Alexander Burns (1805 - 1841) recounts in his personal memoir his time journeying to and living in Cabool from 1836-38. Burnes was a British traveler and explorer. He is most famous for exploring Bukhara. Burnes took part in the Great Game. The Great Game was a rivalry between the British Empire and Russia for supremacy in Central Asia. The Great Game began with the Russo-Persian Treaty of 1813 and lasted until the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907. Burnes left Bombay in 1836 and traveled in and around Afghanistan until 1838. Burnes's narrative gave Britain its first in depth study of this area. The British curiosity about exotic lands made his book immensely popular.