Customer Reviews

The Alexiad

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An excellent translation of Comnena's work, remains true to the original Greek while providing good equivalents for the more difficult idiomatic expressions. Also includes a couple of very helpful maps and appendices. A wonderful read for anyone interested in Byzantine history.

In this history the Emperor Alexius comes across as a sort of medievil Lee Iacoca or Carlos Gohsn, who through very delicate wheeling and dealing manages to bring back a floundering empire from the brink. Since Anna was the emperor's daughter, we could expect a hagliography from her, but that would discredit her intensely perceptive analysis of the political situation as well as her own personal experiences with many of the major players or others who knew them. It would also ignore the fact that this book is in many ways a treatise by Anna on what it means to be a good ruler, as exemplified through the person of Alexius.

Excellent book for history buffs and people looking for examples of great leadership.

As usual, I am not reviewing Anna Komnene as an historian. I am reviewing this particular edition of her work.

This is a relatively recent edition of the 'Alexiad'. While the core of E.R.A. Sewter's 1969 translation remains in place, many changes have been made and they are all good. The first, and most visually obvious, is the jacket. The 2003 edition of the Alexiad featured a figure in mosaic, which the book identified as Alexios Komnenos, as depicted in a 12th c. mosaic in the Hagia Sophia. This isn't entirely wrong, in that the mosaic is of Alexios Komnenos, it's just the wrong one. The figure depicted was Alexios, son of John II Komnenos and heir-apparent until his early death. His mosaic is attached but is rotated 90 degrees from the famous mosaic panel of his parents, making the mis-identification understandable for a badly-informed tourist guide, but not a serious publication. Thankfully, Penguin has fixed this issue and replaced the cover image with a high-quality picture (the coin it is a picture of is about the size of a thumbnail) of one of Alexios I Komnenos' hyperpyra (meaning: fire-refined) coins. The new editor, Oxford's Peter Frankopan has also adopted a more regular transliteration style based upon that used in the The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (3-Volume Set), in place of Sewter's original Latin-based transliteration style. These changes extend into the text as well, which generally seems to be mostly unchanged, although Frankopan's updates allow for more precision. Titles and important Greek terms are left transliterated.

The book's appendices are also much overhauled. Rather than work too hard, the original 'Alexiad' borrowed a few appendices from Sewter's earlier translation of Michael Psellos' Fourteen Byzantine Rulers: The Chronographia of Michael Psellus (Penguin Classics). The essays on Greek fire and the Byzantine navy are gone, which is fine because they both include much old scholarship. Instead, a table of relevant Byzantine rulers, popes, and patriarchs is included, as well as stemmata of the Doukas and Komnenos families. The real valuable addition lies in Frankopan's excellent notes. For a Penguin Classic this is exceptional, as they are usually rather bare when it comes to notes. While Frankopan's explanatory notes hardly make this a serious commentary, they are useful for understanding Anna's classical references and the context when she fails to explain herself or is being deliberately manipulative. A glossary is also provided. Such an addition is absolutely essential, as many titles are now just transliterated in the text itself. While the entries are brief, they are sufficient. Frankopan also includes a bibliographic essay at the start of the text which provides a useful summary of the most recent and important scholarship.

This new edition of the 'Alexiad' includes some very useful support materials. It is one of the finest Penguin Classics in print, and easily replaces Sewter's original version.

The Alexiad is a fascinating view of a critical time both in Byzantine and Western history. Anna Comnena tells the story how her father Alexius I seized the helm of an Empire in complete chaos and how he steered it for almost forty years through very troubled waters. The Byzantine Empire was threatened by Norman Sicily,the Patinaks, Cumans and the Turks. Alexus had limited resources to deal with these great threats and had to use his cunning and courage to defeat them. This is a fascinating book and Anna wrote in flowing and intelligent prose. I only found one flaw which made the book hard at times to read, Anna Comnena's hatred for all things and persons not Byzantine or "Roman". She hated the nomadic Turkic peoples of Asia Minor and the Balkan peninsula but her scorn is most evident in her writing about western Catholics or "Latin's". The is no crime she will not accuse them of, even the eating of babies! It is sad to read how much hatred this woman had for fellow Christians. However, I do recommend the book as long as it read with caution and in light of information from other writers both contemporary to Anna Comnena and modern.

Great book written by the Illyrian Princess, Anna Comnene. It's obvious that the Comnene women were indeed extraordinary. Anna herself is the first female historian. Anna's Grandma, Alexios's mother, was a co-regent of the Holy Roman (Byzantine) Empire. The wife of the great Scanderbeg, Andronika (Donika) Comnene (see Moore's 'Scanderbeg, King of Albania', and John Musachi, 'The Cronicle...'), was in charge of her country when Scanderbeg was away in the Italian Campaign. (Donika Comnene was the daughter of Arianit Comnene, who together with Scanderbeg is described as Illyrians fighting against Mehmed II by Critoboulos of Imbros.) So there are at least three of them that were outstanding.
Anna Comnene gives an account of the reign of her father, Alexios I, whom she compares with another great Illyrian Emperor, Constantine the Great. The Empire is being attacked on the west, in Illyricon (Illyria) by the Normans, and on the east by the Turks. Anna gives us insights on the political mind of her father. Alexios is trying to solve his problems more through diplomacy than war. He uses all his cards, diplomatic alliances with the Germans and Italians, and Turks, and open war. It is clear that Anna writes from a Christian point of view showing great respect for her father and mother, and her Grandma has a special place in her heart as well. Her portrayal of different historical characters is very interesting. It's as if she is building a monument or a statue with words right in front of our eyes. Some descriptions of the battles are so vivid, that you can describe this writing as cinematic. Her love of literature is marvellous and contagious. Overall a great read. The reason why we love royals is because deep down we want to be them. I would recommend this book to my best friends and to everybody.

this book is interesting only that it is old, survived and was written by a women. if you want to read this to learn about her dad or the history of the crusade or Byzantine then don't bother. it is just rambling as Gibbon says in the preface.