Samarian spinel

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It and a smaller 270-carat (54 g) spinel were captured by the Persian King Nader Shah during his 18th-century conquest of India. The smaller of the two Spinel bears a 350-year-old inscription attributing its ownership to Jehangir, a Mughal Emperor of India. Legend states that in response to court criticism for having inscribed his own name on the stone, the Emperor proclaimed "This stone shall make my name more famous than the entire dynasty of Tamerlane!" His prediction proved somewhat correct as the Tamerlane dynasty was overthrown after 230 years, while Jehangir's name lives on inscribed on a number of gemstones found in the Iranian treasury.



  1. ^ "The Samarian Spinel". Retrieved 23 June 2013. 

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