“I spoke in this strain to one of the officers of the Imperial Ottoman Bank, and he replied that the jewels were unquestionably genuine. He said that during the war the Turks borrowed $30,000,000 from the bank. The loan was to be secured by pledge of jewels from this treasure-house, and the bank officials were told to help themselves from its riches. They selected enough of the jewels to guarantee them amply against loss. These jewels were packed in three small boxes and removed to the vaults of the bank. But their removal left no gap in the great accumulation. Afterward I asked a Turk why the Government did not sell this treasure and be at ease. ‘Sell it?’ said the Turk; ‘why, it is the treasure of all the Sultans! It cannot be sold.’
“So there is this treasure-house to-day—a grand relic of ancient splendor—in the hands of the broken, ruined remnant of the house of Osman. The possession of this enormous wealth must be a terrible temptation at times to the worn man who wears the Sacred Sword of Turkey. But he clings to it through all his adversity, for it is the only relic left to the Empire of the glory of its past.”
Two of the oldest authenticated diamonds in Europe belong to the Sultan. One of them, a beautiful stone of twenty-four karats, and which adorns the aigrette of the Imperial plume on days of parade, was found in Constantinople in the time of Mahomet IV. It was picked up by a poor man upon a heap of dirt not far from the gate of Egrikapon. The finder had no idea of the value of his treasure, and sold it for a trifle. Passing through the hands of several purchasers, the gem was finally brought to the notice of the guild of goldsmiths, when its true character was made known. It was then seized by the Grand Vizier and annexed to the Imperial treasures by an edict. The other diamond, which is of greater beauty and weight, was found by a child playing in the Haiwanserai, or the Hebdomon, during the reign of Mahomet II., or about the middle of the fifteenth century. It was believed by the antiquaries that these gems belonged to the treasures of ancient Byzantium, and that the last may have adorned the crown of the Byzantine emperors. This jewel was lost by the fault of the masters of the wardrobe on the place of the Hebdomon during a triumphal march in the twenty-second year of the reign of Justinian, or 548 A.D. We can learn nothing more concerning the condition of these diamonds when found, but infer that they were polished, otherwise they probably would not have attracted the notice of the finders.
Lamartine and other historians of the Ottoman Empire allude to its treasury as in reality a wonderful museum of art, whose wealth is unknown and perhaps incalculable. They state that in four vast apartments beneath the Seraglio, vaulted subterraneously to shelter them from the ravages of fire, are collected the sacred relics, the jewels, the gems, and a great variety of objects of value that have accumulated since the origin of the monarchy. The antiquary may well say in viewing this collection of treasure, “The spoils of the universe are here represented.” For whatever of value and historic worth was saved from the wreck of Rome or preserved from the accumulations of the Greek conquests was gathered at Byzantium. In this fatal Acropolis at the extreme point of the continent of Europe, the Greek Empire had indeed collected all its monuments, all its masterpieces, all its riches, as if to tempt fate and render the prize all the more glittering to the eyes of the Ottomans.
Many, if not the most, of these priceless relics and treasures fell into the clutches of the Turks when Constantinople was won. Nothing escaped at that time. There is no doubt but that many remarkable gems were captured at this period, but concerning their nature and their value history has left us but little more than conjecture.
However, the historians speak definitely of the Greek emperors during their prosperity as displaying a magnificence worthy of the luxurious periods of Rome. The costumes of these rulers are described as marvels of art, and their jewels as of inestimable price. The accounts remind the reader of the descriptions left by Claudian of the treasures of Theodosius:—
“Sidonian mantles rich with purple fold,
Belts bossed with pearls, robes stiff with gems and gold,
And breastplates shining green with emeralds bright,
And helmets rich with precious sapphires dight.”
That diamonds were then used as gems and held in high estimation may be inferred from the single remark of the indignant historian, “One man buys entire Syria with the diamonds of his wife.” Perhaps the word diamond was thus used figuratively, and the expression referred to gems and jewels in general.
Besides these accumulations of the Greeks, much of the spoil collected by Timour in his merciless sack of India and Persia came afterwards into the possession of the Emirs of Asiatic Turkey, and eventually drifted to Constantinople. What these treasures were may be imagined from the glowing descriptions given by the historians of the last scenes of the life and reign of the great Tatar conqueror. The magnificent fêtes given by Timour on his return to Samarcand after the conquest of Arabia and Eastern Turkey, surpassed in historic splendor even the descriptions of Oriental fable. In the gigantic palace erected by him during the days of leisure between his conquests, and which was one of the marvels of the architectural world, he celebrated in a single day the marriage of six of his grandsons. The spoils of the universe were displayed in the decorations of the marriage feasts. The wealth of the Indies had been transferred to the home of the Tatar. Pearls, sapphires, and diamonds were showered in profusion upon the married pairs. Nine times did they change their apparel, and, arrayed in different solid cinctures of a tissue of pearls and diamonds, present themselves to the view of Timour,—the last festivities of the great Tatar chieftain.
This wonderful display of mediæval times recalls to the mind of the antiquary the magnificent marriage feasts of Alexander and his eighty lieutenants with their beautiful Persian brides. This historic festivity took place in Persia 324 B. C., when the Greek army returned from India, and continued for five days. Like that of Timour, it displayed in its magnificence the gems and art treasures of conquered Asia. The diamond, however, does not appear. Art evidently had not then acquired the process by which the natural and rough crystal is developed into a gem of sparkling and lustrous beauty. And the selected brides, to enhance their natural charms, wore pearls, emeralds, rubies, and turquoises wreathed among their tresses of hair, or in their necklaces, amulets, anklets, and bracelets.