According to Historians, the stone acquired by Sultan Ala-ud-din Khalji at least two centuries before, was surrendered to Humayun, the son of Babur, who was the founder of the Mogul dynasty in India, either by the family members of Sultan Ibrahim Lodi or the Rajah of Gwalior, both of whom fought on the same side against the Mogul invaders and were killed by Babur's forces at the battle of Panipat in 1526.
After the defeat of Ibrahim Lodi, the last Sultan of the Lodi dynasty, of the Delhi Sultanate, Humayun was assigned the task of taking possession of all the jewels that had belonged to the slain Sultan. After Humayun's men ransacked the royal treasury and failed to find the diamond, a servant gave the information that it was hidden in the palace. When Humayun entered the palace the women of Ibrahim Lodi's family began to weep. After Humayun assured that their life and honour would be safe in his hands and they would be treated with kindness and in keeping with their status, Ibrahim Lodi's mother went silently into a room, and emerged with a gold box, which with trembling hands he handed over to the young prince. Humayun opened the box and found the diamond.
The other version is that Humayun entered the fort of Agra, and captured the members of the family of the slain Rajah of Gwalior, Vikramaditya. Humayun spared the lives of the captives and treated them with kindness and did not allow them to be plundered. The family members of the Rajah were so overwhelmed by this magnanimous gesture, that they decided to present the royal jewels of the Rajah of Gwalior to Humayun, which included the Koh-i-Noor diamond.
Babur whose original name was Zahir-ud-din Muhammad, was a descendant of the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan, and also of Timur (Tamarlane) of Samarqand. He was a military adventurer and soldier of distinction and a poet and diarist of genius, as well as a statesman.
In his memoirs, the Baburnama, he mentions the Koh-i-Noor by an identifiable name, and states that it belonged to an unnamed Rajah of Malwa in 1294. According to Babur the stone at that time had an immense monetary value, that it could have fed the whole world for two days. The Baburnama relates how the Rajah of Malwa was compelled to part with his prized possession to Sultan Ala-ud-din Khalji. It was then owned by a succession of dynasties, that ruled the Delhi Sultanate, finally coming into the possession of Babur himself in 1526, following his victory over the last ruler of that kingdom. However even Babur's version may not be authentic, as sources for his information are unknown, and he may have been just recounting the hearsay of his day. He did not refer to the stone by it's present name, and in spite of the controversy about it's identity, it seems fairly certain that Babur's diamond was the stone which later became known as the Koh-i-Noor.
Babur arrived in Agra on May 4th, 1526, and as mentioned in the Baburnama, was presented with the famous diamond by his son Humayun, but the father later gave it back to his son as a gift.
About 4 years after Babur's crucial victory at Panipat, Humayun fell seriously ill, and doctors had given up all hopes of saving his life, when it was suggested that Babur Sacrifice his dearest possession to save his son. Babur felt that his most precious possession was his own life, and moved around the bed three times praying that Humayun's life be spared and his own life be sacrificed instead. Miraculously Humayun's condition improved after this, but Babur's own health declined and he died in Dec. 1530.
Humayun succeeded his father as Emperor of Hindustan, but was unfortunate that his father was not able to consolidate fully his conquests in India, during his short rule of 4 years. Humayun initially ruled for about 10 years from 1530 to 1540, but during this period, instead of consolidating the empire his father had set up, embarked on more adventures, trying to subdue more territories. Initially he appeared to be successful, conquering Malwa and Gujarat, but was not able to hold them. There after he suffered a succession of defeats at the hands of Sher Shah's forces who advanced from Bengal. Humayun retreated from Delhi and Agra to Lahore, then to Sind, and finally sought refuge in Iran. In his hurry to escape he left his only son (Akbar), and daughter and his several wives in India.
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