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A revised edition of a medieval masterpieceA-the first narrative history written by a woman

Written between 1143 and 1153 by the daughter of Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, The Alexiad is one of the most popular and revealing primary sources in the vast canon of medieval literature. Princess Anna Komnene, eldest child of the imperial couple, reveals the inner workings of the court, profiles its many extraordinary personages, and offers a firsthand account of such immensely significant events as the First Crusade and its impact on the relationship between eastern and western Christianity. A celebrated triumph of Byzantine letters, this is an unparalleled view of the glorious Constantinople and the medieval world.

Anna Komnene (1083-û1156) was the eldest child of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.

E .R.A. Sewter was a well-known Byzantine scholar.

Peter Frankopan is a senior research fellow at Worcester College, Oxford, and the author of a major monograph about Byzantium in the eleventh and twelfth centuries based on The Alexiad.