The princess who rewrote history - Leonora Neville

Translator: Alma Ahdina Reviewer: Ade Indarta

Alexios Komnenos,

Alexios Komnenos

Byzantine emperor,

sang Kaisar Bizantium

led his army to meet the Scythian hordes

memimpin pasukannya berperang melawan

in battle.

kaum Skithia.

For good luck,

Ia membawa salah satu

he carried one of the holiest relics

relik Kristen tersuci demi

in Christendom:

keberuntungan:

the veil that had belonged

kerudung yang dulunya milik

to the Virgin Mary.

Perawan Maria.

Unfortunately, it didn’t help.

Sayangnya, kerudung itu tidak membantu.

Not only was his army defeated,

Tidak hanya kalah,

but as they fled,

sang Kaisar juga tertusuk

the Emperor was stabbed in the buttocks.

pantatnya saat mereka kabur.

To make matters worse, a strong wind

Belum cukup sampai di situ, relik itu pun

made the relic too heavy to carry,

disembunyikan di semak-semak saat ia kabur

so he stashed it in some bushes

karena angin kencang membuatnya

as he escaped.

terlalu berat untuk dibawa.

But even as he fled,

Namun ia mampu menebas

he managed to slay some Scythians

beberapa lawan dan menyelamatkan sedikit

and rescue a few comrades.

kawan di tengah pelariannya.

At least, this is how Alexios' daughter

Setidaknya itulah yang diceritakan Anna,

Anna recounted the story,

putri Alexios, dalam tulisannya

writing nearly 60 years later.

60 tahun kemudian.

She spent the last decade of her long life

Sepuluh tahun terakhir hidupnya ia

creating a 500-page history

habiskan dengan menulis 500 halaman

of her father’s reign called The Alexiad.

sejarah kekuasaan ayahnya; The Alexiad.

Written in Greek, the book was modeled

Buku itu meniru gaya penulisan epos dan

after ancient Greek epics

sejarah Yunani kuno serta

and historical writings.

berbahasa Yunani.

But Anna had a different, trickier task

Namun Anna memiliki tantangan tersendiri

than the writers in these traditions:

dalam menulis dengan tradisi berikut:

as a princess writing

sebagai seorang putri

about her own family,

yang menceritakan keluarganya,

she had to balance her loyalty to her kin

ia harus mengimbangi rasa kekeluargaannya

with her obligation

dengan tuntutan untuk

to portray events accurately,

menulis secara akurat,

navigating issues like Alexios’s

mengarahkan misalnya kisah

embarrassing stab to the buttocks.

memalukan Alexios yang tertusuk di pantat.

A lifetime of study and participation

Masa-masa belajar dan berpartisipasi

in her father’s government

selama pemerintahan ayahnya

prepared Anna for this undertaking.

membuat Anna siap melakukannya.

Anna was born in 1083,

Anna lahir pada tahun 1083,

shortly after her father seized control

sesaat setelah ayahnya menguasai

of the Roman Empire

Kerajaan Romawi setelah

following a decade of brutal civil wars

perang saudara dan pemberontakan brutal

and revolts.

selama 10 tahun.

The empire was deep in decline

Kekaisaran Romawi mengalami kemunduran

when he came to power,

di bawah kekuasaan Alexios

and threatened from all sides:

dan terancam dari segala arah:

by the Seljuk Turks in the East,

bangsa Turki Seljuk di Timur,

the Normans in the West,

bangsa Normandia di Barat,

and Scythian raiders to the north.

dan perompak Skithia di Utara.

Over the course of Anna’s childhood

Sepanjang masa kecil dan

and adolescence,

remaja Anna,

Alexios fought constant military campaigns

Alexios melawan banyak kampanye militer

to secure the frontiers of his empire,

demi mempertahankan perbatasan kerajaannya

even striking up an uneasy alliance

bahkan memulai aliansi mengkhawatirkan

with the Crusaders.

dengan Tentara Salib.

Meanwhile in Constantinople,

Sementara itu, Anna berjuang melawan

Anna fought her own battle.

masalahnya sendiri di Konstantinopel.

She was expected to study subjects

Ia harus mempelajari semua subjek

considered proper

yang dianggap patut

for a Byzantine princess,

dipelajari putri Bizantium,

like courtly etiquette and the Bible,

seperti adab di istana dan kitab Injil,

but preferred classical myth

namun ia lebih suka belajar mitos

and philosophy.

klasik dan filosofi.

