Alexios Komnenos, Byzantine emperor, led his army to meet the Scythian hordes in battle. For good luck, he carried one of the holiest relics in Christendom: the veil that had belonged to the Virgin Mary. Unfortunately, it didn’t help. Not only was his army defeated, but as they fled, the Emperor was stabbed in the buttocks. To make matters worse, a strong wind made the relic too heavy to carry, so he stashed it in some bushes as he escaped. But even as he fled, he managed to slay some Scythians and rescue a few comrades.
Alexios Komnenos sang Kaisar Bizantium memimpin pasukannya berperang melawan kaum Skithia. Ia membawa salah satu relik Kristen tersuci demi keberuntungan: kerudung yang dulunya milik Perawan Maria. Sayangnya, kerudung itu tidak membantu. Tidak hanya kalah, sang Kaisar juga tertusuk pantatnya saat mereka kabur. Belum cukup sampai di situ, relik itu pun disembunyikan di semak-semak saat ia kabur karena angin kencang membuatnya terlalu berat untuk dibawa. Namun ia mampu menebas beberapa lawan dan menyelamatkan sedikit kawan di tengah pelariannya.
At least, this is how Alexios' daughter Anna recounted the story, writing nearly 60 years later. She spent the last decade of her long life creating a 500-page history of her father’s reign called The Alexiad. Written in Greek, the book was modeled after ancient Greek epics and historical writings. But Anna had a different, trickier task than the writers in these traditions: as a princess writing about her own family, she had to balance her loyalty to her kin with her obligation to portray events accurately, navigating issues like Alexios’s embarrassing stab to the buttocks. A lifetime of study and participation in her father’s government prepared Anna for this undertaking.
Setidaknya itulah yang diceritakan Anna, putri Alexios, dalam tulisannya 60 tahun kemudian. Sepuluh tahun terakhir hidupnya ia habiskan dengan menulis 500 halaman sejarah kekuasaan ayahnya; The Alexiad. Buku itu meniru gaya penulisan epos dan sejarah Yunani kuno serta berbahasa Yunani. Namun Anna memiliki tantangan tersendiri dalam menulis dengan tradisi berikut: sebagai seorang putri yang menceritakan keluarganya, ia harus mengimbangi rasa kekeluargaannya dengan tuntutan untuk menulis secara akurat, mengarahkan misalnya kisah memalukan Alexios yang tertusuk di pantat. Masa-masa belajar dan berpartisipasi selama pemerintahan ayahnya membuat Anna siap melakukannya.
Anna was born in 1083, shortly after her father seized control of the Roman Empire following a decade of brutal civil wars and revolts. The empire was deep in decline when he came to power, and threatened from all sides: by the Seljuk Turks in the East, the Normans in the West, and Scythian raiders to the north. Over the course of Anna’s childhood and adolescence, Alexios fought constant military campaigns to secure the frontiers of his empire, even striking up an uneasy alliance with the Crusaders.
Anna lahir pada tahun 1083, sesaat setelah ayahnya menguasai Kerajaan Romawi setelah perang saudara dan pemberontakan brutal selama 10 tahun. Kekaisaran Romawi mengalami kemunduran di bawah kekuasaan Alexios dan terancam dari segala arah: bangsa Turki Seljuk di Timur, bangsa Normandia di Barat, dan perompak Skithia di Utara. Sepanjang masa kecil dan remaja Anna, Alexios melawan banyak kampanye militer demi mempertahankan perbatasan kerajaannya bahkan memulai aliansi mengkhawatirkan dengan Tentara Salib.
Meanwhile in Constantinople, Anna fought her own battle. She was expected to study subjects considered proper for a Byzantine princess, like courtly etiquette and the Bible, but preferred classical myth and philosophy. To access this material, she had to learn to read and speak Ancient Greek, by studying secretly at night. Eventually her parents realized how serious she was, and provided her with tutors. Anna expanded her studies to classical literature, rhetoric, history, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. One scholar even complained that her constant requests for more Aristotle commentaries were wearing out his eyes.
