Anna Comnena

Anna Komnene (Comnena) was a Byzantine princess and historian, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Born in Constantinople in 1083, she was highly educated in philosophy, rhetoric, medicine, and the Greek classics. After failing in court intrigues to secure the throne for her husband, she withdrew to a convent, where she composed the Alexiad, a fifteen-book history in archaizing Greek chronicling her father's reign and the Byzantine encounter with the First Crusade. It is a major source for Komnenian-era history and is often cited as one of the earliest substantial historical works authored by a woman. She died around 1153.