The Koh-i-Noor

Until the last century the Koh-i-Noor was the world's largest and most valuable diamond. At the time of the action in Flashman and the Mountain of Light, it belongs to the court in Lahore.

Golden Jubilee

In 1887 Queen Victoria celebrates fifty years on the throne. The first chapter of the novel takes place shortly before this event.

Sikh

This is the name for a devotee of the religion Sikhism that begins in India in the sixteenth century. The Sikhs in this novel inhabit the region of Punjab.

Punjab

This is an area of what is now Pakistan and northwestern India. This is where Flashman is sent as a spy before the war between the Khalsa and the British.

John Company

This is an informal name for the British East India Company, which controls most of India at the time the novel is set.

Khalsa

This is...