Anna Comnena Research Paper

Comnena used her ability of literature to write a work showing readers the truth behind her father, and his actions. She was determined to bring out to the world the truth behind her father, and tell his story of victories, emotions, and charity. Although she tried to keep her opinion to a minimum it seemed to seep through her words. Alexius I was a victorious emperor, who was militarily successful and wise. Anna Comnena showed her fathers military success in the battles, and described his powerful character through his ‘new formation’, the founding of the orphanage and the illness that lead to his death. He sent a messenger to his own ‘folk’ to state that the Roman army was heading their way, following the messenger were his own men dressed
in the armor of the Romans holding up the heads of the defeated. When Alexius’s folk saw this they were overflowing with fear and panic, although Palaeologus knew the emperor’s inventive genius was not fooled by the joke. When the folk realized that it was a misleading joke they became furious, although they did not see that this was the emperor’s way of building fear in them so that they are ready to be faced with anything that comes their way. The genius behind Alexius’s thinking technique was to plant fear and promptness in his soldiers and inhabitants. This was his way of keeping them prepared for anything that may come unexpected. Anna Comnena continues book eight in her work with the promise of a marriage.
The marriage between the emperors’ daughter and Theodore Gabras’s son Gregory was a mere promise; for the two were still underage, although Gregory was to be taken under the wing of the emperor until the two were legal of age. Soon Gabras’s wife passed and he married a second time to a woman of noble blood, although she and the sebastocrator’s wife were daughters of two brothers. This eliminated any chances of the marriage continuing, for the law and the canons of the church forbad the marriage of being completed. These effects eliminated any possibility of the two emperors staying united; therefore Alexius’s genius worked in a new manner. He decided not to allow Gregory to return to his father as in to keep him as a hostage and possible win Gabras’s friendship. Alexius intended on marrying Gregory to one of his daughter, which was also a reason for the delay of his return to his father. This displayed Alexius’s genius in a new manner; he kept a friend with recognition of the possibility of him becoming a foe, and kept a backup plan on how to keep his empire away from that danger. Through this two points in the eighth book of Anna Comnena’s the reader is being shown that Alexius was indeed a great ruler, powerful and wise. He was able to keep his inhabitants on his side by planting a seed of fear within their hearts as in to keep them willing and prepared to fight for their land. He was able to sense the fear in them and test them to see if they would stand behind their emperor and their land no matter what the consequences may be; therefore he thought the best way to keep them willing to fight for their empire would be to cause fear of the lose of the
empire. Comnena continues on with describing Alexius’s life and more victories he had achieved, although within book fifteen she spoke mostly of his good deeds and the illness that overcame him and took his life. She titled this book Victory over the Turks-The Orphanage-Heresy of the Bogomils-Illness and Death of Alexius, where she briefly described a victory over the Turks which in a way lead to the building of the orphanage. Anna unmasks her fathers’ personality in a way of showing the world a more personal side of him. She of course continuous to praise his genius by describing his ability to understand the Turks positions in battle and design his “new formation” which would prevent the Turks from defeating them; while no other army was able to overcome the Turks battle formation. She then began to describe his kindness and care in the situation with the Turks, Alexius came to peace with Malik-Shah and wanted to make sure he was escorted safely out of Constantinople, although unable to persuade him the events of Malik-Shah’s blindness and later on strangling were his own doing. Alexius brought the women, men, and children that were rescued to Damalis, and provide an orphanage. This is where Anna begins to describe her fathers’ charitableness in a manner that could have been easily overseen by an onlooker’s eye. Anna wanted to show the reader the kindness of her father’s heart which brought her to the position on writing about the good deeds he did for others. She shows the reader that although her father captured those individuals he made sure that the sick were in good hands as in to be nurtured to health; the children that were lift without parents were taken into good homes and were provided for. Alexius also provided them all with shelter, clothing, and food. Anna Comnena’s was providing the reader with a more outstanding view of who Alexius I really was as a person, and the warmth that truly embraced his heart. The reader is reassured of the strength of the emperor by walking through the events that took place later on consisting Basil. Alexius’s strength still shines through this event as his last show of strength; for here on after it is brought to the readers’ attention that he falls ill. Many doctors were brought in to treat Alexius’s illness although few knew what procedures should be taken to cure him. His illness started from his shoulder and neck, while the only doctor who could cure his illness suggested him to be put on drug medication, although the church and the family refused to do so for the emperor had never been under drug medication’s before. Anna describes to the reader the battle her father went through during his illness, and that she was the only one from her family willing to have her fathers’ illness be treated with medication. The description provided to the reader of the emotional distress that was brought upon the empire in such a detailed manner that one would believe they were standing in a corner of the room observing the situation first hand. Anna details the scares of her father’s death, and the pain he went through. She describes watching her mother stay up all night making sure her father was recovering, and later on her mother’s breakdown as time came closer to the end. The more her mother broke down about the situation the quicker fear of death took over them. Alexius again showed that no matter his situation or how weak his health he still had strength and was respected, he spoke to his wife in a stern voice insisting that she stop her dramatic screeching. Later in the work Comnena states the scene in which her father passes on, she is keeping track of his slowing pulse and it stops buries her face in her hands and cries; while her mother takes off her purple and demands black. Anna gives the reader a better view of how loved her father truly was, and the mourning the entire empire went into for their respectable emperor’s passing. Anna Comnena wanted to show her readers just how great of an emperor Alexius truly was, and even with the individuals he did not know very well he was respected. Comnena wanted the reader to get a more personal view of her father, one that would show his kindness towards others and his success as an emperor. She listed his victories, showed his sense of humor through jokes, and presented an unmasked version of the emperor who was so highly spoken of. She tried to keep her work strictly truth and without any included emotions of her own. Alexius is presented in this work as a man of genius, success, respect, and honor all of which presented him as a worthy emperor.