camp where he had spent a few days before he died. It was also unlikely to have been destroyed immediately and there are evidences to suggest that it was there at the time of Shahrokh Shah, a descendent of Nadir. There is also an account of how Behbud Khan, also known as Sayed Mohammad, âgleefully ascended the Peacock Throne while kettle drums sounded out enchanting omenâ.
There is no definite information about the throne and it is believed that because of its immense size, huge weight and the consequent problems to carry it, it was dismantled and the pieces were utilised to compensate the huge war expenses. A sad end indeed to the finest chair ever built in the history of humankind.
<b>What was the Peacock Throne like?</b> It is difficult to describe it with any measure of authenticity as chroniclers of the time that included Taverniere and Berniere, the French travellers, and three courtiers of the time, have described it differently. The accounts are conflicting enough to confuse the inquisitive mind. There are, however, visual evidences of the throne in the form of paintings done by the miniature painters of the time.
<b>In all probability, the throne had 12 supporting pillars and stood on four massive legs. Both the legs and the bars, wrote Tavernier, who was a jeweller himself, were covered with gold inlaid and embellished with numerous diamonds, rubies and emeralds. He counted the large rubies, the least of which weighed 100 carats and some were over 200 carats. He also noticed 116 emeralds, most with good colours. And the largest could be about 60 carats, the smallest 30 carats. The underpart of the canopy is all embroidered with pearls and diamonds . While according to Taverniere, there was only one peacock, Berniere says the throne was devised upon two peacocks. </b>
On his Majestyâs coronation, Shah Jahan had commanded that 86 lakh worth of gems and precious stones, one lakh tolas of gold worth another 14 lakh would be used in decorating the throne. The gems collected by Akbar, Jehangir and Shah Jahan must have been displayed, wondered a court chronicler.
The Peacock Throne, literally symbolising the seat of power, was a mute spectator to a variety of events, high and low, before it was carried away by Nadir Shah. It was placed in Diwan-i-Khas, the magnificent private chamber of Shah Jahan, who ruled India for about 30 years till 1658. Shah Jahan was 66 years old at the time when he was scarred by a series of battles and down with emotional turmoil that rocked his own clan. Following the Mughal tradition, he wanted Dara Shikoh, his eldest son, to ascend the throne, but how Aurangzeb outwitted his father and siblings to usurp power is common knowledge.
Shah Jahan was taken a prisoner and could not move beyond the rooms in the harem portion of the Agra Fort. The emperor was hurt and enraged but helpless. He initially refused to part with his jewels and the Peacock Throne but a year later was forced yield for the coronation of Aurangzeb.
When Aurangzeb wished to make a few additions to the throne and wanted some of his fatherâs gems, Shah Jahan was so enraged that he decided to hammer them to powder.
Shah Jahan lived another seven years but it is unlikely that he would have a glimpse of the throne again, let alone sit on it. The emperor died on a cold day of January, fully conscious, repeating the Muslim confession of faith while gazing at the Taj Mahal and was buried there the following day.
<b>Of the 104 years of its existence in India, only Dara Shikoh was known to have officially taken his seat on the Peacock Throne. </b>In his long reign of about 50 years, Aurangzeb might not have managed time to sit on it, for during most part of his rule, he engaged himself in fighting enemies across the empire.
He died in 1707 in Aurangabad in south India. And soon after his death, hell broke loose. Hussain Ali Khan and Abdullah Khan, popularly known as the Sayyid brothers, were the de facto rulers till Muhammad Shah, a great grandson of Aurangzeb, ascended the throne.
Born in 1702, Mahammad Shah was an easy-going man, untutored in the intricacies of running a vast empire. He spent much time with women in the harem or in the company of acolytes. He had little time for those state crafts.
<b>When Nadir Shah attacked India with a desire to plunder the wealth of the Mughals, Muhammad was completely unprepared. In 1739 at Karnal, the two armies fought. But the war didnât last long. The Mughal army was defeated hands down and a triumphant Nadir Shah marched into Delhi.</b> After a brief bonhomie when Nadir Shah handed back the reign to âBrother Muhammad Shahâ, and the latter pledged, â...all that I possess as the Id day gift to Nadirâ, <b>misunderstanding between the two armies prompted Nadirâs men to go on a murderous spree that left 20,000 people dead in just five hours. Nadir himself supervised the killings from what is known as Khuni Darwaza, located close to the Feroze Shah Kotla Stadium, now a popular venue of top-level cricket.</b>
Nadir Shah left for Persia with an unspecified wealth that included the Peacock Throne. âTreasures accumulated in 200 years of Mughal rule in Delhi changed hands in a day,â wrote a Mughal historian.
Nadir Shah was later murdered and largely forgotten. The riches he amassed were mostly squandered but a large part of them remained Persia.
<b>Small wonder, a grateful Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlevi, the deposed king of Iran, built a marble mausoleum in Nadir Shahâs memory and inaugurated it in 1959. </b>
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Of gems and jewels
Arup K Datta
P Lal, an erudite scholar and teacher of English, poet and publisher of Writers Workshop books sensing my interest in the mysteries of history, sent me a copy of <b>The Moghul Peacock Throne by KRN Swamy and Meera Ravi</b>. The book, the outcome of a painstaking research, is the only one on the famous Peacock Throne. Though chiefly a chair meant for the emperor, it symbolises the joys and sorrows, triumphs and tribulations of the Mughal rulers and its end, and much like the death of Cleopatra, will always remain a mystery. I write on this magnificent creation of Shah Jajan primarily based on the book, The Moghul Peacock Throne.
