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Annalist

Anna Comnena is considered the world's first female annalist and a major source of information about the reign of her father, Alexius I. Her works are full of details about daily life at court, the deeds of her family, and the exchanges between the Byzantines and western crusaders during the first crusades.

Anna Comnena was educated as if she was going to reign over the land from Italy to Armenia as the Byzantine Empress. That did not happen after her brother was born.

In those days Byzantine women had few social rights. They had to live in compounds called Gyneceum and hide from the rest of society by covering their faces. They were not allowed to join public festivities. Despite these limitations, there were successful women. Anna Comnena wrote about these successful women, including her grandmother Anna Dalassena. She mentioned and praised the opportunities she was given.

My grandmother Anna Dalassena

"It may cause some surprise that my father the Emperor had raised his mother to such a position of honor, and that he had handed complete power over to her. Yielding up the reins of government, one might say, he ran alongside her as she drove the imperial chariot.

My father reserved for himself the waging of wars against the barbarians, while he entrusted his mother with the administration of state affairs, the choosing of civil servants, and the fiscal management of the empire's revenues and expenses. In reading this, one might fault my father's decision to entrust the imperial government to the gyneceum . But once you understood the ability of this woman, her excellence, her good sense, and her remarkable capacity for hard work, your criticism would turn to admiration.

My grandmother really had the gift of conducting the affairs of state. She could organize and administer so well that she was capable of governing not only the Roman Empire but every kingdom under the sun. . . She was very shrewd in seizing whatever was called for and clever in carrying it out with certitude. Not only did she possess an outstanding intellect but her powers of speech matched it. She was a truly persuasive orator, in no way wordy or long-winded. Though she was ripe in years when she ascended the imperial throne, it was the moment when her mental abilities were most vigorous.

As for her compassion toward the poor and her lavish generosity toward the destitute, how can words describe these things? Her house was a shelter for needy relatives, and it was no less a haven for strangers. . . Her expression, which revealed her true character, demanded the worship of angels but struck terror among demons. . ."
(Anna Comnena)
"Anna Comnena, Commenting on her grandmother" womeninworldhistory.com, access 19.3.2012.

Anna Comnena writes about the daily palace life and times of her father between 1069 and 1118 in her fifteen volume memoir. She talks about the arrival of the Crusaders in Constantinople and how her grandfather, Alexius the First, strategically defended the city. The works of Anna Comnena's is a great guide for today's historians. Especially, her observations on Byzantine life and the Crusades.

The book of Anna Comnena

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