1.
Tehran
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Tehran is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. It is ranked 29th in the world by the population of its metropolitan area, in the Classical era, part of the present-day city of Tehran was occupied by a Median city that in the Avesta occurs as Rhaga. It was destroyed by the Mongols in the early 13th century, the capital has been moved several times throughout the history, and Tehran is the 32nd national capital of Iran. The city was the seat of the Qajars and Pahlavis, the two last imperial dynasties of Iran. It is home to historical collections, such as the royal complexes of Golestan, Sadabad. Large scale demolition and rebuilding began in the 1920s, and Tehran has been a destination for the migrations from all over Iran since the 20th century. Tabiat Bridge, which was completed in 2014, is considered the third symbol of the city. There have been plans to relocate Irans capital from Tehran to another area, due mainly to air pollution, to date, no definitive plans have been approved. A2016 survey of 230 cities by consultant Mercer ranked Tehran 203rd for quality of living, according to the Global Destinations Cities Index in 2016, Tehran is among the top ten fastest growing destinations. The origin of the name Tehran is uncertain, the settlement of Tehran dates back over 7,000 years. The present-day city of Tehran was a suburb of an important Median city that was known as Rhaga in Old Persian, in the Avestas Videvdat, Rhaga is mentioned as the twelfth sacred place created by the Ohrmazd. In Old Persian inscriptions, Rhaga appears as a province and it was a major area for the Iranian tribes of Medes and Achaemenids. From Rhaga, Darius the Great sent reinforcements to his father Hystaspes, in some Middle Persian texts, Rhaga is given as the birthplace of Zoroaster, although modern historians generally place the birth of Zoroaster in Khorasan. Derived into Modern Persian as Rey, it now as a city located towards the southern end of the modern-day city of Tehran. Mount Damavand, the highest peak of Iran, which is located near Tehran, is an important location in Ferdowsis Shahname, the long Iranian epic poem that is based on the ancient epics of Iran. It appears in the epics as the birthplace of Manuchehr, the residence of Keyumars, the place where Freydun binds the dragon fiend Aži Dahāka, during the Sassanid era, in 641, Yazdgerd III issued his last appeal to the nation from Rey, before fleeing to Khorasan. Rey was dominated by the Parthian Mihran family, and Siyavakhsh—the son of Mihran the son of Bahram Chobin—who resisted the Muslim Invasion, because of this resistance, when the Arabs captured Rey, they ordered the town to be destroyed and ordered Farrukhzad to rebuild the town anew. In the 9th century, Tehran was a well known village, but less known than the city of Rey, the medieval writer Najm od Din Razi declared the population of Rey about 500,000 before the Mongol Invasion
2.
Diamond color
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A chemically pure and structurally perfect diamond is perfectly transparent with no hue, or color. However, in reality almost no gem-sized natural diamonds are absolutely perfect, the color of a diamond may be affected by chemical impurities and/or structural defects in the crystal lattice. Depending on the hue and intensity of a diamonds coloration, a color can either detract from or enhance its value. For example, most white diamonds are discounted in price when more yellow hue is detectable, while intense pink diamonds or blue diamonds can be more valuable. Of all colored diamonds, red diamonds are the rarest, the Aurora Pyramid of Hope displays a spectacular array of naturally colored diamonds, including red diamonds. Diamonds occur in a variety of colors—steel gray, white, blue, yellow, orange, red, green, pink to purple, brown, colored diamonds contain interstitial impurities or structural defects that cause the coloration, whilst pure diamonds are perfectly transparent and colorless. 1%. If the nitrogen atoms are in pairs they do not affect the diamonds color, if the nitrogen atoms are in large even-numbered aggregates they impart a yellow to brown tint. 1% of known natural diamonds. Synthetic diamond containing nitrogen is Type Ib, Type I diamonds absorb in both the infrared and ultraviolet region, from 320 nm. They also have a characteristic fluorescence and visible absorption spectrum, Type II diamonds have no measurable nitrogen impurities. Type II diamonds absorb in a different region of the infrared and they also have differing fluorescence characteristics, but no discernible visible absorption spectrum. Type IIb diamonds, which account for 0. 1% of gem diamonds, are light blue due to scattered boron within the crystal matrix. However, a blue-grey color may also occur in Type Ia diamonds, also not restricted to type are green diamonds, whose color is caused by GR1 color centers in the crystal lattice produced by exposure to varying quantities of radiation. Pink and red are caused by deformation of the crystal lattice from temperature and pressure. Black diamonds are caused by black or gray inclusions of other materials such as graphite or sulfides and/or microscopic fractures. Opaque or opalescent white diamonds are caused by microscopic inclusions. Purple diamonds are caused by a combination of crystal lattice distortion, the majority of diamonds that are mined are in a range of pale yellow or brown color that is termed the normal color range. Diamonds that are of yellow or brown, or any other color are called fancy color diamonds. Diamonds that are of the very highest purity are totally colorless, the degree to which diamonds exhibit body color is one of the four value factors by which diamonds are assessed
3.
Diamond cut
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A diamond cut is a style or design guide used when shaping a diamond for polishing such as the brilliant cut. Cut does not refer to shape, but the symmetry, proportioning, the cut of a diamond greatly affects a diamonds brilliance, this means if it is cut poorly, it will be less luminous. In order to best use a diamond gemstones material properties, a number of different diamond cuts have been developed, a diamond cut constitutes a more or less symmetrical arrangement of facets, which together modify the shape and appearance of a diamond crystal. Diamond cutters must consider several factors, such as the shape and size of the crystal, the practical history of diamond cuts can be traced back to the Middle Ages, while their theoretical basis was not developed until the turn of the 20th century. The most popular of diamond cuts is the round brilliant, whose facet arrangements. Also popular are the cuts, which come in a variety of shapes—many of which were derived from the round brilliant. A diamonds cut is evaluated by trained graders, with higher grades given to stones whose symmetry, the strictest standards are applied to the round brilliant, although its facet count is invariable, its proportions are not. Different countries base their cut grading on different ideals, one may speak of the American Standard or the Scandinavian Standard, to give but two examples. The history of diamond cuts can be traced to the late Middle Ages and this was called the point cut and dates from the mid 14th century, by 1375 there was a guild of diamond polishers at Nürnberg. By the mid 15th century, the point cut began to be improved upon, the importance of a culet was also realised, and some table-cut stones may possess one. The addition of four corner facets created the old single cut, neither of these early cuts would reveal what diamond is prized for today, its strong dispersion or fire. At the time, diamond was valued chiefly for its lustre and superlative hardness. For this reason, colored gemstones such as ruby and sapphire were far more popular in jewelry of the era. In or around 1476, Lodewyk van Berquem, a Flemish polisher of Bruges, introduced the technique of absolute symmetry in the disposition of facets using a device of his own invention, the scaif. He cut stones in the known as pendeloque or briolette. However, Indian rose cuts were far less symmetrical as their cutters had the primary interest of conserving carat weight, in either event, the rose cut continued to evolve, with its depth, number and arrangements of facets being tweaked. The first brilliant cuts were introduced in the middle of the 17th century, known as Mazarins, they had 17 facets on the crown. They are also called double-cut brilliants as they are seen as a step up from old single cuts, yet Peruzzi-cut diamonds, when seen nowadays, seem exceedingly dull compared to modern-cut brilliants
4.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
5.
Kollur Mine
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The Kollur Mine in the Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh was one of the most productive diamond mines in the world and the first major diamond centre. It is situated on the bank of the River Krishna. It operated between the 16th and mid-19th centuries, in addition to the Kollur, the Paritala, Gollapally, Mallavally, Ramallakota, and Banganapally were extremely prolific mines in India during this period. At the height of production, it was recorded that around 60,000 people mined the region, the famous diamond known as the Tavernier Diamond was purchased by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier from the Kollur mine in the mid-17th century. The diamond was purchased from Tavernier by King Louis XIV of France but was stolen during the French Revolution, the Indian mines were eventually depleted and the diamond centre shifted to Brazil, where a good amount of diamonds were discovered. The Orloff Diamond,300 carats Daryā-ye Nūr,182 carats - in the Iranian Crown The Golconda,135 carats - belonging to Dunklings Jewellers, Melbourne, Dresden Green Diamond,41 carats - The New Green Vault in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. Media related to Kollur Mine at Wikimedia Commons
6.