To access this material, she had to learn

Ia harus belajar membaca dan berbicara

to read and speak Ancient Greek,

bahasa Yunani Kuno diam-diam di malam hari

by studying secretly at night.

demi pelajaran kesukaannya itu.

Eventually her parents realized

Lambat laun orang tuanya sadar

how serious she was,

akan keseriusan Anna dan

and provided her with tutors.

menyediakan guru privat untuknya.

Anna expanded her studies

Anna juga belajar

to classical literature, rhetoric,

literatur klasik, retorika,

history, philosophy, mathematics,

sejarah, filosofi, matematika,

astronomy, and medicine.

astronomi, dan obat-obatan.

One scholar even complained

Seorang cendekiawan bahkan

that her constant requests

mengeluhkan betapa tafsir

for more Aristotle commentaries

Aristoteles yang terus diminta Anna

were wearing out his eyes.

membuat matanya lelah.

At age fifteen,

Pada usia 15 tahun,

Anna married Nikephoros Bryennios

Anna menikahi Nikephoros Bryennios

to quell old conflicts

untuk menyudahi konflik lama

between their families

antar keluarga mereka

and strengthen Alexios’s reign.

serta memperkuat kekuasaan Alexios.

Fortunately, Anna and Nikephoros ended up

Untungnya, Anna dan Nikephoros ternyata

sharing many intellectual interests,

punya banyak kesamaan minat intelektual,

hosting and debating

menjamu dan mendebat

the leading scholars of the day.

banyak cendekiawan terkemuka saat itu.

Meanwhile, Alexios’s military excursions

Sementara itu, ekskursi militer Alexios

began to pay off,

mulai membuahkan hasil dan

restoring many of the empire’s

mengembalikan banyak wilayah lama

former territories.

kerajaannya.

As her father aged,

Seiring menuanya sang ayah,

Anna and her husband helped her parents

Anna dan suaminya membantu memenuhi

with their imperial duties.

tugas-tugas kerajaan.

During this time,

Konon, selama itu Anne

Anna reportedly advocated for

mendukung perlakuan adil bagi

just treatment of the people

rakyatnya yang bersengketa

in their disputes with the government.

dengan pemerintah.

After Alexios’s death,

Setelah Alexios wafat, John,

Anna’s brother John ascended to the throne

kakak Anna, menduduki tahta kerajaan dan

and Anna turned back

Anna pun kembali mendalami

to philosophy and scholarship.

filosofi dan keilmuan.

Her husband had written a history

Suami Anna pernah menulis sejarah yang

arguing that his grandfather

mengatakan kakeknya bisa menjadi

would have made a better emperor

kaisar yang lebih baik daripada

than Alexios,

Alexios,

but Anna disagreed.

tapi Anna tidak setuju.

She began working on the Alexiad,

Ia pun mulai menulis Alexiad

which made the case for her father's

yang isinya menceritakan keunggulan

merits as emperor.

ayahnya sebagai seorang kaisar.

Spanning the late 11th and early 12th

Sepanjang akhir abad ke-11 dan awal abad

centuries of Byzantine history,

ke-12 sejarah Bizantium,

the Alexiad recounts

Alexiad bercerita tentang

the tumultuous events of Alexios’s reign,

kekacauan selama Alexios berkuasa juga

and Anna’s own reactions to those events,

reaksi Anna akan kejadian-kejadian itu,

like bursting into tears at the thought

seperti menangis memikirkan kematian

of the deaths of her parents and husband.

orang tua dan suaminya.

She may have included these emotional passages

Mungkin Anna memasukkan bagian-bagian emosional

in hopes that they would make her writing

agar tulisannya menjadi

more palatable to a society

lebih enak dibaca masyarakat yang

that believed women shouldn't

percaya wanita tidak boleh

write about battles and empires.

menulis tentang peperangan dan kekaisaran.

While her loyalty to her father

Walaupun kesetiaan terhadap ayahnya

was evident in her favorable account

jelas terlihat dari tulisannya, Anna

of his reign, she also included criticism

juga memasukkan kritik dan opininya

and her opinions of events.

tentang kejadian-kejadian tersebut.

In the centuries after her death,

Berabad-abad setelah kematian Anna,

Anna’s Alexiad was copied over and over,

buku Alexiad disalin terus-menerus dan

and remains an invaluable

hingga sekarang masih menjadi

eyewitness account

saksi mata berharga

of Alexios’s reign today.

pemerintahan Alexios.

Dan Anna Komnene pun

And through her epic historical narrative,

memiliki tempatnya sendiri dalam sejarah

Anna Komnene secured

karena narasi sejarah buatannya.

her own place in history.