Description :

Anna Komnene is one of the most curious figures in the history of an intriguing empire. A woman of extraordinary education and intellect, she was the only Byzantine female historian and one of the first and foremost historians in medieval Europe.

Yet few people know of her and her extraordinary story. Subsequent historians and scholars have skewed the picture of Anna as an intellectual princess and powerful author. She has been largely viewed as an angry, bitter old woman, who greedily wanted a throne that did not belong to her. The myth goes on to daim that she spent half her life shut up in a convent as punishment for her alleged conspiracy against her brother, Emperor John II Komnenos.

Her Alexiad, a history of her father, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (1081-1118), and the only Greek source on the First Crusade, was indeed written in a convent - the only ascertained fact among all the latter-day speculations on Anna's alleged disgrace.

This book aims to present Anna Komnene - the fascinating woman, pioneer intellectual, and charismatic author - to the general public. Drawing on the latest academic research to reconstruct Anna's life, personality and work, it moves away from the myth of Anna the conspirator and 'power-hungry woman' which has been unfairly built around her over centuries of misrepresentation.

It places Anna Komnene in the context of her own time : the ancient Greek colony and medieval Eastern Roman empire, known as Byzantiurn, with the magnificent city of Constantinople at its heart. At the forefront of an epic clash between East and West, this was a world renowned for its dazzling wealth, exquisite art and power games. It was also known for a vigorous intellectual renaissance centuries before its western counterpart - and Anna Komnene was right at the centre of this extraordinary world.