Irene Doukaina, was born on 2 December 1083 in 'Porphyra', the delivery room of the Byzantine Empress. Shortly after her birth she was proclaimed co-empress with Constantine Doukas to whom she was engaged at a very young age. After the early death of her fiance, she was married to Nikephoros Bryennios and tried to convince Alexios I to nominate him his successor. She was not successful and after the death of her father she evolved a plot to do away with her brother John, who had been preferred for the imperial office. Having failed once more to gain the throne she and her mother (who had approved of her daughter's plans) retired to the Kecharitomene nunnery, which had been founded at the beginning of the 12th century. There she applied herself to the writing of her historical work that brought her fame, the Alexiad, the story of the life and reign of her father. The sources for her work were Psellos, Attaleiates, Skylitzes and the historical work of her husband. Anna wrote according to the norms of ancient Greek historiography.Due to the encomiastic character of the Alexiad and the personal predilections of the writer, Anna Komnene was not able to write objectively. Nor can the dating of the facts be taken as always accurate. The imperfections of the work, however, are compensated for by the wealth of information provided, and the work as a whole constitutes our main source of knowledge for this important era. Furthermore Anna Komnene has given us the sole piece of Byzantine historical literature written by a woman. She died in about 1153/4.