Anna Komnene facts for kids

Anna Komnene (Greek: Ἄννα Κομνηνή, romanized: Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153) was a Byzantine princess and a famous writer. She wrote a book called the Alexiad. This book tells the story of her father, Alexios I Komnenos, who was the Byzantine emperor. The Alexiad is a very important book for understanding the history of the Byzantine Empire in the late 1000s and early 1100s.

Even though she is best known for her writing, Anna was also involved in the politics of her time. She tried to become empress herself, instead of her brother, John II Komnenos.

When Anna was born, she was promised in marriage to Constantine Doukas. She grew up in his mother's home. Anna received an excellent education. She learned about Greek literature, history, philosophy, math, and medicine. Anna and Constantine were expected to rule the empire. But then Anna's younger brother, John II Komnenos, was born in 1092. He became the new heir. Constantine died around 1094. Anna later married Nikephoros Bryennios in 1097. They had several children together. Nikephoros died around 1136.

After her father died in 1118, Anna and her mother tried to take the throne from John II Komnenos. But Anna's husband did not want to help them. So, their plan failed. Because of this, John sent Anna to live in the Kecharitomene Monastery. She spent the rest of her life there. It was in this monastery that she wrote the Alexiad. Anna died in 1153.

Who Was Anna Komnene?

Anna was born on December 1, 1083. Her parents were Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina. Her father, Alexios I Komnenos, became emperor in 1081. He took the throne from the previous emperor, Nikephoros Botaneiates. Her mother, Irene Doukaina, came from the important imperial Doukas family.

Anna was the oldest of seven children. Her younger siblings were Maria, John II, Andronikos, Isaac, Eudokia, and Theodora.

Anna was born in a special room in the imperial palace in Constantinople. This room was called the Porphyra Chamber. Being born there meant she was a porphyrogenita. This showed her high royal status. Anna mentioned this in her book, the Alexiad, saying she was "born and bred in the purple."

When Anna was born, she was promised to Constantine Doukas. He was the son of Emperor Michael VII. They were supposed to be the next rulers. But this changed after Anna's brother, John II Komnenos, was born around 1088-1092. Many historians believe this marriage plan was a political move. It helped Anna's father, who had just become emperor, gain more power and acceptance.

Around 1090, Constantine's mother, Maria of Alania, raised Anna in her home. It was common for future mothers-in-law to raise their sons' wives in Byzantium. Constantine died around 1094, which ended the betrothal.

Anna's Amazing Education

Anna wrote in her book, the Alexiad, about her education. She learned a lot about literature, the Greek language, public speaking, and sciences. Teachers taught her subjects like astronomy, medicine, history, military strategies, geography, and mathematics.

A medieval scholar named Niketas Choniates praised Anna's education. He wrote that Anna "was very dedicated to philosophy, the most important of all sciences, and was educated in every field." Anna herself believed her parents deserved credit for allowing her to get such a good education.

However, another writer, Georgios Tornikes, said that Anna had to read ancient poetry, like the Odyssey, in secret. Her parents did not approve of these stories because they talked about many gods and other "dangerous" things. Tornikes said Anna secretly studied this poetry, being careful not to be caught by her parents.

Anna was not only smart in her studies but also good at practical things. Her father put her in charge of a large hospital and orphanage in Constantinople. This hospital was said to have beds for 10,000 patients and orphans. Anna also taught medicine at this hospital and others. She was known as an expert on gout, a type of arthritis. Anna even took care of her father when he was very sick at the end of his life.

Anna's Marriage and Family Life

Around 1097, Anna's parents arranged her marriage to Caesar Nikephoros Bryennios. His family, the Bryennios family, had held the throne before Anna's father became emperor. Nikephoros was a soldier and a historian.

Most historians agree that this marriage was for political reasons. It helped Anna's family gain more power because of Bryennios's connections to past emperors. Anna and Nikephoros were both very intellectual. Nikephoros supported Anna's interest in learning and allowed her to join scholarly groups. They had six children: Eirene, Maria, Alexios, John, Andronikos, and Constantine. Only Eirene, John, and Alexios lived to adulthood.

Anna's Claim to the Throne

In 1087, Anna's brother, John II, was born. A few years later, in 1092, John was named the future emperor. According to some sources, Emperor Alexios preferred John. But Empress Irene, Anna's mother, strongly supported Anna. She tried to convince the emperor to choose Nikephoros Bryennios, Anna's husband, instead of John.