Andhra Pradesh
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Andhra Pradesh is one of the 29 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of the country. The state is the eighth largest state in India covering an area of 162,968 km2, as per 2011 Census of India, the state is tenth largest by population with 49,386,799 inhabitants. On 2 June 2014, the portion of the state was bifurcated to form a new state of Telangana. In accordance with the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act,2014, Hyderabad will remain the de jure capital of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states for a period of not exceeding 10 years. The new riverfront proposed capital in Guntur district is Amaravati, which is under the jurisdiction of APCRDA, the Gross State Domestic Product of the state in the 2016–2017 financial year at current prices stood at ₹6,800.3 billion. The state has a coastline of 974 km with jurisdiction over nearly 15,000 km2 territorial waters, the second longest among all the states of India after Gujarat. It is bordered by Telangana in the north-west, Chhattisgarh in the north, Odisha in the north-east, Karnataka in the west, Tamil Nadu in the south and the water body of Bay of Bengal in the east. A small enclave of 30 km2 of Yanam, a district of Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh is composed of two regions, Coastal Andhra, located along the Bay of Bengal, and Rayalaseema, in the inland southwestern part of the state. These two regions comprise 13 districts, with 9 in Coastal Andhra and 4 in Rayalaseema, Andhra Pradesh hosted 121.8 million visitors in 2015, a 30% growth in tourist arrivals over the previous year. The Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati is one of the worlds most visited religious sites, a tribe named Andhra has been mentioned in the Sanskrit texts such as Aitareya Brahmana. According to Aitareya Brahmana of the Rig Veda, the Andhras left north India, archaeological evidence from places such as Amaravati, Dharanikota and Vaddamanu suggests that the Andhra region was part of the Mauryan Empire. Amaravati might have been a centre for the Mauryan rule. After the death of emperor Ashoka, the Mauryan rule weakened around 200 BCE, the Satavahana dynasty dominated the Deccan region from the 1st century BCE to the 3rd century CE. The Satavahanas have been mentioned by the names Andhra, Andhrara-jatiya and Andhra-bhrtya in the Puranic literature, Dharanikota along with Amaravathi was the capital of the later Satavahanas. Amaravathi became a trade and pilgrimage centre during the Satavahana rule. According to the Buddhist tradition, Nagarjuna lived here, possibly in second, Andhra Ikshvakus were one of the earliest recorded ruling dynasties of the Guntur-Krishna regions of Andhra Pradesh. They ruled the eastern Andhra country along the Krishna river during the half of the second century CE. Puranas called Andhra Ikshvakus Shri Parvatiya Andhras, archaeological evidence has suggested that the Andhra Ikshvakus immediately succeeded the Satavahanas in the Krishna river valley
7.
Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran
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The Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the central bank of Iran. The Central bank is in charge of laying and implementing monetary, the importation of goods, issuance of documentary credits and registration of orders for documentary bills of exchange for imports are also done in accordance with the policies of the Central Bank. It is a central bank of the Asian Clearing Union. During the Achaemenid era, trade boomed and subsequently banking operation expanded to an extent that Iranians managed to learn the method from the people of Babylon. The first attempt at introducing paper currency in Iran occurred during the Mongol Ilkhanate of the 13th century CE, the innovation, developed in Song Dynasty China, did not take hold in Iran, and paper currency did not return to Iran in any significant manner for several centuries. In modern banking, the British first opened the Imperial Bank of Persia in 1889 and it was established in 1885 with a concession from the government of Persia to Baron Julius De Reuter, under a Royal charter from Queen Victoria. To compete with the British bank, Imperial Russia also opened the Russian Loan, the first state owned Iranian bank, Bank Melli Iran was established in 1927 by the government of Iran. The banks primary objective was to facilitate governments financial transactions and to print, for more than 33 years, Bank Melli Iran was acting as the central bank of Iran with the responsibility to maintain the value of Iranian rial. In August 1960, the Iranian government established the Central Bank of Iran and separated all central banking responsibilities from Bank Melli Iran and assigned it to the newly formed central bank. The Central Bank of Iran was renamed to the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran immediately after the Islamic revolution in 1979, scope and responsibilities of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran have been defined in the Monetary and Banking Law of Iran. Iran’s banking system adhered to the new Islamic rules that prohibit earning or paying interest, CBI maintains a museum of historic and ancient jewelry owned and used by the ex-kings of Persia. This museum houses the Imperial Crown Jewels and is one of the most appealing tourist attractions in Iran, the Money and Credit Council is the highest banking policy-making body of Bank Markazi. Its permanent members include the CBI Governor, the Finance and Economy Minister, two Ministers chosen by the Cabinet, The Head of the Chamber of Commerce, the General Prosecutor and two lawmakers. Each year, after approval of the annual budget, the CBI presents a detailed monetary. Thereafter, major elements of these policies are incorporated in the economic development plan. In practice, the ability of the system to create money is not much constrained by the amount of scriptural money through fractional reserve banking. Indeed most banks first extend credit and look for reserves later, the Iranian Central Bank needs more independence from the government in order to combat inflation, according to the country’s Parliament Research Center. As of 2010, Iran’s Central Bank, is not able to conduct a “proactive” monetary policy and has no control over the fiscal policy
8.
Iran
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Iran, also known as Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2, it is the second-largest country in the Middle East, with 82.8 million inhabitants, Iran is the worlds 17th-most-populous country. It is the country with both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline. The countrys central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran is the countrys capital and largest city, as well as its leading economic and cultural center. Iran is the site of to one of the worlds oldest civilizations, the area was first unified by the Iranian Medes in 625 BC, who became the dominant cultural and political power in the region. The empire collapsed in 330 BC following the conquests of Alexander the Great, under the Sassanid Dynasty, Iran again became one of the leading powers in the world for the next four centuries. Beginning in 633 AD, Arabs conquered Iran and largely displaced the indigenous faiths of Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism by Islam, Iran became a major contributor to the Islamic Golden Age that followed, producing many influential scientists, scholars, artists, and thinkers. During the 18th century, Iran reached its greatest territorial extent since the Sassanid Empire, through the late 18th and 19th centuries, a series of conflicts with Russia led to significant territorial losses and the erosion of sovereignty. Popular unrest culminated in the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906, which established a monarchy and the countrys first legislative body. Following a coup instigated by the U. K. Growing dissent against foreign influence and political repression led to the 1979 Revolution, Irans rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 21 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the third-largest number in Asia and 11th-largest in the world. Iran is a member of the UN, ECO, NAM, OIC. Its political system is based on the 1979 Constitution which combines elements of a democracy with a theocracy governed by Islamic jurists under the concept of a Supreme Leadership. A multicultural country comprising numerous ethnic and linguistic groups, most inhabitants are Shia Muslims, the largest ethnic groups in Iran are the Persians, Azeris, Kurds and Lurs. Historically, Iran has been referred to as Persia by the West, due mainly to the writings of Greek historians who called Iran Persis, meaning land of the Persians. As the most extensive interactions the Ancient Greeks had with any outsider was with the Persians, however, Persis was originally referred to a region settled by Persians in the west shore of Lake Urmia, in the 9th century BC. The settlement was then shifted to the end of the Zagros Mountains. In 1935, Reza Shah requested the international community to refer to the country by its native name, opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, and Professor Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, propagated a move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably
9.
Persian language
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Persian, also known by its endonym Farsi, is one of the Western Iranian languages within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan and it is mostly written in the Persian alphabet, a modified variant of the Arabic script. Its grammar is similar to that of many contemporary European languages, Persian gets its name from its origin at the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persis, hence the name Persian. A Persian-speaking person may be referred to as Persophone, there are approximately 110 million Persian speakers worldwide, with the language holding official status in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. For centuries, Persian has also been a cultural language in other regions of Western Asia, Central Asia. It also exerted influence on Arabic, particularly Bahrani Arabic. Persian is one of the Western Iranian languages within the Indo-European family, other Western Iranian languages are the Kurdish languages, Gilaki, Mazanderani, Talysh, and Balochi. Persian is classified as a member of the Southwestern subgroup within Western Iranian along with Lari, Kumzari, in Persian, the language is known by several names, Western Persian, Parsi or Farsi has been the name used by all native speakers until the 20th century. Since the latter decades of the 20th century, for reasons, in English. Tajiki is the variety of Persian spoken in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan by the Tajiks, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term Persian as a language name is first attested in English in the mid-16th century. Native Iranian Persian speakers call it Fārsi, Farsi is the Arabicized form of Pārsi, subsequent to Muslim conquest of Persia, due to a lack of the phoneme /p/ in Standard Arabic. The origin of the name Farsi and the place of origin of the language which is Fars Province is the Arabicized form of Pārs, in English, this language has historically been known as Persian, though Farsi has also gained some currency. Farsi is encountered in some literature as a name for the language. In modern English the word Farsi refers to the language while Parsi describes Zoroastrians, some Persian language scholars such as Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, and University of Arizona professor Kamran Talattof, have also rejected the usage of Farsi in their articles. The international language-encoding standard ISO 639-1 uses the code fa, as its system is mostly based on the local names. The more detailed standard ISO 639-3 uses the name Persian for the dialect continuum spoken across Iran and Afghanistan and this consists of the individual languages Dari and Iranian Persian. Currently, Voice of America, BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty also includes a Tajik service and an Afghan service. This is also the case for the American Association of Teachers of Persian, The Centre for Promotion of Persian Language and Literature, Persian is an Iranian language belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family of languages
10.
