Why was the Alexiad such an important book?

Why was the Alexiad such an important book?

The Alexiad remains one of the few primary sources recording Byzantine reactions to both the Great Schism of 1054 and the First Crusade, as well as documenting first-hand the decline of Byzantine cultural influence in both eastern and western Europe.

Is the Alexiad an epic poem?

Anna Komnene: An Epic Historian. She wrote the Alexiad, an epic poem that told of the adventures of her father, the Emperor Alexios I of the Byzantine Empire in the 11th century.

When was the Alexiad written?

The Alexiad is a history of the reign of Alexios I Komnenos in Byzantium from 1081 to 1118 CE, written decades later by Alexios’ daughter Anna in classicizing Greek.

Who is the greatest historian of all time?

Herodotus has been called the “father of history.” An engaging narrator with a deep interest in the customs of the people he described, he remains the leading source of original historical information not only for Greece between 550 and 479 BCE but also for much of western Asia and Egypt at that time.

What is the Alexiad?

The Alexiad is the Iliad of Byzantium. It reads like a novel, but is a history by Anna Komene the daughter of Emperor Alexius I of Constantinople (the famous emperor during The First Crusade).

Why did Anna Comnena write the Alexiad?

Anna Comnena (1083-1153) wrote The Alexiad as an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I. It is also an important source of information on the Byzantine war with the Normans, and the First Crusade, in which Alexius participated.

Is there an English translation of Anna comena’s Alexiad?

The entire translated text of the Anna Comena’s Alexiad is available. The translation used is that of dition used is that of Elizabeth A. Dawes, published in London in 1928. Note that there is a later translation by E.R.A. Sewter, published by Penguin.

Is reading the Alexiad worth it?

Reading the Alexiad can be great fun, provided one has the patience and perseverence to soldier through the muddled geography, chronology and endless details of Alexius’s campaigns.