Around 1112, Emperor Alexios became very ill. He gave control of the government to his wife, Irene. She then gave the administration to Bryennios. When Emperor Alexios was dying in 1118, John secretly took the emperor's ring from his father. After Alexios I Komnenos died, John was declared emperor.

Some historians believe Anna felt she should have been the ruler. In her book, the Alexiad, Anna wrote that she was given "a crown and imperial diadem" at her birth. Her main goal in writing the Alexiad was to show her own right to the throne and that she should have been chosen over her brother, John.

Because of this belief, Anna was likely involved in plans to remove John from power. She even tried to gather military forces to take the throne from him. However, her husband, Bryennios, refused to help her overthrow John. This stopped Anna's plans. Some sources suggest that Anna's mother, Irene, also decided not to join the plans against an already established emperor.

It is important to know that some of these stories come from a historian named Choniates, who wrote almost a hundred years after these events. Other sources from that time mostly question John II Komnenos's behavior at his father's deathbed, not Anna's actions.

The plans to take the throne were discovered. As a result, Anna lost her lands and wealth. After her husband died, she went to live in the convent of Kecharitomene. Her mother had founded this convent. Anna stayed there until she died.

Anna the Historian and Scholar

While living in the monastery, Anna spent her time studying philosophy and history. She organized important meetings where scholars discussed topics like Aristotelian studies. Anna's intelligence and wide knowledge are clear in her writings. She knew a lot about philosophy, literature, grammar, theology, astronomy, and medicine. It is thought that she might have quoted Homer and the Bible from memory when she wrote her most famous work, the Alexiad. People at the time, like Bishop Georgios Tornikes, saw Anna as someone who had reached "the highest level of wisdom, both worldly and divine."

The Alexiad

Anna Komnene’s Alexiad (12th cent. MS.)

Anna wrote the Alexiad in the mid-1140s or 1150s. She said she started writing it because her husband's history book was unfinished. Before he died in 1137, her husband, Nikephoros Bryennios the Younger, was writing a history. It was supposed to cover events before and during the reign of Alexios I. But he died before finishing it.

Anna explained how she gathered information for the Alexiad: "My material... has been gathered from small writings, without any fancy language, and from old soldiers who were serving in the army when my father became emperor... I checked the truth of my history by looking at their stories and comparing them with what I had written. I also compared what they told me with what I had often heard from my father and my uncles... From all these materials, the whole story of my history – my true history – has been woven." Besides eyewitness accounts from soldiers and her family, Anna also used official documents from the imperial archives.

In the Alexiad, Anna shares details about the political relationships and wars between Alexios I and the West. She describes weapons, strategies, and battles very clearly. It's important to remember that she was writing about events that happened when she was a child. So, these are not eye-witness accounts from her directly. Her writing is also biased because she wanted to praise her father and criticize his successors.

Despite her clear favoritism, her account of the First Crusade is very valuable. It is the only Byzantine eyewitness account we have. She was able to get information from important people in the Byzantine government. Her husband, Nikephorus Bryennios, fought against the crusade leader Godfrey of Bouillon in 1097. Her uncle, George Palaeologos, was present when Alexios I discussed plans with the crusaders.

The Alexiad helps us see the First Crusade from the Byzantine elite's point of view. It shows how worried they were about the large number of Western European forces moving through their empire. They feared these forces could be a danger to Constantinople. Anna also identified the Vlachs from the Balkans with Dacians for the first time in her book. She described their locations around the Haemus mountains. She was especially suspicious of the crusading leader Bohemond of Taranto. He was a Norman from southern Italy whose father had invaded Byzantine territory in 1081.

Anna called the crusaders "Celts." This was an old Greek term for Western barbarians.

The Alexiad was written in a formal style of Greek called Attic Greek. Anna tried to write like famous ancient Greek historians such as Thucydides, Polybius, and Xenophon. This made her language very artistic and sometimes difficult. Some historians believe that any mistakes in the timeline of events might be due to errors or a lack of source material. Anna herself said that some lapses were due to memory loss and old age. But even with some errors, her history met the standards of her time.

The Alexiad also shows Anna's deep emotions. This includes her sadness over the deaths of her father, mother, and husband. At the end of the Alexiad, Anna wrote, "But living I died a thousand deaths... Yet I am more grief-stricken than [Niobe]: after my misfortunes, great and terrible as they are, I am still alive – to experience yet more... Let this be the end of my history, then, lest as I write of these sad events I become even more resentful."

See also

In Spanish: Ana Comneno para niños