Diamond
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Diamond is a metastable allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at standard conditions. Diamond is renowned as a material with superlative physical qualities, most of which originate from the covalent bonding between its atoms. In particular, diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any bulk material and those properties determine the major industrial application of diamond in cutting and polishing tools and the scientific applications in diamond knives and diamond anvil cells. Because of its extremely rigid lattice, it can be contaminated by very few types of impurities, such as boron, small amounts of defects or impurities color diamond blue, yellow, brown, green, purple, pink, orange or red. Diamond also has relatively high optical dispersion, most natural diamonds are formed at high temperature and pressure at depths of 140 to 190 kilometers in the Earths mantle. Carbon-containing minerals provide the source, and the growth occurs over periods from 1 billion to 3.3 billion years. Diamonds are brought close to the Earths surface through deep volcanic eruptions by magma, Diamonds can also be produced synthetically in a HPHT method which approximately simulates the conditions in the Earths mantle. An alternative, and completely different growth technique is chemical vapor deposition, several non-diamond materials, which include cubic zirconia and silicon carbide and are often called diamond simulants, resemble diamond in appearance and many properties. Special gemological techniques have developed to distinguish natural diamonds, synthetic diamonds. The word is from the ancient Greek ἀδάμας – adámas unbreakable, the name diamond is derived from the ancient Greek αδάμας, proper, unalterable, unbreakable, untamed, from ἀ-, un- + δαμάω, I overpower, I tame. Diamonds have been known in India for at least 3,000 years, Diamonds have been treasured as gemstones since their use as religious icons in ancient India. Their usage in engraving tools also dates to early human history, later in 1797, the English chemist Smithson Tennant repeated and expanded that experiment. By demonstrating that burning diamond and graphite releases the same amount of gas, the most familiar uses of diamonds today are as gemstones used for adornment, a use which dates back into antiquity, and as industrial abrasives for cutting hard materials. The dispersion of light into spectral colors is the primary gemological characteristic of gem diamonds. In the 20th century, experts in gemology developed methods of grading diamonds, four characteristics, known informally as the four Cs, are now commonly used as the basic descriptors of diamonds, these are carat, cut, color, and clarity. A large, flawless diamond is known as a paragon and these conditions are met in two places on Earth, in the lithospheric mantle below relatively stable continental plates, and at the site of a meteorite strike. The conditions for diamond formation to happen in the mantle occur at considerable depth corresponding to the requirements of temperature and pressure
11.
Iranian Crown Jewels
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The collection is housed at The Treasury of National Jewels but is known colloquially as the Jewellery Museum. It is situated inside the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Tehrans Ferdowsi Avenue, the museum is open to the public from 14,00 to 16,30 hrs except on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The museum has onsite guides with knowledge of Persian, English, French, there are also guide booklets available in English, Persian, French, Russian, German, Japanese and Arabic. The majority of the now in the collection were acquired by the Safavid dynasty. Afghans invaded Iran in 1719 and sacked the capital of Isfahan. By 1729, however, after a struggle of nearly a decade. In 1738, the Shah launched his own campaign against the Afghan homeland and these included diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and other precious gemstones. Four of the most prominent acquisitions from this conquest were the Koh-i-Noor and Darya-ye Noor diamonds, the Peacock Throne, the crown jewels were last used by the Pahlavi dynasty, the last to rule Iran. The Iranian crown jewels are considered so valuable that they are used as a reserve to back Iranian currency. In 1937, during the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi, ownership of the Imperial treasury was transferred to the state. The jewels were placed in the vaults of the National Bank of Iran and this important economic role is perhaps one reason why these jewels, undeniable symbols of Irans monarchic past, have been retained by the current Islamic Republic. Because of their value and economic significance, the Iranian crown jewels were for centuries kept far from public view in the vaults of the Imperial treasury. When the Iranian revolution toppled the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979, it was feared that in the chaos the Iranian crown jewels had been stolen or sold by the revolutionaries. Although in fact some smaller items were stolen and smuggled across Irans borders and this became evident when the revolutionary government under the presidency of Hashemi Rafsanjani re-opened the permanent exhibition of the Iranian crown jewels to the public in the 1990s. The Royal Mace of Iran is a ceremonial mace, a part of the Iranian Crown Jewels. It was a favorite of Fat′h-Ali Shah Qajar, who is shown holding it in his miniature portraits. The mace is encrusted with spinels and diamonds, from end to end, the largest diamond weighs 17 carats, and is located on the very top of the mace. The largest spinels are the six surrounding the top of the mace, the Mystery of the Nur al-Ayn Diamond, in, Gems & Jewellery, The Gemmological Association of Great Britain vol
12.
Koh-i-Noor
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The Koh-i-Noor is a large, colourless diamond that was found near Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, India, possibly in the 13th century. According to legend, it first weighed 793 carats uncut, although the earliest well-attested weight is 186 carats, in 1852, Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, unhappy with its dull and irregular appearance, ordered it cut down from 186 carats. It emerged 42 percent lighter as a dazzling oval-cut brilliant weighing 105.6 carats, as the diamonds history involves a great deal of fighting between men, the Koh-i-Noor acquired a reputation within the British royal family for bringing bad luck to any man who wears it. Since arriving in the country, it has ever been worn by female members of the family. Today, the diamond is set in the front of the Queen Mothers Crown, part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, and is seen by millions of visitors to the Tower of London each year. The governments of India, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan have all tried to claim ownership of the Koh-i-Noor and demanded its return at various points in recent decades. However, the early history is lost in the mists of time. It is however impossible to know where it was found, in the early 14th century, Alauddin Khalji, second ruler of the Turkic Khalji dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and his army began looting the kingdoms of southern India. Malik Kafur, Khiljis general, made a raid on Warangal in 1310. He called the stone the Diamond of Babur at the time, both Babur and his son and successor, Humayun, mentioned the origins of this diamond in their memoirs, thought by many historians to be the earliest reliable reference to the Koh-i-Noor. Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal emperor, had the stone placed into his ornate Peacock Throne, in 1658, his son and successor, Aurangazeb, confined the ailing emperor at nearby Agra Fort. While in the possession of Aurangazeb, it was cut by Hortenso Borgia. For this carelessness, Borgia was reprimanded and fined 10,000 rupees, according to recent research the story of Borgia cutting the diamond is not correct, and most probably mixed up with the Orlov, part of Catherine the Greats imperial Russian sceptre in the Kremlin. Along with a host of items, including the Daria-i-Noor, as well as the Peacock Throne. When he finally managed to obtain the stone, and that is how the stone got its name. It is estimated that the worth of the treasures plundered came to 700 million rupees. This was roughly equivalent to £87.5 million sterling at the time, the riches gained by the Afsharid Empire from the Indian campaign were so monumental that Nader Shah made a proclamation alleviating all subjects of the Empire from taxes for a total of three years. After the assassination of Nader Shah in 1747 and the collapse of his empire, the stone came into the hands of one of his generals, Ahmad Shah Durrani, who later became the Emir of Afghanistan
13.
Kakatiya dynasty
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The Kakatiya dynasty was a South Indian dynasty whose capital was Orugallu, now known as Warangal. It was eventually conquered by the Delhi Sultanate, the demise of Kakatiya dynasty resulted in confusion and anarchy under alien rulers for sometime. Three new fledgling kingdoms arose out of the ruins of the Kakatiya empire namely the Reddy kingdom, Padma Nayaka Velama kingdom, historic sources relating to the Kakatiya dynasty are sparse. Of those that are available, the most prevalent are ancient inscriptions that mainly document matters relating to religion and they are particularly abundant for the period 1175–1324 CE, which is the period when the dynasty most flourished and are a reflection of that. The probability is that many inscriptions have been lost due to falling into disuse and also the ravages of subsequent rulers. Inscriptions are still being discovered today but governmental agencies tend to concentrate on recording those that are already known rather than searching for new examples, studies of the inscriptions and coinage by the historian Dineshchandra Sircar reveal that there was no contemporary standard spelling of the family name. Variants include Kakatiya, Kakatiyya, Kakita, Kakati and Kakatya, the family name was often prefixed to the name of the monarch, giving constructs such as Kakatiya-Prataparudra. Some of the also had alternate names, for example, Venkata and Venkataraya may have been alternate names of Prataparuda I. The Kakatiya rulers traced their ancestry to legendary chief or ruler called Durjaya, many other ruling dynasties of Andhra also claimed descent from Durjaya. Nothing further is known about this chief, the early rulers were feudatoris of Western Chalukyas. Prataparudra I established a dynasty in 1163 CE. The regnal dates of the rulers are unknown. In order, they were Venna, Gunda I, Gunda II, Gunda III, the next ruler, Gunda IV, is mentioned in the Mangallu grant of the Eastern Chalukya king Dānārnava in 956 CE. Gunda IV was followed by Beta I, Prola I, Beta II, Durgaraja, next come the sovereign rulers Prataparudra I, Ganapati, Rudrama Devi, and Prataparudra II. The dynasty ended in 1323 after an invasion by the Delhi sultanate, the early Kakatiya rulers used the title Reddi. However, after they became sovereigns they were addressed as deva, there appears to be a significant element of sanskritisation in this transition. According to Sastry, Prataparudra I reigned between around 1158 –1195, while Sircar gives the dates 1163–1195 and it was during Prataparudras reign, in 1163, that the Kakatiyas declared an end to their status as feudatory chiefs of the Chalukyas. It is notable that inscriptions were written using the Kakatiya chiefs vernacular Telugu rather than the Kannada language that had prevailed until that point
14.
