ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the questions such as how Anna's work relates to that of other Byzantine writers of history in style and in content, how reliable it is in reconstructing the events of Alexios's reign, how it compares with the other narrative account of Alexios's reign written in the twelfth century by John Zonaras and, last but not least, whether Anna's being a woman affects her presentation in any way. In writing a history of her father's reign in the form of a heroic biography or a historical epic Anna shows herself to be in step with twelfth-century literary developments. Anna Komnene lived in Constantinople and this she had in common with all male writers of Byzantine history. She used oral and written military sources. The Alexiad, as the one work of historical writing which is attributed to a woman writer in Byzantium, is a vital piece of evidence for questions of female authorship.
