Alexiad

The Alexiad (Greek: Ἀλεξιάς, romanized: Alexias) is a medieval historical and biographical text written around the year 1148, by the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. It was written in a form of artificial Attic Greek. Anna described the political and military history of the Byzantine Empire during the reign of her father, thus providing a significant account on the Byzantium of the High Middle Ages. Among other topics, the Alexiad documents the Byzantine Empire's interaction with the Crusades and highlights the conflicting perceptions of the East and West in the early 12th century. It does not mention the schism of 1054 – a topic which is very common in contemporary writing. It documents firsthand the decline of Byzantine cultural influence in eastern and western Europe, particularly in the West's increasing involvement in its geographic sphere. The Alexiad was paraphrased in vernacular medieval Greek in mid-14th century to increase its readability, which testifies to the work's lasting interest.

The book is divided into 15 books and a prologue. Its scope is limited to the duration of Alexios' reign, which it is thus able to depict in full detail, especially regarding political relations between the Byzantine Empire and western European powers.

1. Attacks against the Byzantine empire by the Normans, under their leader Robert Guiscard (Books 1–6):

2. Byzantine relations with the Turks (Books 6–7, 9–10, and 14–15):

3. Pecheneg incursions on the northern Byzantine frontier (Books 7–8)

4. The First Crusade and Byzantine reactions to it (Books 10–11)

5. Attacks on Byzantine frontiers by Robert Guiscard's son, Bohemond I of Antioch (Books 11–13)

The central focus of the Alexiad is the reign of Alexios Komnenos from 1081 to 1118. Anna presents an idealised portrait of her father's reign centering on his struggles with rivals such as Normans, Pechenegs, Turks, and the Latins of the First Crusade. While she acknowledges some of her father's faults and repeatedly emphasises her desire to achieve the objectivity suitable to a historian, Anna repeatedly praises him as a model ruler. His victories are credited to his guile and to divine support, while his defeats are usually softened by accounts of personal valor or of later success resulting from initial setbacks. He is often compared to figures from classical antiquity, with historians such as Leonora Neville emphasising how "the characterization of Alexios as wily sea captain steering the empire through constant storms with guile and courage strongly recalls Odysseus".