Turkic peoples
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The Turkic peoples are a collection of ethnic groups that live in central, eastern, northern, and western Asia as well as parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family and they share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds. The first known mention of the term Turk applied to a Turkic group was in reference to the Göktürks in the 6th century, a letter by Ishbara Qaghan to Emperor Wen of Sui in 585 described him as the Great Turk Khan. The Orhun inscriptions use the terms Turk and Turuk and this includes Chinese records Spring and Autumn Annals referring to a neighbouring people as Beidi. During the first century CE, Pomponius Mela refers to the Turcae in the north of the Sea of Azov. There are references to certain groups in antiquity whose names could be the form of Türk/Türük such as Togarma, Turukha/Turuška, Turukku. But the information gap is so substantial that we cannot firmly connect these ancient people to the modern Turks, turkologist András Róna-Tas posits that the term Turk could be rooted in the East Iranian Saka language or in Turkic. This etymological concept is related to Old Turkic word stems tür, türi-, törü. The earliest Turkic-speaking peoples identifiable in Chinese sources are the Dingling, Gekun, the Chinese Book of Zhou presents an etymology of the name Turk as derived from helmet, explaining that taken this name refers to the shape of the Altai Mountains. During the Middle Ages, various Turkic peoples of the Eurasian steppe were subsumed under the identity of the Scythians, between 400 CE and the 16th century, Byzantine sources use the name Σκύθαι in reference to twelve different Turkic peoples. However, the usage of the term is based on the linguistic classification in order to avoid any political sense. In short, the term Türki can be used for Türk or vice versa and it is generally agreed that the first Turkic people lived in a region extending from Central Asia to Siberia, with the majority of them living in China historically. Historically they were established after the 6th century BCE, the earliest separate Turkic peoples appeared on the peripheries of the late Xiongnu confederation about 200 BCE. Turkic people may be related to the Xiongnu, Dingling and Tiele people, according to the Book of Wei, the Tiele people were the remnants of the Chidi, the red Di people competing with the Jin in the Spring and Autumn period. Turkic tribes such as the Khazars and Pechenegs probably lived as nomads for many years before establishing the Turkic Khaganate or Göktürk Empire in the 6th century and these were herdsmen and nobles who were searching for new pastures and wealth. The first mention of Turks was in a Chinese text that mentioned trade between Turk tribes and the Sogdians along the Silk Road, the first recorded use of Turk as a political name appears as a 6th-century reference to the word pronounced in Modern Chinese as Tujue. The Ashina clan migrated from Li-jien to the Juan Juan seeking inclusion in their confederacy, the tribe were famed metalsmiths and were granted land near a mountain quarry which looked like a helmet, from which they were said to have gotten their name 突厥. A century later their power had increased such that they conquered the Juan Juan, Turkic peoples originally used their own alphabets, like Orkhon and Yenisey runiforms, and later the Uyghur alphabet
15.
Khalji dynasty
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The Khilji dynasty or Khalji was a Muslim dynasty of Turkic origin, which ruled large parts of South Asia between 1290 and 1320. It was founded by Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji and became the second dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate of India. The dynasty is known for their faithlessness and ferocity, as well as their raids into the Hindu south, the Khilji rulers trace their roots to Central Asia and were of Turkic origin. They had long settled in present-day Afghanistan before proceeding to Delhi in India. The name Khilji refers to an Afghan village or town known as Qalat-e Khilji, sometimes they were treated by others as ethnic Afghans due to their adoption of some Afghan habits and customs. As a result of this, sometimes the dynasty is referred to as a Turko-Afghan, the three sultans of the Khalji dynasty were noted by historians for their faithlessness and ferocity. Jalal-ud-din Khilji Ikhtiar Uddin Muhammad bin Bakhtiar Khilji was a servant of Qutb-ud-din Aibak, Khiljis were vassals of the Mamluk dynasty of Delhi and served the Sultan of Delhi, Ghiyas ud din Balban. Balbans successors were murdered over 1289-1290, and the Mamluk dynasty succumbed to the conflicts within the Mamluk dynasty. As the struggle between the factions razed, Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji led a coup and murdered the 17-year-old Mamluk successor Muiz ud din Qaiqabad - the last ruler of Mamluk dynasty. Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji was accepted as sultan by a faction of Muslim amirs of Turkic, Persian, Arabic factions, however, Jalal-ud-din in his old age was unpopular and not universally accepted. During his six-year reign, some of Balbans officers revolted due to his assumption of power and he returned to Delhi in 1296, murdered his uncle who was also his father-in-law, then assumed power as Sultan. Ala al-din Khilji continued expanding Delhi Sultanate into South India, with the help of such as Malik Kafur and Khusraw Khan. His commanders collected war spoils from Hindu kingdoms, paid khums on Ghanima to Sultans treasury, Alauddin Khilji reigned for 20 years. He attacked and seized Hindu states of Ranthambhor, Chittorgarh, Māndu and plundered the wealthy state of Devagiri, Ala al-din is also known for his cruelty against attacked kingdoms after wars. Historians note him as a tyrant and that anyone Ala al-din Khilji suspected of being a threat to power was killed along with the women and children of that family. In 1298, between 15,000 and 30,000 people near Delhi, who had converted to Islam, were slaughtered in a single day. He also killed his own members and nephews, in 1299-1300, after he suspected them of rebellion, by first gouging out their eyes. In 1308, Alauddins lieutenant, Malik Kafur captured Warangal, overthrew the Hoysala Empire south of the Krishna River and he then looted the treasury in capitals and from the temples of south India
16.
Mughal emperors
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The Mughal emperors were a branch of the Timurid dynasty. From the early 16th century to the early 18th they built and ruled the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the countries of Bangladesh, India. Their power rapidly dwindled during the 18th century and the last of the emperors was deposed in 1857, with the establishment of the British Raj. The dynasty was of Asian Turco-Mongol origin from a now part of modern-day Uzbekistan. Timur is generally known in the West as Tamerlane the Great and its population at the time has been estimated as between 110 and 150 million, over a territory of more than 3.2 million square kilometres. Ousted from his domains in Central Asia by Uzbek Khan. He established himself in Kabul and then pushed steadily southward into India from Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass, baburs forces occupied much of northern India after his victory at Panipat in 1526. The preoccupation with wars and military campaigns, however, did not allow the new emperor to consolidate the gains he had made in India, the instability of the empire became evident under his son, Humayun, who was driven out of India and into Persia by rebels. Humayuns exile in Persia established diplomatic ties between the Safavid and Mughal Courts, and led to increasing West Asian cultural influence in the Mughal court, the restoration of Mughal rule began after Humayun’s triumphant return from Persia in 1555, but he died from a fatal accident shortly afterwards. Humayuns son, Akbar, succeeded to the throne under a regent, Bairam Khan, through warfare and diplomacy, Akbar was able to extend the empire in all directions, and controlled almost the entire Indian subcontinent north of the Godavari river. He created a new class of nobility loyal to him from the aristocracy of Indias social groups, implemented a modern government. At the same time Akbar intensified trade with European trading companies and he left his successors an internally stable state, which was in the midst of its golden age, but before long signs of political weakness would emerge. Akbars son, Jahangir, ruled the empire at its peak, but he was addicted to opium, neglected the affairs of the state, and came under the influence of rival court cliques. During the reign of Jahangirs son, Shah Jahan, the culture, the maintenance of the court, at this time, began to cost more than the revenue. Shah Jahans eldest son, the liberal Dara Shikoh, became regent in 1658, however, a younger son, Aurangzeb, allied with the Islamic orthodoxy against his brother, who championed a syncretistic Hindu-Muslim religion and culture, and ascended to the throne. Aurangzeb defeated Dara in 1659 and had him executed, although Shah Jahan fully recovered from his illness, Aurangzeb declared him incompetent to rule and had him imprisoned. During Aurangzebs reign, the empire gained political strength once more, Aurangzeb expanded the empire to include almost the whole of South Asia, but at his death in 1707, many parts of the empire were in open revolt. Aurangzebs son, Shah Alam, repealed the religious policies of his father, however, after his death in 1712, the Mughal dynasty sank into chaos and violent feuds
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Nader Shah
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Nader Shah was one of the most powerful Iranian rulers in the history of that nation, ruling as Shah of Persia from 1736 to 1747 when he was assassinated during a rebellion. Nader Shah was an Iranian who belonged to the Turcoman Afshar tribe of Greater Khorasan in northeastern Iran, Nader reunited the Persian realm and removed the invaders. He became so powerful that he decided to depose the last members of the Safavid dynasty, which had ruled Iran for over 200 years, Nader idolized Genghis Khan and Timur, the previous conquerors from Central Asia. He imitated their military prowess and — especially later in his reign — their cruelty, Nader Shah has been described as the last great Asiatic military conqueror. His father, Emam Qoli, was a herdsman who may also have been a coatmaker, at the age of 13, his father died and Nader had to find a way to support himself and his mother. He had no source of other than the sticks he gathered for firewood. Many years later, when he was returning in triumph from his conquest of Delhi, he led the army to his birthplace and made a speech to his generals about his early life of deprivation. He said, You now see to what height it has pleased the Almighty to exalt me, from hence, Naders early experiences did not, however, make him particularly compassionate toward the poor. Throughout his career, he was interested in his own advancement. Legend has it that in 1704, when he was about 17, a band of marauding Uzbek Tartars invaded the province of Khorasan, Nader and his mother were among those who were carried off into slavery. Somehow, Nader managed to escape and returned to the province of Khorasan in 1708, living under the most desperate circumstances, he and his friends stole a flock of sheep and sold them in the market. With the money they made, they fled into the mountains, tiring of life as a fugitive, Nader presented himself to a Persian nobleman. He was employed as a courier, to deliver important messages to the court at Isfahan in 1712. A second courier accompanied Nader on these missions, however, upon his return he saw that his master was quite upset. By the look on his face, Nader assumed that the nobleman planned to kill him and he had also fallen in love with the noblemans daughter, but his master flatly refused to consider letting them marry. Because of his disappointment and in order to defend himself, Nader killed the nobleman and fled into the mountains with the daughter, other servants of the dead nobleman joined Nader and they formed a gang of robbers operating in the province of Mazanderan. Nader grew up during the years of the Safavid dynasty which had ruled Iran since 1502. When Sultan Husayn attempted to quell a rebellion by the Ghilzai Afghans in Kandahar, under their leader Mahmud Hotaki, the rebellious Afghans moved westwards against the shah himself and in 1722 they defeated a force at the Battle of Gulnabad and then besieged the capital, Isfahan
18.
