The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-11
MOON OF THE MOUNTAINS.
The Bloody History Of Famous Jewel
in the Russian Regalia.
From the Detroit Free Press

A famous diamond, with a history of
blood and fraud, is the Shah, :" which
forms part of the regalia of the GEAR
About $50 years ago it belonged to Nadir
Shah, a military desperate, who by his
talents and wickedness, had become ruler
Of Persia. After subduing all his rivals
there, he invaded the dominion of the
grand mogul and enriched himself with
money and jewels to the amount of $780,
100000. On his return TO Persia ne car
ried two great diamonds, called the Sun
of the Sea and the Moon of the Mountains,
and these he worked into his throne.
Afterward conspiracy was formed,
and after a terrible struggle, on June ~
l747, Nadir Shah was murdered in his
tent and his palace was pillaged
At this time an Armenian named Sha-
fras dwelt with two of his brothers in
BassUrah, and one day an Afghan came to
him with the Moon of the Mountains and
a sapphire called the Eye of Allah, to-
gether with a hundred other stones, and
offered them for sale a5,a moderate price.
Shafras promised to buy them, but he
had not a sufficiently great sum in his
house; so he asked the Afghan to come
on the next day, but the other, fearing
the trap, left BassOrah secretly, and Sha-
fras and his brothers could not trace his
fight.
In years afterward Shafras met the
Afghan in Bagdad and learned that he
aid sold the jewels for So 600 piasters and
two horses. So he went to the house Of
the purchaser, who was a Jew. and Of
fered him 100 coo piasters and four horses
for the Jewels, but the jew would not
agree to it.
On the same night Shafras and his
brothers, who were also in Bagdad, en-
tered the Jews house by a stratogem
and murdered him and took his Jewels
and they put his body in sack and cast
it into the River Euphrates
And on the next day they invited the
Afghan to a repast, and they put poison
into his drink, so that he died and they
put his body into a sack and cast it into
the Euphrates.
And so there was nobody left to bear
witness to the manner by which the
brothers had obtained the Jewels, but
presently they fell into a dispute among
themselves concerning the division of the
booty, and so Shafras poisoned both his
brothers and threw their bodies into the
river, and he fed to Constantinople and
from thence to Holland
Being now safe in Christian Europe the
murderer exposed his jewels for sale and
offered them to many kings and princes.
and at last their fame Travelled to Russia
and the Empress Catharine sent for Sha-
fras ana offered to buy the Moon of the
Mountains for pension 10000 rou bleS
each year, which is equal to near $4,000
in our money, together with title of
nobility, but Shafras wanted 100000
roubles for the diamond
At this time one of the empress minis
tiers was Count Panin, a cunning man. He
pretended to he friend to Shafras, and
invited him to his house, and he contrived
that the Armenian should meet many
rich and prodigal people, and the Armen-
ian was thereby drawn into reckless liv-
ing, until after time his money was gone,
and he was indebted to many merchants
and tradesmen. And Count Panin, learn
ing that he was penniless, refused to buy
the diamond for the empress at any price.
So from being careless and indifferent
concerning the sale Of the diamond Sha-
fras became suppliant, and he sold the
diamond TO the empress for 10000 rou-
bles. Then he paid his debts and went
away.