Sementara itu, Anna berjuang melawan masalahnya sendiri di Konstantinopel. Ia harus mempelajari semua subjek yang dianggap patut dipelajari putri Bizantium, seperti adab di istana dan kitab Injil, namun ia lebih suka belajar mitos klasik dan filosofi. Ia harus belajar membaca dan berbicara bahasa Yunani Kuno diam-diam di malam hari demi pelajaran kesukaannya itu. Lambat laun orang tuanya sadar akan keseriusan Anna dan menyediakan guru privat untuknya. Anna juga belajar literatur klasik, retorika, sejarah, filosofi, matematika, astronomi, dan obat-obatan. Seorang cendekiawan bahkan mengeluhkan betapa tafsir Aristoteles yang terus diminta Anna membuat matanya lelah.
At age fifteen, Anna married Nikephoros Bryennios to quell old conflicts between their families and strengthen Alexios’s reign. Fortunately, Anna and Nikephoros ended up sharing many intellectual interests, hosting and debating the leading scholars of the day. Meanwhile, Alexios’s military excursions began to pay off, restoring many of the empire’s former territories. As her father aged, Anna and her husband helped her parents with their imperial duties. During this time, Anna reportedly advocated for just treatment of the people in their disputes with the government.
Pada usia 15 tahun, Anna menikahi Nikephoros Bryennios untuk menyudahi konflik lama antar keluarga mereka serta memperkuat kekuasaan Alexios. Untungnya, Anna dan Nikephoros ternyata punya banyak kesamaan minat intelektual, menjamu dan mendebat banyak cendekiawan terkemuka saat itu. Sementara itu, ekskursi militer Alexios mulai membuahkan hasil dan mengembalikan banyak wilayah lama kerajaannya. Seiring menuanya sang ayah, Anna dan suaminya membantu memenuhi tugas-tugas kerajaan. Konon, selama itu Anne mendukung perlakuan adil bagi rakyatnya yang bersengketa dengan pemerintah.
After Alexios’s death, Anna’s brother John ascended to the throne and Anna turned back to philosophy and scholarship. Her husband had written a history arguing that his grandfather would have made a better emperor than Alexios, but Anna disagreed. She began working on the Alexiad, which made the case for her father's merits as emperor.
Setelah Alexios wafat, John, kakak Anna, menduduki tahta kerajaan dan Anna pun kembali mendalami filosofi dan keilmuan. Suami Anna pernah menulis sejarah yang mengatakan kakeknya bisa menjadi kaisar yang lebih baik daripada Alexios, tapi Anna tidak setuju. Ia pun mulai menulis Alexiad yang isinya menceritakan keunggulan ayahnya sebagai seorang kaisar.
Spanning the late 11th and early 12th centuries of Byzantine history, the Alexiad recounts the tumultuous events of Alexios’s reign, and Anna’s own reactions to those events, like bursting into tears at the thought of the deaths of her parents and husband. She may have included these emotional passages in hopes that they would make her writing more palatable to a society that believed women shouldn't write about battles and empires. While her loyalty to her father was evident in her favorable account of his reign, she also included criticism and her opinions of events.
Sepanjang akhir abad ke-11 dan awal abad ke-12 sejarah Bizantium, Alexiad bercerita tentang kekacauan selama Alexios berkuasa juga reaksi Anna akan kejadian-kejadian itu, seperti menangis memikirkan kematian orang tua dan suaminya. Mungkin Anna memasukkan bagian-bagian emosional agar tulisannya menjadi lebih enak dibaca masyarakat yang percaya wanita tidak boleh menulis tentang peperangan dan kekaisaran. Walaupun kesetiaan terhadap ayahnya jelas terlihat dari tulisannya, Anna juga memasukkan kritik dan opininya tentang kejadian-kejadian tersebut.
In the centuries after her death, Anna’s Alexiad was copied over and over, and remains an invaluable eyewitness account of Alexios’s reign today. And through her epic historical narrative, Anna Komnene secured her own place in history.
Berabad-abad setelah kematian Anna, buku Alexiad disalin terus-menerus dan hingga sekarang masih menjadi saksi mata berharga pemerintahan Alexios. Dan Anna Komnene pun memiliki tempatnya sendiri dalam sejarah karena narasi sejarah buatannya.