Nader Shah's invasion of the Mughal Empire
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Emperor Nader Shah, the Shah of Persia and the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Persia, invaded the Mughal Empire, eventually attacking Delhi in March 1739. His army had defeated the Mughals at the battle at Karnal. Nadir Shah became the Persian ruler in 1736, his troops captured Esfahan from the Safavid dynasty and its ruler, Muhammad Shah, proved unable to stop the disintegration of the empire. The imperial court administration was corrupt and weak whereas the country was extremely rich whilst Delhi’s prosperity, Nadir Shah, attracted by the countrys wealth, sought plunder like so many other foreign invaders before him. Nadir had asked Muhammad Shah to close the Mughal frontiers around Kabul so that the Afghan rebels he was fighting against, even though the Emperor agreed, he practically took no action. Nadir seized upon this as a pretext for war, together with his Georgian subject Erekle II, who took part in the expedition as a commander leading a contingent of Georgian troops, the long march had begun. He defeated his Afghan enemies fleeing into the Hindu Kush and also seized major cities such as Ghazni, Kabul and Peshawar before advancing onto the Punjab, Nadir advanced to the river Indus before the end of year as the Mughals mustered their army against him. At the Battle of Karnal on 24 February 1739, Nadir led his army to victory over the Mughals, Muhammad Shah surrendered, the keys to the capital of Delhi were surrendered to Nadir. He entered the city on 20 March 1739 and occupied Shah Jehan’s imperial suite in the Red Fort, coins were struck, and prayers said, in his name in the Jama Masjid and other Delhi mosques. The next day, the Shah held a durbar in the capital. The Afsharid occupation led to increases in the city. The city administrator attempted to fix prices at a level and Afsharid troops were sent to the market at Paharganj. However, the merchants refused to accept the lower prices. When a rumour spread that Nadir had been assassinated by a guard at the Red Fort. Nadir, furious at the killings, retaliated by ordering his soldiers to carry out the notorious qatl-e-aam of Delhi. On the morning of 22 March, the Shah rode out in full armour and this was the signal to start the onslaught and carnage. Almost immediately, the fully armed Afsharid army of occupation turned their swords and guns on to the unarmed, the Afsharid soldiers were given full licence to do as they pleased and promised a share of the booty as the city was plundered. Muslims, like Hindus and Sikhs, resorted to killing their women, children, in the words of the Tazkira, Here and there some opposition was offered, but in most places people were butchered unresistingly
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Delhi
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Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi or NCT, is a city and a union territory of India. It is bordered by Haryana on three sides and by Uttar Pradesh to the east, the NCT covers an area of 1,484 square kilometres. According to 2011 census, Delhis city population was about 11 million, Delhis urban area is now considered to extend beyond the NCT boundary to include an estimated population of over 26 million people making it the worlds second largest urban area. As of 2016 recent estimates of the economy of its urban area have ranked Delhi either the top or second most productive metro area of India. Delhi is the second wealthiest city after Mumbai in India, with a wealth of $450 billion. Delhi has been inhabited since the 6th century BC. Through most of its history, Delhi has served as a capital of various kingdoms and it has been captured, ransacked and rebuilt several times, particularly during the medieval period, and modern Delhi is a cluster of a number of cities spread across the metropolitan region. New Delhi is jointly administered by the government of India and the local government of Delhi. Delhi is also the centre of the National Capital Region, which is a unique interstate regional planning area created by the National Capital Region Planning Board Act of 1985, Delhi ranks among the cities with the worst air pollution in the world. There are a number of myths and legends associated with the origin of the name Delhi, one of them is derived from Dhillu or Dilu, a king who built a city at this location in 50 BC and named it after himself. The coins in circulation in the region under the Tomaras were called dehliwal, according to the Bhavishya Purana, King Prithiviraja of Indraprastha built a new fort in the modern-day Purana Qila area for the convenience of all four castes in his kingdom. He ordered the construction of a gateway to the fort and later named the fort dehali, another theory suggests that the citys original name was Dhillika. The people of Delhi are referred to as Delhiites or Dilliwalas, the city is referenced in various idioms of the Northern Indo-Aryan languages. Dilli dilwalon ka shehr or Dilli Dilwalon ki meaning Delhi belongs to the large-hearted/daring, aas-paas barse, Dilli pani tarse, literally meaning it pours all around, while Delhi lies parched. An allusion to the sometimes semi-arid climate of Delhi, it refers to situations of deprivation when one is surrounded by plenty. The area around Delhi was probably inhabited before the second millennium BC, the city is believed to be the site of Indraprastha, the legendary capital of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharata. According to Mahabharata, this land was initially a huge mass of forests called Khandavaprastha which was burnt down to build the city of Indraprastha, the earliest architectural relics date back to the Maurya period, in 1966, an inscription of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka was discovered near Srinivaspuri. Remains of eight cities have been discovered in Delhi
20.
Mughal Empire
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The dynasty, though ethnically Turco-Mongol, was Persianate in terms of culture. The Mughal empire extended over parts of the Indian subcontinent. The beginning of the empire is conventionally dated to the victory by its founder Babur over Ibrahim Lodi, the Mughal emperors were Central Asian Turco-Mongols belonging to the Timurid dynasty, who claimed direct descent from both Genghis Khan and Timur. During the reign of Humayun, the successor of Babur, the empire was briefly interrupted by the Sur Empire, the classic period of the Mughal Empire started in 1556 with the ascension of Akbar the Great to the throne. Under the rule of Akbar and his son Jahangir, the region enjoyed economic progress as well as harmony. Akbar was a warrior who also forged alliances with several Hindu Rajput kingdoms. Some Rajput kingdoms continued to pose a significant threat to the Mughal dominance of northwestern India, the reign of Shah Jahan, the fifth emperor, between 1628 and 1658 was the golden age of Mughal architecture. He erected several monuments, the best known of which is the Taj Mahal at Agra, as well as the Moti Masjid, Agra, the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, Delhi. By the mid-18th century, the Marathas had routed Mughal armies, during the following century Mughal power had become severely limited, and the last emperor, Bahadur Shah II, had authority over only the city of Shahjahanabad. He issued a firman supporting the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and following the defeat was therefore tried by the British East India Company for treason, imprisoned and exiled to Rangoon. Contemporaries referred to the empire founded by Babur as the Timurid empire, which reflected the heritage of his dynasty, another name was Hindustan, which was documented in the Ain-i-Akbari, and which has been described as the closest to an official name for the empire. In the west, the term Mughal was used for the emperor, and by extension, the use of Mughal derived from the Arabic and Persian corruption of Mongol, and it emphasised the Mongol origins of the Timurid dynasty. The term gained currency during the 19th century, but remains disputed by Indologists, similar terms had been used to refer to the empire, including Mogul and Moghul. Nevertheless, Baburs ancestors were sharply distinguished from the classical Mongols insofar as they were oriented towards Persian rather than Turco-Mongol culture, ousted from his ancestral domains in Central Asia, Babur turned to India to satisfy his ambitions. He established himself in Kabul and then pushed steadily southward into India from Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass, Baburs forces occupied much of northern India after his victory at Panipat in 1526. The preoccupation with wars and military campaigns, however, did not allow the new emperor to consolidate the gains he had made in India, the instability of the empire became evident under his son, Humayun, who was driven out of India and into Persia by rebels. Humayuns exile in Persia established diplomatic ties between the Safavid and Mughal Courts, and led to increasing Persian cultural influence in the Mughal Empire, the restoration of Mughal rule began after Humayuns triumphant return from Persia in 1555, but he died from a fatal accident shortly afterwards. Humayuns son, Akbar, succeeded to the throne under a regent, Bairam Khan, through warfare and diplomacy, Akbar was able to extend the empire in all directions and controlled almost the entire Indian subcontinent north of the Godavari River
21.
