Afghan Leadership - Amir Shere Ali with Prince Abdullah, Nasher Khan & Pashtun Sardars, Ambala, 1869

Photograph taken by John Burke in 1869; a studio portrait of the Amir of Afghanistan, Sher Ali (1825-1879), Prince Abdullah Jan and Afghan sirdars or khans, namely Nasher Khan, from a series titled 'Photographs of the Amir Shere Ali Khan and Suite'. John Burke accompanied the Peshawar Valley Field Force, one of three British Anglo-Indian army columns deployed in the Second Afghan War (1878-80), despite being rejected for the role of official photographer. He financed his trip by advance sales of his photographs 'illustrating the advance from Attock to Jellalabad'. Coming to India as apothecary with the Royal Engineers, Burke turned professional photographer, assisting William Baker. Travelling widely in India, they were the main rivals to the better-known Bourne and Shepherd. Burke's two-year Afghan expedition produced an important visual document of the region where strategies of the Great Game were played out.

Taken on 1869-06-30
Source John Burke/The British Library
License No Rights Reserved

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