Alexios Komnenos, Byzantine emperor, led his army to meet the Scythian hordes in battle.

拜占庭帝國的皇帝阿歷克塞．科穆寧帶領他的軍隊與斯基泰部落對戰。

For good luck, he carried one of the holiest relics in Christendom: the veil that had belonged to the Virgin Mary.

為了祈求好運，他攜帶了基督教最神聖的物品之一，也就是曾經屬於聖母瑪利亞的披巾。

Unfortunately, it didn't help.

不幸的是，它並未幫上忙。

Not only was his army defeated, but as they fled, the Emperor was stabbed in the buttocks.

不僅他的軍隊被打敗，但在他們逃難過程中， 這位皇帝還被刺傷了屁股。

To make matters worse, a strong wind made the relic too heavy to carry, so he stashed it in some bushes as he escaped.

更糟糕的是，強風使得聖物重到而無法攜帶，所以他便在撤退的過程中將它藏在矮灌木叢中。

But even as he fled, he managed to slay some Scythians and rescue a few comrades.

即便在他逃跑過程中，還是能夠圖殺一些斯基泰人，並拯救幾位同伴。

At least, this is how Alexios' daughter Anna recounted the story, writing nearly 60 years later.

至少這是阿歷克塞一世的女兒安娜在 60 年後回憶時寫下的故事。

She spent the last decade of her long life creating a 500-page history of her father's reign called the "Alexiad".

她將漫長人生最後十年花費在撰寫一部五百頁的歷史著述 《阿歷克塞傳》，紀錄她父親的統治。

Written in Greek, the book was modeled after ancient Greek epics and historical writings.

這本書以希臘文撰寫，並以古希臘史詩與歷史著作的手法為範本。

But Anna had a different, trickier task than the writers in these traditions.

但相較於以那些傳統撰寫的作家，安娜面臨了不同且更艱困的任務。

As a princess writing about her own family, she had to balance her loyalty to her kin with her obligation to portray events accurately,

以公主身份描繪自身家人的她，必須在忠於血親以及精確描繪事件的義務之間取得平衡。

navigating issues like Alexios's embarrassing stab to the buttocks.

討論像是阿歷克塞一世屁股被刺傷的丟臉議題。

A lifetime of study and participation in her father's government prepared Anna for this undertaking.

一生不斷的讀書以及活躍於父親政府的經驗，讓安娜做好了承擔這個任務的準備。

Anna was born in 1083, shortly after her father seized control of the Roman Empire, following a decade of brutal civil wars and revolts.

安娜生於西元 1080 年，在她父親奪回羅馬帝國的掌控權、結束一連串野蠻內戰及叛亂後不久。

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.

在他取得權力時，這個帝國正深陷於衰退中，面臨著來自四面八方的威脅，包含東方塞爾柱土耳其人、西方的諾曼人，以及北方的斯基泰入侵者。

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.

在安娜幼年以及青年時期，阿歷克塞一世持續為了維持帝國邊界的完整而不斷出征，甚至展開和十字軍如履薄冰的聯盟關係。

Meanwhile in Constantinople, Anna fought her own battle.

與此同時，安娜也在君士坦丁堡面對自身的戰役。

She was expected to study subjects considered proper for a Byzantine princess, like courtly etiquette and the "Bible", but preferred classical myth and philosophy.

她被期待要學習符合拜占庭公主身份的主題，包括宮廷禮儀及《聖經》，但她卻偏好古典神話與哲學。

To access this material, she had to learn to read and speak Ancient Greek by studying secretly at night.

為了獲取這方面的知識，她必須在夜深人靜時讀書以學習閱讀古希臘文並說古希臘語。

Eventually, her parents realized how serious she was and provided her with tutors.

最終，她的雙親發現她有多認真看待這件事，於是為她請了家教。

Anna expanded her studies to classical literature, rhetoric, history, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine.

安娜將學習領域拓展至古典文學、修辭學、歷史、哲學、數學、天文學以及醫學。

One scholar even complained that her constant requests for more Aristotle commentaries were wearing out his eyes.

一位學者甚至抱怨安娜不斷要求更多對亞里斯多德的評論讓他雙眼疲憊不堪。

At age 15, Anna married Nikephoros Bryennios to quell old conflicts between their families and strengthen Alexios's reign.

安娜在 15 歲時嫁給尼基弗魯斯．布林尼烏斯，目的在於平息兩個剪族間的古老紛爭，並鞏固阿歷克塞一世的王位。

Fortunately, Anna and Nikephoros ended up sharing many intellectual interests, hosting and debating the leading scholars of the day.

幸運的是，安娜與尼基弗魯斯後來擁有許多對學識的的興趣，舉辦了辯論會，並與當時學術領導者進行辯論。

Meanwhile, Alexios's military excursions began to pay off, restoring many of the empire's former territories.

與此同時，阿歷克塞一世的軍事征討開始得到回報，收復了許多帝國過往喪失的領土。

As her father aged, Anna and her husband helped her parents with their imperial duties.

隨著父親年紀漸長，安娜及丈夫協助了雙親處理帝國政務。

During this time, Anna reportedly advocated for just treatment of the people in their disputes with the government.

據傳安娜在這段期間提倡以公平公正的方式處理人民與政府的紛爭。

After Alexios's death, Anna's brother John ascended to the throne, and Anna turned back to philosophy and scholarship.

阿歷克塞一世死後，安娜的兄弟約翰登上王位，安娜則重拾哲學以及學術研究。

Her husband had written a history, arguing that his grandfather would've made a better emperor than Alexios, but Anna disagreed.

她的丈夫曾經撰寫一段歷史，爭辯若是他的祖父稱王，將會是比阿歷克塞一世更好的君主，但安娜並不同意。

She began working on the "Alexiad", which made the case for her father's merits as emperor.

她著手撰寫《阿歷克塞傳》，為她父親作為一個君主的功績辯駁。

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,

《阿歷克塞傳》橫跨拜占庭歷史十一世紀末到十二世紀初，書中記載了統治時期的紛紛擾擾以及安娜對這些事件的反應，

like bursting into tears at the thought of the deaths of her parents and husband.

像是想到父母及丈夫死亡意象時，突然失聲痛哭。

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.

她包含這些感性段落的用意可能是希望在一個深信女性不應撰寫戰爭與帝國議題的社會中，她的文字較能被接受。

While her loyalty to her father was evident in her favorable account of his reign, she also included criticism and her opinions of events.

雖然她對父親的忠誠很明顯地表現在她對其統治的正面言詞，她也融入了批評以及自己對事件的看法。

In the centuries after her death, Anna's "Alexiad" was copied over and over, and remains an invaluable eyewitness account of Alexios' reign today.

安娜死後的數個世紀，《阿歷克塞傳》不斷被傳抄，直至今日，仍是見證阿歷克塞一世統治時期的無價歷料。

And through her epic historical narrative, Anna Komnene secured her own place in history.

藉由史詩般的歷史描述，安娜．科穆寧也在歷史中為自己立了一席之地。

Wanna learn more about the Byzantine Empire that Anna worked tirelessly to document?

想要多了解安娜竭力紀錄的拜占庭帝國嗎？

Check out this lesson for more about the medieval Roman Empire that spanned 11 centuries.

看看這堂課程以多認識持續 11 世紀的中古羅馬帝國。