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Anna Komnene (Greek: Ἄννα Κομνηνή, romanized: Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine Greek princess and historian. She is the author of the Alexiad, an account of the reign of her father, Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Her work constitutes the most important primary source of Byzantine history of the late 11th and early 12th centuries, as well as of the early Crusades. Although she is best known as the author of the Alexiad, Anna played an important part in the politics of the time and attempted to depose her brother, John II Komnenos, as emperor in favour of her husband, Nikephoros. At birth, Anna was betrothed to Constantine Doukas, and she grew up in his mother's household. She was well-educated in "Greek literature and history, philosophy, theology, mathematics, and medicine." Anna and Constantine were next in the line to throne until Anna's younger brother, John II Komnenos, became the heir in 1092. Constantine died around 1094, and Anna married Nikephoros Bryennios in 1097. The two had several children before Nikephoros' death around 1136. Following her father's death in 1118, Anna and her mother attempted to usurp John II Komnenos. Her husband refused to cooperate with them, and the usurpation failed. As a result, John exiled Anna to the Kecharitomene Monastery, where she spent the rest of her life. In confinement there, she wrote the Alexiad. Early life and family Anna was born on 1 December 1083 to Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina. Her father, Alexios I Komnenos, became emperor in 1081, after usurping the previous Byzantine Emperor, Nikephoros Botaneiates. Her mother, Irene Doukaina, was part of the imperial Doukas family. In the Alexiad, Anna emphasises her affection for her parents in stating her relationship to Alexios and Irene. She was the eldest of seven children; her younger siblings were (in order) Maria, John II, Andronikos, Isaac, Eudokia, and Theodora. Anna was born in the Porphyra Chamber of the imperial palace in Constantinople, making her a porphyrogenita, which underscored her imperial status. She noted this status in the Alexiad, stating that she was "born and bred in the purple." According to Anna's description in the Alexiad, her mother asked Anna to wait to be born until her father returned from war. Obediently, Anna waited until her father came home. At birth, Anna was betrothed to Constantine Doukas, the son of Emperor Michael VII and Maria of Alania. The two were the heirs to the empire until sometime between c.1088 and 1092, after the birth of Anna's brother, John II Komnenos. Various scholars point out that the betrothal was probably a political match intended to establish the legitimacy of Anna's father, who had usurped the previous emperor. Starting around 1090, Constantine's mother – Maria of Alania – raised Anna in her home. It was common in Byzantium for mothers-in-law to raise daughters-in-law. In 1094, Maria of Alania was implicated in an attempt to overthrow Alexios I Komnenos. Some scholars argue that Anna's betrothal to Constantine Doukas may not have ended there, as he was not implicated in the plot against Alexios, but it certainly ended when he died around 1094. Some scholars have also now started to look at Anna's relationships to her mother-in-law Maria of Alania, her paternal grandmother Anna Dalassene, and her mother Irene Doukaina as sources of inspiration and admiration for Anna. For example, Thalia Gouma-Peterson argues that Irene Doukaina's "maternal ability to deal with the speculative and the intellectual enables the daughter to become the highly accomplished scholar she proudly claims to be in the opening pages of the Alexiad." Education Anna wrote at the beginning of the Alexiad about her education, highlighting her experience with literature, Greek language, rhetoric, and sciences. Tutors trained her in subjects that included astronomy, medicine, history, military affairs, geography, and mathematics. Anna was noted for her education by the medieval scholar, Niketas Choniates, who wrote that Anna "was ardently devoted to philosophy, the queen of all sciences, and was educated in every field." Anna's conception of her education is shown in her testament, which credited her parents for allowing her to obtain an education. This testament is in contrast to a funeral oration about Anna given by her contemporary, Georgios Tornikes. In his oration he said that she had to read ancient poetry, such as the Odyssey, in secret because her parents disapproved of its dealing with polytheism and other "dangerous exploits," which were considered "dangerous" for men and "excessively insidious" for women. Tornikes went on to say that Anna "braced the weakness of her soul" and studied the poetry "taking care not to be detected by her parents." Anna proved to be capable not only on an intellectual level but also in practical matters. Her father placed her in charge of a large hospital and orphanage that he built for her to administer in Constantinople. The hospital was said to hold beds for 10,000 patients and orphans. Anna taught medicine at the hospital, as well as at other hospitals and orphanages. She was considered an expert on gout. Anna treated her father during his final illness. Marriage In roughly 1097, Anna's parents married her to Caesar Nikephoros Bryennios, a member of the Bryennios family that had held the throne before the accession of Anna's father, Alexios I. Nikephoros was a soldier and a historian. Most scholars agree that the marriage was a political one – it created legitimacy for Anna's paternal family through Bryennios' connections to past emperor's family. The two were an intellectual couple, and Nikephoros Bryennios tolerated and possibly encouraged Anna's scholarly interests by allowing her to participate in various scholarly circles. The couple had six known children: Eirene, Maria, Alexios, John, Andronikos, and Constantine. Only Eirene, John, and Alexios survived to adulthood. Claim to the throne In 1087, Anna's brother, John II, was born. Several years after his birth, in 1092, John was designated emperor. According to Choniates, Emperor Alexios "favoured" John and declared him emperor while the Empress Irene "threw her full influence on [Anna's] side" and "continually attempted" to persuade the emperor to designate Nikephoros Bryennios, Anna's husband, in John's place. Around 1112, Alexios fell sick with rheumatism and could not move. He therefore turned the civil government over to his wife, Irene; she in turn directed the administration to Bryennios. Choniates states that, as Emperor Alexios lay dying in his imperial bedchamber, John arrived and "secretly" took the emperor's ring from his father during an embrace "as though in mourning." Anna also worked in her husband's favour during her father's illness. In 1118, Alexios I Komnenos died. A cleric acclaimed John emperor in Hagia Sophia. According to Dion C. Smythe, Anna .... Discover the Anne Comnene popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Anne Comnene books.