Anna Commena

The Alexiad, by Anna Comnena


"The 12th-century is my favorite period of Byzantine history. The Comnenian [Kommagene] revival had restored the empire to a semblance of its former glory following the collapse after Manzikert [Malazgirt]. But its enemies, East and West, were on the move, and as Runciman had noted, "the rot had set in."

Who better to tell the story than, Anna, the ambitious daughter of Alexius I. In time, she became frustrated and bitter over her failure to ascend the throne after her father's death. She had to settle for being one of the world's greatest historians, which is not such a bad consolation prize."
Cf.  Paul Magdolino's "The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos: 1143-1180"

(Uni. Of  St.Andrews + Uni. Of Koç. 18 juin 2007)