Alexander Burnes was a British adventurer and employee of the East India Company during the Great Game era of the 19th Century. He spoke Hindi and Persian and was nicknamed 'Bokhara Burnes' for his role in establishing contact with and exploring Bokhara, which made him famous. He was rumored to be a spy during the first Afghan War and was knighted by Queen Victoria for his clandestine services during the conflict over Central Europe between the British Empire and Russia.

Burnes kept a lively, detailed record of his trail-blazing journey across Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, the Indian sub-continent and beyond which he later published in three volumes to great acclaim, entitled Travels into Bokhara - A Voyage up the Indus to Lahore and a Journey to Cabool, Tartary & Persia.