Peacock Throne
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The Peacock Throne was a famous jeweled throne that was the seat of the Mughal emperors of India. It was commissioned in the early 17th century by emperor Shah Jahan and was located in the Diwan-i-Khas in the Red Fort of Delhi. The original throne was captured and taken as a war trophy in 1739 by the Persian king Nadir Shah. A replacement throne based on the original was commissioned afterwards and existed until the Indian war of Independence in 1857, Shah Jahan ruled in what is considered the Golden Age of the vast Mughal Empire, which covered almost all of the Indian subcontinent. The focus around which everything revolved was the emperor, where he gave audiences, the court and its ruler was a mirror image of paradise on earth, in the very centre of the empire. Amongst the various titles he carried, such as Great King, he was also the Shadow of God, the sovereign therefore also held a court of justice. It was therefore necessary to have a seat or Throne of Solomon to underscore his position of the just king. Just like Solomons throne, the Peacock Throne was to be covered in gold and jeweled, with steps leading up to it, with the ruler floating above ground, Said Gilani and his workmen from the imperial goldsmiths department were commissioned with the construction of this new throne. It took seven years to complete, large amounts of solid gold, precious stones and pearls were used, creating a masterful piece of Mughal workmanship that was unsurpassed before or after its creation. It was an opulent indulgence that could only be seen by a minority of courtiers, aristocrats. The throne was even for the Golden Age Mughal standards supremely extravagant, the appearance of the throne was in stark contrast to the older throne of Jahangir, a large rectangular slab of engraved black basalt constructed in the early 1600s, used by the father of Shah Jahan. It did initially not carry a name and was known as the Jeweled Throne or Ornamented Throne. It received its name from later historians because of the peacock statues featured on it and it was inaugurated with a triumphant ceremony on 22 March 1635, the seventh formal anniversary of Shah Jahans accession. The date was chosen by astrologers and was doubly auspicious, since it coincided exactly with Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, and Nowruz, the Persian Spring festival. The emperor and the court were returning from Kashmir and it was determined that the day of Nowruz would be the most auspicious day for him to enter the capital. Muhammad Qudsi, the favourite poet, was chosen to compose twenty verses that were inscribed in emerald. He praised the skill of the artisans, the heaven-depleting grandeur of its gold and jewels. Poet Abu-Talib Kalim was given six pieces of gold for each verse in his poem of sixty-three couplets, the master goldsmith Said Gilani was summoned by the emperor and showered with honours, including with his weight in gold coins and given the title Peerless Master
22.
Shahrokh Shah
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Shahrukh Shah Afshar, also spelled Shah Rokh, was a king of the Afsharid dynasty and a contemporary of the Zand kings. As the teenage son of Reza Gholi Mirza and Nader Shahs grandson and his fourth son, Nadir Mirza of Khorasan, became the prince of Khorasan. He made Mashhad the capital of his kingdom, Shahrukh was a contemporary of Mirza Mohammad, who was the son of shah Suleiman I Safavis daughter and a clergyman. Encouraged by the nobles, he came to believe he was the heir to the throne. In 1750, Soleyman II was captured and blinded by the followers of Shahrukh, subsequent to which Shahrukh was reinstated as Shah. In 1760, when Karim Khan took control of Persia, he did not try to depose Shahrukh out of respect for Nader, however, in 1796, Agha Muhammad Khan conquered Khorasan and had Shahrukh tortured to death because he thought that he knew of Naders treasures. Shahrukhs descendants in the line continue today under the Afshar Naderi surname
23.
Lotf Ali Khan
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Lotf Ali Khan was the last Shah of Persia of the Zand dynasty. Lotf Ali Khan Zand came to power after a decade of infighting among a succession of violent and inept Zand chiefs following the death in 1779 of the dynastys founder, Karim Khan. Their failure to agree on a successor and to govern with the same benevolence as Karim Khan eroded public faith in the Zands, an increasing number of local and regional leaders began aligning themselves with the eunuch Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, who sought to defeat and succeed the Zands. Accounts of Lotf Ali Khans personality and behavior depict a person of courage, had he been able to defeat Agha Mohammad Khan, he might have restored his familys dynasty and its good name. But a fatal mistake in a pivotal battle effectively ended Lotf Ali Khans ambitions, with his defeat, the 44-year reign of the Zands came to an end and the first chapter in the 131-year Qajar Dynasty was written. The son of Jafar Khan, Lotf Ali Khan claimed the throne in 1789 upon the death of his father, Jafar Khan had been poisoned by a slave bribed by a rival family member, Sayed Morad Khan Zand. On hearing of his fathers murder, Lotf Ali Khan marched to the Zand capital of Shiraz, Sayed Morad Khan was forced to surrender and was executed. Soon after assuming his title, Lotf Ali Khans principal rival, Agha Mohammad Khan of the Qajar dynasty and their two armies met outside of the city in a battle in which Agha Mohammad Khan prevailed, using camels to scare the Zand horses on the battlefield. Despite this defeat, the Zand leader was able to hold Shiraz until the Qajar forces withdrew to Tehran, the following year,1790, Lotf Ali Khan led his forces against the Governor of Kerman, who had refused to appear in person to acknowledge the Zand leader. This campaign failed due to winter conditions which led to the loss of a large number of men. In 1791, Lotf Ali Khan marched to reestablish his control over Isfahan and he had grown increasingly suspicious of the loyalties of Haji Ibrahim, the kalantar of Shiraz. As a result, he took the son with him. Once the Zand army had left the city, Haji Ibrahim had the remaining Zand officers arrested and sent word to his brother, a member of Lotf Alis army, that the city was now under his control. A mutiny ensued and Lotf Ali and several hundred loyal soldiers fled back to Shiraz, fearing reprisals against their families locked within the gates, most of Lotf Alis men deserted him. With only a handful of remaining, the Zand ruler then fled to Bushehr. Here, too, he encountered a local leader. With the help of a governor in the port city of Bandar Rig Lotf Ali Khan managed to raise a small army made up of sympathetic locals. With their help, Lotf Ali defeated an attack from Bushire, the governor of Kazerun was captured and blinded, an impulsive act by Lotf Ali Khan that weakened the sympathy which his youth, his courage, and his misfortunes were so calculated to incite
24.
Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar
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Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar was the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Iran, ruling from 1789 to 1797 as king. He was originally chieftain of the Qoyunlu branch of the Qajar tribe, in 1789, Agha Mohammad Khan was enthroned as the king of Iran, but was not officially crowned as its king until March 1796. On 17 June 1797 Agha Mohammad Khan was assassinated, and was succeeded by his nephew, Agha Mohammad Khans reign is noted for the reemergence of a centrally led and united Iran. After 48 years, they were all reconquered by Agha Mohammad Khan, Agha Mohammad Khan is also noted for moving the capital to Tehran, where it still stands as of today. Agha Mohammad Khan was born in around 1742 in Astarabad and he belonged to the Qoyunlu branch of the Qajar tribe. The tribe had several branches, one of the most prominent ones being the Develu. Although he failed to catch Hasan, Adil Shah managed to take Agha Mohammad Khan and he later chose to spare Khans life and instead had him castrated and thereafter freed, the origin of his title Agha, a common one among eunuchs who served at the court. During the following 10 years, Afsharid rule in Khorasan suffered heavily from war among rival chieftains and from invasions by the Durrani ruler of Qandahar, Ahmad Shah Durrani. During this period, Mohammad Hasan fought against the Pashtun military leader Azad Khan Afghan and he was, however, defeated in 1759 by a Zand army, and thereafter betrayed by his own followers and killed by his old rival, Mohammad Khan of Savadkuh. Due to Agha Mohammad Khans castration, his brother Hosayn Qoli Khan was appointed as the new chieftain of the Qoyunlu instead, shortly thereafter Astarabad fell under the control of Karim Khan, who appointed a Develu named Husain Khan Develu as its governor. Meanwhile, Agha Mohammad Khan and his brother Hosayn Qoli Khan fled to the steppe, one year later, Agha Mohammad Khan made an incursion against Astarabad, but was forced to flee, chased by the citys governor. Agha Mohammad Khan managed to reach Ashraf, but was at last seized and was sent as a hostage to Tehran, Hosayn Qoli Khan was also soon captured and sent to Karim Khan. During his stay Agha Mohammad Khan was treated kindly and honorably by Karim Khan, who made him convince his kinsmen to lay down their arms, Karim Khan then settled them in Damghan. In 1763, Agha Mohammad Khan and Hosayn Qoli Khan were sent to the Zand capital, Shiraz, where their paternal aunt Khadija Begum, who was part of Karim Khans harem, lived. Agha Mohammad Khans half-brothers Morteza Qoli Khan and Mostafa Qoli Khan were granted permission to live in Astarabad and his remaining brothers were sent to Qazvin, where they were treated honorably. Agha Mohammad was looked upon more as a respected guest in Karim Khans court than a captive, furthermore, Karim Khan also acknowledged Agha Mohammad Khans political knowledge and asked his advice on interests of the state. He called Agha Mohammad Khan his Piran-i Viseh, referring to an intelligent counselor of the legendary Iranian king Afrasiab, two of Agha Mohammad Khans brothers who were at Qazvin were also sent to Shiraz during this period. In February 1769, Karim Khan appointed Hosayn Qoli Khan as the governor of Damghan, when Hosayn Qoli Khan reached Damghan, he immediately began a fierce conflict with the Develu and other tribes to avenge his fathers death
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Qajar dynasty
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The Qajar dynasty was an Iranian royal dynasty of Turkic origin, specifically from the Qajar tribe, which ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925. The state ruled by the dynasty was known as the Sublime State of Iran. The Qajar family took control of Iran in 1794, deposing Lotf Ali Khan, the last of the Zand dynasty. In the Caucasus, the Qajar dynasty permanently lost many of Irans integral areas to the Russians over the course of the 19th century, comprising modern-day Georgia, Dagestan, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. The Qajar rulers were members of the Karagöz or Black-Eye sect of the Qajars, Qajars first settled during the Mongol period in the vicinity of Armenia and were among the seven Qizilbash tribes that supported the Safavids. The Safavids left Arran to local Turkic khans, and, in 1554 Ganja was governed by Shahverdi Soltan Ziyadoglu Qajar, Qajars filled a number of diplomatic missions and governorships in the 16–17th centuries for the Safavids. The Qajars were resettled by Shah Abbas I throughout Iran, the great number of them also settled in Astarabad near the south-eastern corner of the Caspian Sea, and it would be this branch of Qajars that would rise to power. The immediate ancestor of the Qajar dynasty, Shah Qoli Khan of the Quvanlu of Ganja and his son, Fath Ali Khan was a renowned military commander during the rule of the Safavid shahs Sultan Husayn and Tahmasp II. He was killed on the orders of Shah Nader Shah in 1726, Fath Ali Khans son Mohammad Hasan Khan Qajar was the father of Mohammad Khan Qajar and Hossein Qoli Khan, father of Baba Khan, the future Fath-Ali Shah Qajar. Mohammad Hasan Khan was killed on the orders of Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty, like virtually every dynasty that ruled Persia since the 11th century, the Qajars came to power with the backing of Turkic tribal forces, while using educated Persians in their bureaucracy. In 1779 following the death of Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty, Mohammad Khan Qajar, Mohammad Khan was known as one of the cruelest kings, even by the standards of 18th century Iran. In his quest for power, he razed cities, massacred entire populations, the Qajar armies at that time were mostly composed of Turkomans and Georgian slaves. By 1794, Mohammad Khan had eliminated all his rivals, including Lotf Ali Khan and he reestablished Persian control over the territories in the entire Caucasus. Agha Mohammad established his capital at Tehran, a village near the ruins of the ancient city of Rayy, in 1796, he was formally crowned as shah. In 1797, Mohammad Khan Qajar was assassinated in Shusha, the capital of Karabakh Khanate, between 1747 and 1795, Erekle was, therefore, by the turn of events in Iran following the ongoing turmoil there, able to maintain Georgias autonomy through the Zand period. In 1783, Heraclius placed his kingdom under the protection of the Russian Empire in the Treaty of Georgievsk. In the last few decades of the 18th century, Georgia had become an important element in Russo-Iranian relations than some provinces in northern mainland Persia. On top of that, having another port on the Georgian coast of the Black Sea would be ideal, the consequences of these events came a few years later, when a new Iranian dynasty under the Qajars, emerged victorious in the protracted power struggle in Persia
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Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
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Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, also Nassereddin Shah Qajar, was the King of Persia from 5 September 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of Mohammad Shah Qajar and Malek Jahān Khānom, Nasser al-Din Shah had sovereign power for close to 50 years and was also the first modern Iranian monarch to formally visit Europe. The state under Naser Al-Din was the government of Iran. The religious and tribal chieftains held quite a bit of autonomy over their communities, Naser Al-Din was not effective in implementing his sovereignty over his people. Local groups had their own militias and oftentimes did not obey laws passed by the monarchy since they did not have the power to enforce them, the people followed the ulamas fatwas instead of state issued law. When Naser Al-Din took power, his army barely had 3,000 men which was smaller than the armies under various tribal leaders. When the state needed an army, he would hire the local militias. Prior to his reforms, Nasers government had little power over their subjects and even during the reforms. Naser al-Din was in Tabriz from Qajars tribe when he heard of his fathers death in 1848, Naser al-Din had early reformist tendencies, but was dictatorial in his style of government. With his sanction, some Babis were killed after an attempt on his life, unable to regain the territory in the Caucasus irrevocably lost to Russia in the early 19th century, Naser al-Din sought compensation by seizing Herāt, Afghanistan, in 1856. Great Britain regarded the move as a threat to British India and declared war on Persia, Naser al-Din was the first modern Persian monarch to visit Europe in 1873 and then again in 1878, and finally in 1889 and was reportedly amazed with the technology he saw. During his visit to the United Kingdom in 1873, Naser al-Din Shah was appointed by Queen Victoria a Knight of the Order of the Garter and he was the first Persian monarch to be so honoured. His travel diary of his 1873 trip has been published in languages, including Persian, German, French. In 1890 Naser al-Din met British major Gerald F. Consuming tobacco from the newly monopolized Talbet company represented foreign exploitation and it even affected the Shahs personal life as his wives did not allow him to smoke. This was not the end of Naser al-Dins attempts to give concessions to Europeans, most of Naser al-Dins modernizing reforms happened during the prime ministership of Amir Kabir. However Amir Kabirs reforms were unpopular with people and Naser al-Din Shah first exiled him. The Shah gradually lost interest for reform, however, he took some important measures such as introducing telegraphy and postal services and building roads. He also increased the size of the military and created a new group called the Persian Cossack Brigade which was trained and armed by the Russians
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Shah Jahan
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Shahab-ud-Din Muḥammad Khurram better known by his regnal name, Shah Jahan, was the fifth Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1628 to 1658. Emperor Jahangirs death, in late 1627, was a signal for a last paroxysm of fighting among his sons and these fratricidal conflicts were carried out with ruthlessness and Jahangirs third son, Khurram, proved the most ruthless of all. He was crowned at Agra and his name, Shah Jahan, was read at the Jama Masjid there in January 1628. Shah Jahan maintained an aggressive military pressure along the frontiers of the Mughal Empire, as his predecessors had. His building programme was capped by the new capital in Delhi named for himself Shahjahanabad. Here, he erected a new fortress-palace, the Red Fort, in matters of religion, his plain straightforward creed permitted no licence, although he never became a bigot. In 1633, Shah Jahan ordered the demolition of Hindu temples which had begun in the previous reign. These orders were followed by a prohibition of the erection of new shrines or the repair of older buildings, intermarriage between Hindus and Muslims was forbidden in 1634. Shah Jahan, himself, sustained the established alliances at a level and did not marry Hindu women, like his father. Mass conversions of Hindus to Islam were also encouraged, and in cases were forcibly effected. All these acts, however, were dictated rather by the desire to maintain the strict tenets of Islam than to pursue the course of iconoclasm which was adopted by his son Aurangzeb. In September 1657, Shah Jahan fell seriously ill, which set off a war of succession among his sons, Shah Jahan recovered from his illness, but Aurangzeb kept his father under house arrest in Agra Fort from June 1658 until his death in 1666. On 31 July 1658, Aurangzeb crowned himself emperor with the title of Alamgir, the Mughal Empire reached the pinnacle of its glory during Shah Jahans reign and he is widely considered to be one of the greatest Mughal emperors. His reign is described as the Golden Age of the Mughals. Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram was born on 5 January 1592 in Lahore to Prince Salim and his second wife, the name Khurram was chosen for the young prince by his grandfather, Akbar, with whom he shared an extremely close relationship. Just prior to Khurrams birth, a soothsayer had predicted to the childless Empress Ruqaiya Sultan Begum that the still unborn child was destined for imperial greatness. Ruqaiya assumed the responsibility for Khurrams upbringing and he grew up under her care. Her step-son, Jahangir, noted that Ruqaiya had loved his son, Khurram, Khurram remained with her until he had turned 13