<b>The Taj Mahal that took 16 years to complete and cost 50 lakh,</b> remains among the most wondrous creations. But it was not Taj, but the Peacock Throne, that Shah Jahan wanted as the first thing for himself. And he ordered for it the very first day of his reign. <b>It took a talented band of architects and craftsmen seven years and cost one crore!</b>
<b>Very few people have much idea about this great creation of the extravagant emperor and have come to accept that it should be somewhere in Iran after Nadir Shah made off with it along with his other loots in 1739.</b> But it isnât there. <b>In fact, it is to be found nowhere, for the throne was broken to pieces, which were shared by the Kurds of Khorasan immediately upon the death of Nadir Shah. </b>
The sad end of the throne, however, is disputed. It is unlikely that Nadir Shah would have carried the enormous throne to a military camp where he had spent a few days before he died. It was also unlikely to have been destroyed immediately and there are evidences to suggest that it was there at the time of Shahrokh Shah, a descendent of Nadir. There is also an account of how Behbud Khan, also known as Sayed Mohammad, âgleefully ascended the Peacock Throne while kettle drums sounded out enchanting omenâ.
There is no definite information about the throne and it is believed that because of its immense size, huge weight and the consequent problems to carry it, it was dismantled and the pieces were utilised to compensate the huge war expenses. A sad end indeed to the finest chair ever built in the history of humankind.
<b>What was the Peacock Throne like?</b> It is difficult to describe it with any measure of authenticity as chroniclers of the time that included Taverniere and Berniere, the French travellers, and three courtiers of the time, have described it differently. The accounts are conflicting enough to confuse the inquisitive mind. There are, however, visual evidences of the throne in the form of paintings done by the miniature painters of the time.
<b>In all probability, the throne had 12 supporting pillars and stood on four massive legs. Both the legs and the bars, wrote Tavernier, who was a jeweller himself, were covered with gold inlaid and embellished with numerous diamonds, rubies and emeralds. He counted the large rubies, the least of which weighed 100 carats and some were over 200 carats. He also noticed 116 emeralds, most with good colours. And the largest could be about 60 carats, the smallest 30 carats. The underpart of the canopy is all embroidered with pearls and diamonds . While according to Taverniere, there was only one peacock, Berniere says the throne was devised upon two peacocks. </b>
On his Majestyâs coronation, Shah Jahan had commanded that 86 lakh worth of gems and precious stones, one lakh tolas of gold worth another 14 lakh would be used in decorating the throne. The gems collected by Akbar, Jehangir and Shah Jahan must have been displayed, wondered a court chronicler.
The Peacock Throne, literally symbolising the seat of power, was a mute spectator to a variety of events, high and low, before it was carried away by Nadir Shah. It was placed in Diwan-i-Khas, the magnificent private chamber of Shah Jahan, who ruled India for about 30 years till 1658. Shah Jahan was 66 years old at the time when he was scarred by a series of battles and down with emotional turmoil that rocked his own clan. Following the Mughal tradition, he wanted Dara Shikoh, his eldest son, to ascend the throne, but how Aurangzeb outwitted his father and siblings to usurp power is common knowledge.
Shah Jahan was taken a prisoner and could not move beyond the rooms in the harem portion of the Agra Fort. The emperor was hurt and enraged but helpless. He initially refused to part with his jewels and the Peacock Throne but a year later was forced yield for the coronation of Aurangzeb.
When Aurangzeb wished to make a few additions to the throne and wanted some of his fatherâs gems, Shah Jahan was so enraged that he decided to hammer them to powder.
Shah Jahan lived another seven years but it is unlikely that he would have a glimpse of the throne again, let alone sit on it. The emperor died on a cold day of January, fully conscious, repeating the Muslim confession of faith while gazing at the Taj Mahal and was buried there the following day.
<b>Of the 104 years of its existence in India, only Dara Shikoh was known to have officially taken his seat on the Peacock Throne. </b>In his long reign of about 50 years, Aurangzeb might not have managed time to sit on it, for during most part of his rule, he engaged himself in fighting enemies across the empire.
He died in 1707 in Aurangabad in south India. And soon after his death, hell broke loose. Hussain Ali Khan and Abdullah Khan, popularly known as the Sayyid brothers, were the de facto rulers till Muhammad Shah, a great grandson of Aurangzeb, ascended the throne.
Born in 1702, Mahammad Shah was an easy-going man, untutored in the intricacies of running a vast empire. He spent much time with women in the harem or in the company of acolytes. He had little time for those state crafts.
<b>When Nadir Shah attacked India with a desire to plunder the wealth of the Mughals, Muhammad was completely unprepared. In 1739 at Karnal, the two armies fought. But the war didnât last long. The Mughal army was defeated hands down and a triumphant Nadir Shah marched into Delhi.</b> After a brief bonhomie when Nadir Shah handed back the reign to âBrother Muhammad Shahâ, and the latter pledged, â...all that I possess as the Id day gift to Nadirâ, <b>misunderstanding between the two armies prompted Nadirâs men to go on a murderous spree that left 20,000 people dead in just five hours. Nadir himself supervised the killings from what is known as Khuni Darwaza, located close to the Feroze Shah Kotla Stadium, now a popular venue of top-level cricket.</b>
Nadir Shah left for Persia with an unspecified wealth that included the Peacock Throne. âTreasures accumulated in 200 years of Mughal rule in Delhi changed hands in a day,â wrote a Mughal historian.
Nadir Shah was later murdered and largely forgotten. The riches he amassed were mostly squandered but a large part of them remained Persia.
<b>Small wonder, a grateful Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlevi, the deposed king of Iran, built a marble mausoleum in Nadir Shahâs memory and inaugurated it in 1959. </b>
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->