Vera Mutafchieva (1929 – 2009) was an Ottoman scholar of international renown and one of the founders of the Institute of Balkan Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Her academic achievements include being a Head of the Centre for Ancient Languages and Cultures and Director of the Bulgarian Research Institute in Austria.

Mutafchieva wrote 35 novels, most of them on various historical topics, which have undergone multiple editions and turned her into a household name in her native country. She authored numerous articles in the fields of Ottoman and Balkan studies and a multitude of popular essays. Among other achievements, she was the screenwriter of the three-part Bulgarian historical superproduction Khan Asparuh (1981). Mutafchieva was conferred Doctor Honoris Causa degree by Sofia University in 1999 and by New Bulgarian University in 2000. In 2004 she was elected Academician at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. For her creative work, as well as for her academic research, Vera Mutafchieva is the recipient of numerous national and international accolades. Her literary works have been translated into 11 languages.