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Jean-Baptiste Tavernier
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Jean-Baptiste Tavernier was a 17th-century French gem merchant and traveler. Tavernier, an individual and merchant traveling at his own expense, covered. In 1675, Tavernier, at the behest of his patron Louis XIV, both his father Gabriel and his uncle Melchior were cartographers. Though it is clear from the accuracy of his drawings that Tavernier received some instruction in the art of cartography/engraving, while still a teenager, he traveled extensively through Europe and achieved a working knowledge of its major languages. In 1669, Tavernier purchased for 60,000 livres the Seigneury of Aubonne, located in the Duchy of Savoy near the city of Geneva, Taverniers writings show that he was a keen observer, as well as a remarkable cultural anthropologist. His Six Voyages became a best seller and was translated into German, Dutch, Italian, the work is frequently quoted by modern scholars writing about the period. The conversations he heard in his fathers house inspired Tavernier with a desire to travel, and by his sixteenth year he had already visited England. In 1624, at eighteen, Tavernier took service with the Viceroy of Hungary, by 1629, after four and a half years, he had grown restless. In the following year Tavernier traveled, as a translator, with an Irish mercenary in the service of the emperor, however, as the investiture did not take place until 1636, it is probable that he attended the ceremony between his first and second voyages. By his own account he had seen Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, and Hungary, as well as France, England and the Low Countries, Tavernier was now eager to visit the East. In their company he reached Constantinople early in 1631, where he spent eleven months, and then proceeded by Tokat, Erzerum and his farthest point in this first journey was Isfahan. He returned by Baghdad, Aleppo, Alexandretta, Malta, and Italy and we do know that twice during his Six Voyages he claimed the Dukes patronage. In September 1638, Tavernier began a journey, lasting to 1643, traveling via Aleppo to Persia, thence to India as far as Agra. He visited the court of the Great Mogul—Emperor Shah Jahan—and made his first trip to the diamond mines, the second journey was followed by four others. On his third journey he went as far as Java, and his relations with the Dutch proved not wholly satisfactory, and a long lawsuit on his return yielded but imperfect redress. During his last two voyages, his fifth and sixth, he did not proceed beyond India and these last voyages also secured for him a large fortune and great reputation at home. He was presented to Louis XIV, in service he had travelled sixty thousand leagues by land. In 1662, Tavernier married Madeleine Goisse, daughter of a Parisian jeweller and he received patents of nobility on 16 February 1669, and in the following year purchased, for 60,000 livres, the Seigneury of Aubonne, located in the Duchy of Savoy, near Geneva
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Great Table diamond
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The Great Table was a large pink diamond that had been studded in the throne of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. It has been described in the book of the French jeweller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier in 1642, the diamond was plundered by Nader Shah during his invasion of India and disappeared after his assassination. A. Malecka, The Mystery of the Nur al-Ayn Diamond, Gems & Jewellery, The Gemmological Association of Great Britain, volume 23, August/September 2014, Great Table, By Scott Sucher, Museum Diamonds
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Noor-ul-Ain
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The Noor-ul-Ain is one of the largest pink diamonds in the world, and the centre piece of the tiara of the same name. The Noor-ul-Ain is believed to have formed part of an even larger gem called the Great Table diamond. That larger diamond is thought to have been cut in two, with one becoming the Noor-ul-Ain and the other the Daria-i-Noor diamond. Both of these pieces are part of the Iranian Crown Jewels. The Noor-ul-Ain is the principal diamond mounted in a tiara of the name made for Iranian Empress Farah Pahlavis wedding to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1958. The tiara was designed by Harry Winston and it is a modern design, featuring 324 pink, yellow, and white diamonds set in platinum. It is said to weigh around 2kg, the tiara forms part of the Iranian crown jewels, held at the National Treasury of Iran in the Central Bank in Tehran. It is a Type IIa diamond, anna Malecka, The Mystery of the Nur al-Ayn Diamond, Gems & Jewellery, The Gemmological Association of Great Britain, volume 23, August/September 2014, pp. 20-22
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Elizabeth II's jewels
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The monarch of the Commonwealth realms, Queen Elizabeth II, owns a historic collection of jewels – some as monarch and others as a private individual. They are separate from the coronation and state regalia that make up the Crown Jewels, the origin of a distinct royal jewel collection is vague, though it is believed the jewels have their origin somewhere in the 16th century. Many of the pieces are from overseas and were brought to the United Kingdom as a result of war, coups and revolutions. Most of the dates from the 19th and 20th centuries. The Crown Jewels are only worn at coronations and the annual State Opening of Parliament, at other formal occasions, such as banquets, the Queen wears the jewellery in her collection. Unlike the Crown Jewels—which mainly date from the accession of Charles II—the jewels are not official regalia or insignia, much of the collection was designed for queens and queen consorts, though some kings have added to the collection. A few diamonds were brought to the United Kingdom from the British colonies, most of the jewellery was purchased from other European heads of state and members of the aristocracy, or handed down by older generations of the Royal Family, often as birthday and wedding presents. In 1714, with the accession of George I, the Kingdom of Great Britain, early Hanoverian monarchs were careful to keep the heirlooms of the two realms separate. George III gave half the British heirlooms to his bride, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, in her will, Charlotte left the jewels to the House of Hanover. The Kingdom of Hanover followed the Salic Law, whereby the line of succession went through male heirs, thus, when Queen Victoria acceded to the throne of the United Kingdom, her uncle Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale became King of Hanover. King Ernest demanded a portion of the jewellery, not only as the monarch of Hanover, Victoria flatly declined to hand over any of the jewels, claiming they had been bought with British money. Ernests son, George V of Hanover, continued to press the claim, a parliamentary commission was set up to investigate the matter and in 1857 they found in favour of the House of Hanover. On 28 January 1858,10 years after Ernests death, the jewels were handed to the Hanoverian Ambassador, Victoria did manage to hang on to one of her favourite pieces of jewellery, a fine rope of pearls. Items of jewellery made before the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 are regarded as owned by the Queen in right of the Crown. Objects made later, including gifts, can also be added to that part of the Royal Collection at the sole discretion of the monarch. It is not possible to say how much the collection is worth because the jewels have a rich and unique history, the Delhi Durbar Tiara was made by Garrard & Co. for Queen Mary, the wife of George V, to wear at the Delhi Durbar in 1911. As British law prohibited the removal of the Crown Jewels from the country, George V wore a specially made crown to the Durbar, and his consort Queen Mary wore the tiara. It was part of a set of made for Queen Mary to use at the event which included a necklace, stomacher, brooch
32.
International Standard Serial Number
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An International Standard Serial Number is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title, ISSN are used in ordering, cataloging, interlibrary loans, and other practices in connection with serial literature. The ISSN system was first drafted as an International Organization for Standardization international standard in 1971, ISO subcommittee TC 46/SC9 is responsible for maintaining the standard. When a serial with the content is published in more than one media type. For example, many serials are published both in print and electronic media, the ISSN system refers to these types as print ISSN and electronic ISSN, respectively. The format of the ISSN is an eight digit code, divided by a hyphen into two four-digit numbers, as an integer number, it can be represented by the first seven digits. The last code digit, which may be 0-9 or an X, is a check digit. Formally, the form of the ISSN code can be expressed as follows, NNNN-NNNC where N is in the set, a digit character. The ISSN of the journal Hearing Research, for example, is 0378-5955, where the final 5 is the check digit, for calculations, an upper case X in the check digit position indicates a check digit of 10. To confirm the check digit, calculate the sum of all eight digits of the ISSN multiplied by its position in the number, the modulus 11 of the sum must be 0. There is an online ISSN checker that can validate an ISSN, ISSN codes are assigned by a network of ISSN National Centres, usually located at national libraries and coordinated by the ISSN International Centre based in Paris. The International Centre is an organization created in 1974 through an agreement between UNESCO and the French government. The International Centre maintains a database of all ISSNs assigned worldwide, at the end of 2016, the ISSN Register contained records for 1,943,572 items. ISSN and ISBN codes are similar in concept, where ISBNs are assigned to individual books, an ISBN might be assigned for particular issues of a serial, in addition to the ISSN code for the serial as a whole. An ISSN, unlike the ISBN code, is an identifier associated with a serial title. For this reason a new ISSN is assigned to a serial each time it undergoes a major title change, separate ISSNs are needed for serials in different media. Thus, the print and electronic versions of a serial need separate ISSNs. Also, a CD-ROM version and a web version of a serial require different ISSNs since two different media are involved, however, the same ISSN can be used for different file formats of the same online serial
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International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
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India