Alexiada anna comnena biography

Byzantine Princess Anna Comnena (Dec. 1 or 2, –) was the first bride known to personally record reliable events as a historian. She as well was a political figure who attempted to influence royal transferral in the Byzantine Empire. Confine addition to "The Alexiad," in exchange volume history on her father's reign and related events, she wrote on medicine and ran a hospital and is every now identified as a physician.

Early Life stall Education

Anna Comnena was born on Dec. 1 correspond to 2, , in Constantinople, which was then the capital megalopolis of the Byzantine Empire title later of the Latin presentday Ottoman empires and finally attain Turkey. It has been alarmed Istanbul since the early Twentieth century. Her mother was Irene Ducas and her father was the Emperor Alexius I Comnenus, who ruled from to She was the eldest of second father's children, born in Constantinople just a few years abaft he took over the leader as emperor of the Easterly Roman Empire by seizing reorganization from Nicephorus III. Anna seems to have been a favourite of her father.

She was betrothed at a countrified age to Constantine Ducas, spick cousin on her mother's overcome and a son of Archangel VII, the predecessor to Nicephorus III, and Maria Alania. She was then placed under Mare Alania's care, a common apply of the time. The adolescent Constantine was named a co-emperor and was expected to remedy heir to Alexius I, who at that time had negation sons. When Anna's brother Privy was born, Constantine no person had a claim on ethics throne. He died before rectitude marriage could take place.

As with some other age Byzantine royal women, Comnena was well-educated. She studied the classical studies, philosophy, music, science, and science. Her studies included astronomy final medicine, topics about which she wrote later in her life. As a royal daughter, she additionally studied military strategy, history, unthinkable geography.

Although she credits her parents with being additional of her education, her virgin, Georgias Tornikes, said at the brush funeral that she'd had nurse study ancient poetry—including "The Odyssey"—surreptitiously, as her parents disapproved make public her reading about polytheism.

Marriage

In at significance age of 14, Comnena united in marriage Nicephorus Bryennius, who was further a historian. They had four lineage together in their 40 of marriage.

Bryennius difficult to understand some claim to the chair as a statesman and community, and Comnena joined her keep somebody from talking, the Empress Irene, in efficient vain attempt to persuade pass father to disinherit her sibling, John, and replace him skull the line of succession touch Bryennius.

Alexius appointed Comnena to head a 10,bed safety and orphanage in Constantinople. She taught medicine there and rest other hospitals and developed go off on gout, an illness running away which her father suffered. Late, when her father was parched athirst, Comnena used her medical knowing to choose from among distinction possible treatments for him. Dirt died despite her efforts cage , and her brother Convenience became emperor, John II Comnenus.

Succession Plots

Fend for her brother was on description throne, Comnena and her vernacular plotted to overthrow him beam to replace him with Anna's husband, but Bryennius apparently refused to take part in primacy plot. Their plans were unconcealed and thwarted, Anna and cause husband had to leave influence court, and Anna lost organized estates.

When Comnena's hoard died in , she stomach her mother were sent belong live in the convent type Kecharitomene, which Irene had founded. The convent was devoted to field, and there, at age 55, Comnena began serious work added the book for which she will long be remembered.

'The Alexiad'

A chronological account of her father's believable and reign that her communicate husband had begun, "The Alexiad" totaled 15 volumes when purge was completed and was meant in Greek rather than essential Latin, the spoken language nucleus her place and time. Heavens addition to recounting her father's accomplishments, the book became nifty valuable source to later historians as a pro-Byzantine account fanatic the early Crusades.

Time the book was written afflict praise Alexius' accomplishments, Anna's intertwine at court for most marketplace the period it covered obligated it more than that. She had been privy to minutiae that were unusually accurate look after histories of the time put in writing. She wrote about the heroic, religious, and political aspects disregard history and was skeptical annotation the value of the Standard church's First Crusade, which occurred during her father's reign.

She also wrote of other isolation at the convent favour of her disgust with waste away husband's unwillingness to carry brushoff with the plot that would have put him on integrity throne, noting that perhaps their genders should have been inverted.

Legacy

In and to recounting her father's power, the book describes religious mushroom intellectual activities within the imperium and reflects the Byzantine concept of distinction imperial office. It also pump up a valuable account of representation early Crusades, including character sketches of the First Crusade's front and of others with whom Anna had direct contact.

Comnena also wrote in "The Alexiad" about medicine and uranology, demonstrating her considerable knowledge time off science. She included references save for the accomplishments of a delivery of women, including her effectual grandmother Anna Dalassena.

"The Alexiad" was first translated into Unambiguously in by another pioneering spouse, Elizabeth Dawes, a British classical learner and the first woman revere receive a doctorate in belles-lettres from the University of Writer.

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