New Delhi, August 29, 2025 — The Koh-i-Noor diamond, a glittering symbol of conquest and controversy, has traveled across empires, crowns, and centuries. Its journey from India’s Golconda mines to the Tower of London is well documented, but buried within its history lies another dazzling tale — the rise of Mir Jumla, the son of a poor Persian oilman, who clawed his way from obscurity to control Golconda’s legendary diamond wealth.

This is the story of how an ambitious merchant’s son, through guile, trade, and loyalty to a Mughal emperor, came to hold the keys to the mines that birthed the world’s most famous gem.

The Diamond That Shaped History

The Koh-i-Noor, meaning “Mountain of Light” in Persian, was mined in the fabled Golconda region of present-day Andhra Pradesh, between the Krishna and Godavari rivers. By the 16th century, it had already become part of Mughal legend, famously embedded in Shah Jahan’s Peacock Throne.

But like the empires that coveted it, the gem’s fate was restless. In 1739, Persian invader Nadir Shah seized it during his sack of Delhi, reportedly exclaiming “Koh-i-Noor!” when he uncovered it in the Mughal emperor’s turban. From Persia it traveled to Kabul with Ahmad Shah Durrani, to Punjab with Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh, and finally into British hands in 1849. Today, it sits in the Crown Jewels in London, its ownership disputed by India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran.

Long before Nadir Shah’s plunder, however, Persia had already left a mark on Golconda — through Mir Jumla, a poor oilman’s son who came to rule its diamond wealth nearly 150 years earlier.

From Oilman’s Son to Diamond Apprentice

Born in 1591 in Isfahan, Persia, Mir Jumla’s early life was unremarkable. His father, Mirza Hazaru, was a poor oil seller. Yet young Jumla, known then as Mir Muhammad, was bright and literate, securing work as a clerk to a diamond merchant with links to India.

This apprenticeship was fate’s opening act. Diamonds, the very stones that defined Golconda’s global reputation, became the cornerstone of his ambition. By the 1630s, burdened with financial needs and seeking opportunity, Jumla joined Persian traders sailing with horses to India. The destination: the glittering kingdom of Golconda, a haven for adventurers and merchants from West Asia.

What began as a clerk’s journey soon turned into the making of a diamond magnate.

Climbing Golconda’s Power Ladder

In Golconda, Mir Jumla displayed relentless ambition. He began as an assistant to merchants, later trading independently and secretly acquiring control of mines. His dealings were sharp, his methods daring, and his fortune grew at astonishing speed.

According to historian Jagadish Narayan Sarkar, Jumla “counted his diamonds by the sackful.” With wealth came influence — he bribed his way into the Qutb Shahi court, rising first to treasurer, then to chief minister. By then, he controlled not only the mines but also the court’s finances, ships, and armies.

Europeans, too, took note. Jumla built alliances with the French, Dutch, and Portuguese, hiring European soldiers and monopolizing trade with Iran. He became both merchant and statesman, a rare fusion of commerce and power.

But his hunger for influence did not stop at Golconda’s gates.

Choosing Aurangzeb’s Side

By the mid-17th century, the Mughal Empire was simmering with tension. Emperor Shah Jahan fell gravely ill in 1657, sparking a bloody succession battle among his four sons: Dara Shikoh, Shah Shuja, Murad Bakhsh, and Aurangzeb.

Mir Jumla saw his chance. In 1656, he defected from the Qutb Shahi court and threw his lot with Aurangzeb, then a rising contender. His military acumen and resources proved decisive. In the ensuing war of succession, Aurangzeb’s triumph owed much to Jumla’s strategy and support.

For his loyalty, Mir Jumla was appointed Grand Wazir of the Mughal Empire, cementing his place among the most powerful men of his time.

The Mughal Conqueror of Golconda and Beyond

Ironically, having once served Golconda, Jumla later led the Mughal conquest of the same kingdom in 1656, bringing its mines under Aurangzeb’s authority. With the mines and fort secured, Jumla’s reputation as both strategist and administrator grew.

He extended Mughal power into Karnataka, capturing key territories and securing tribute. In Bengal, he subdued rebellious zamindars, while his campaigns in the northeast brought the empire to Assam.

His crowning achievement was the 1663 treaty with the Ahom kingdom after the Battle of Kaliabor, which marked the easternmost expansion of Mughal influence. Yet it was in Assam that his health collapsed; he died later that year while returning from campaign.

The Forgotten Persian Link to the Koh-i-Noor

By the time of his death, Mir Jumla had transformed from an oilman’s son into a statesman who ruled mines, armies, and empires. His life is a reminder that the story of the Koh-i-Noor is not only about emperors and conquerors but also about ambitious outsiders who reshaped history.

While the diamond itself would later be looted by Nadir Shah and claimed by successive empires, the Persian link to Golconda did not begin with conquest but with Jumla’s rise. He had, in effect, presided over the “nest” of the Koh-i-Noor, the very mines whose yield dazzled courts across the world.

A Gem Still in Dispute

The Koh-i-Noor’s subsequent journey was as turbulent as Mir Jumla’s rise was improbable. Passed from Persia to Kabul, from Sikh Punjab to British hands, it became a trophy of power and a target of longing. Today, India demands its return as colonial loot; Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran cite historical rights. Britain, however, has consistently refused.

Even its sparkle has been contentious. In 1852, it was recut to enhance brilliance but lost nearly half its weight, from 186 carats to 105.6. Though once worn by Queen Victoria and later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, it is now rarely displayed due to its reputation as “unlucky” for men.

It sits today in the Tower of London, untouchable, contested, and still heavy with the weight of centuries.

The Oilman’s Son and the Diamond’s Shadow

Mir Jumla’s story and the Koh-i-Noor’s saga run in parallel: both born in obscurity, both transformed into symbols of power, both tied to conquest and ambition. His rise from the dust of Isfahan’s streets to the grandeur of Golconda’s mines underscores the human drive that fuels history’s brightest and darkest chapters.

As Maharaja Duleep Singh, who lost the Koh-i-Noor as a child, later reflected: “I was but a child, an infant, when forced to surrender the Koh-i-Noor, but now I am a man.”

The diamond’s journey remains unfinished. And so too does the recognition of the oilman’s son who once ruled the nest of its brilliance.