Editing Alexander Burnes

{{Era|Individuals|Templars}}{{WP-REAL}}
{{Update}}
{{Character Infobox
|name = Alexander Burnes
|native = 
|image = ACCI Alexander Burnes.png
|birth = 16 May 1805<br>{{Wiki|Montrose, Angus|Montrose}}, [[Scotland]], [[United Kingdom]]
|death = 2 November 1841 (aged 36)<br>[[Kabul]], [[Afghanistan|Emirate of Afghanistan]]
|active = 
|species = [[Human]]
|database = [[Database: Alexander Burnes|Alexander Burnes]]
|affiliates = [[British Army]]<br>[[East India Company]]<br>[[Templars]]
*[[British Rite of the Templar Order|British Rite]]
}}
'''Sir Alexander Burnes''' (1805 – 1841), also known as '''Bokhara Burnes''', was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] traveller, explorer who took part in {{Wiki|The Great Game}}. He was also a member of the [[Templar Order]], serving as the right-hand man of [[Master Templar]] [[William Sleeman]].

==Biography==
=== Early career ===
Born in 1805 in {{Wiki|Montrose}}, Scotland, Burnes enlisted in the [[British Army|army]] at the age of 16. Stationed. Burnes was stationed in India for 10 years before he was tasked by King [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] to bring a present to the founder and Maharaja of the [[Sikh Empire]] [[Ranjit Singh]]. Burnes soon embarked on an expedition to explore Western [[Asia]], including [[Afghanistan]], {{Wiki|Uzbekistan}} and [[Iran|Persia]].

During his travels, he wrote the ''Travels into Bokhara'', a book that saw him recognized by the {{Wiki|Royal Geographical Society}} and made him a Fellow in its ranks.<ref name="Database">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' – [[Database: Alexander Burnes]]</ref>

In 1835, Burnes returned to India, which had underwent various political changes. Around this time, he met the [[England|English]] administrator [[William Sleeman]], who was a member of the [[Templar Order]]. Burnes was recruited into the Order, aiding Sleeman in his research of the [[Piece of Eden|Pieces of Eden]], including the [[Alexander's Staff of Eden|staff]] once wielded by [[Alexander the Great]]. After the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]], Burnes became an official political agent for {{Wiki|the crown}} and was knighted by Queen [[Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom|Victoria]] in 1838.<ref name="Database" />

In 1841, he became famous for surviving an insurrection that claimed the life of fellow officer William Broadfoot, killing six assailants in the process.<ref name="Database" />

=== Hunt for the Koh-i-Noor ===
[[File:ACCI Quest Begins (3).jpg|thumb|250x250px|Burnes and Sleeman discussing the Koh-i-Noor]]
That same year, Burnes participated alongside Sleeman in the hunt for the [[Koh-i-Noor]] diamond, a powerful Piece of Eden which had been stolen two years prior by the [[Assassins]].<ref>[[Assassin's Creed: Brahman|''Assassin's Creed: Brahman'']]</ref> The Templars managed to locate the [[Indian Brotherhood of Assassins|Indian Brotherhood]]'s hideout in [[Amritsar]] and retrieved the artifact, while also brutally kidnapping the Assassin [[Mentor]], [[Hamid (Amritsar)|Hamid]]. They then took both back to their headquarters, where they tried to interrogate Hamid to learn what he knew about the Koh-i-Noor. After failing to extract any information from the elderly Mentor, the Templars decided to return to a [[Tosha Khana|Precursor temple]] they had found and use a [[Precursor box]] on the diamond to unravel its secrets.<ref name=":0">[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India|''Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India'']]</ref>

After unlocking a [[Isu map|map]] showing the locations of other Precursor temples across the globe, Sleeman and Burnes led a battalion of British troops to occupy the [[Herat Citadel]] in [[Afghanistan]], where one of the temples was located. When the Assassin [[Arbaaz Mir]], who was trying to recover the Koh-i-Noor, followed Sleeman into the [[Herat Temple|temple]], he ended up captured by the Templars. They knocked him out and took him to the [[Katasraj Temple]] in [[Punjab]], [[Pakistan]], but as Sleeman had been called to deal with an Afghan uprising, he trusted Burnes to guard both the Assassin and the Koh-i-Noor until his return. <ref name=":0" />

After Arbaaz awoke, Burnes taunted him with the Templars' knowledge of his personal life, including his relationship with Princess [[Pyara Kaur]], before leaving him to enjoy the Templars' "hospitality." Using a knife he had stolen from Burnes, Arbaaz escaped his bindings and, after retrieving his equipment, made his way to a courtyard where Burnes and several of his men were waiting.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:ACCI Escape (5).jpg|thumb|250x250px|Burnes defeated by Arbaaz|left]]
Impressed by the Assassin's skills, Burnes challenged him to a duel, promising to let him live if he won. Indeed, Arbaaz emerged victorious, but rather than take Burnes' life as the latter expected, he decided to let him live with the humiliation of having been bested by an Assassin; however, he still promised to finish the job, should they meet again. Burnes simply replied that they would not and kept his word, allowing Arbaaz to leave with not just his life, but also the Koh-i-Noor and the Precursor box.<ref name=":0" />

== Behind the scenes ==
Alexander Burnes is a historical character first mentioned in the 2015 book, Assassin's Creed Underworld, before making his first appearance in the 2016 video game ''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]''. Although Burnes died in 1841, the same year the game takes place, when he was hacked to death by an Afghan mob, the game does not portray his death nor change its circumstances to fit into the [[Assassin-Templar War]], as has been the case for most other historical figures featured in the series.

==Gallery==
<gallery captionalign="center" spacing="small" position="center" widths="180">
ACC India DB Alexander Burnes.png|Database image of Alexander Burnes
ACCI Alexander Burnes Development Art.jpg|Burnes' development art
ACCI Alexander Burnes Concept Sketches 1.jpg|Concept sketches
ACCI Alexander Burnes Concept Sketches 2.jpg|Concept sketches
ACCI Alexander Burnes Colour Variants.jpg|Burnes' color variants
</gallery>

==Appearances==
*''Assassin's Creed: Underworld'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' {{1st}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{ACC}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnes, Alexander}}
[[Category:1805 births]]
[[Category:1841 deaths]]
[[Category:Individuals]]
[[Category:Scottish people]]
[[Category:Explorers]]
[[Category:Military personnel]]
[[Category:Freemasons]]
[[Category:British Army personnel]]
[[Category:Templars]]
[[Category:British Templars]]
[[Category:Individuals who held Pieces of Eden]]

[[es:Alexander Burnes]]
[[ru:Александр Бернс]]