Alexander Burnes

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Sir Alexander Burnes (1805 – 1841), also known as Bokhara Burnes, was a Scottish traveller, explorer who took part in 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 Montrose, Scotland, Burnes enlisted in the army at the age of 16. Stationed. Burnes was stationed in India for 10 years before he was tasked by King 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, Uzbekistan and Persia.

During his travels, he wrote the Travels into Bokhara, a book that saw him recognized by the Royal Geographical Society and made him a Fellow in its ranks.

In 1835, Burnes returned to India, which had underwent various political changes. Around this time, he met the 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 Pieces of Eden, including the staff once wielded by Alexander the Great. After the First Anglo-Afghan War, Burnes became an official political agent for the crown and was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1838.

In 1841, he became famous for surviving an insurrection that claimed the life of fellow officer William Broadfoot, killing six assailants in the process.

Hunt for the Koh-i-Noor

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. The Templars managed to locate the Indian Brotherhood's hideout in Amritsar and retrieved the artifact, while also brutally kidnapping the Assassin Mentor, 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 Precursor temple they had found and use a Precursor box on the diamond to unravel its secrets.

After unlocking a 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 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.

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.

Burnes defeated by Arbaaz

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.

Legacy

Later that year, the exploits of Burnes, Sleeman, and the Assassin Arbaaz would later be discussed by Assassins Ethan Frye, Arbaaz and his wife Pyara and overheard by the young Jayadeep Mir.

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

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  Database image of Alexander Burnes
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  Burnes' development art
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  Concept sketches
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  Concept sketches
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  Burnes' color variants

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Underworld (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India (first appearance)