9. The Curse of the Koh-i-Noor

From that upheaval the narrative follows Ahmad Shah Durrani (referred to in the episode as the head of a guard who rose to power) who used the Koh-i-Noor and an accidental capture of the army’s payroll to convene Afghan chiefs and consolidate what became an Afghan polity. Dalrymple and Anand then chart the stone’s later movements through Afghan turmoil into Sikh hands: Shah Shuja’s imprisonment and the bargain by Wafa Begum that led Ranjit Singh to secure the diamond for the Sikh empire. The hosts describe Ranjit Singh’s public display of the Koh-i-Noor (wearing it alone on his arm), how it became a magnet for British curiosity, and the geopolitical backdrop — the East India Company’s privately funded Indian army (c.200,000) and growing commercial-military power. Throughout the conversation the presenters agree that while the curse narratives are potent, many details rest on anecdote and folklore; they repeatedly tie the gem’s biography to shifting political authority across Persia, Afghanistan, the Sikh empire and ultimately British imperial claims (with Ranjit Singh’s 1839 death framing the next chapter). The episode balances close description (shape: 'tadpole', flat top; weight cited as ~276 carats in earlier form) with broader analysis of why the stone ignites modern claims across India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UK.