Niketas Choniates was in Constantinople when it was burnt and looted by the soldiers of the Fourth Crusade and he wrote a history which has always been the mainstay for anyone wishing to learn about the Comnene dynasty and the Byzantine Empire of the twelfth century. Yet it is a very difficult and puzzling text and given its significance for the period is understudied. The author says at the start that he wrote his work hoping that even workers and women would be able to profit from it yet he wrote those words and the rest of the history in a highly convoluted literary and at times opaque style and language. This examination is an introduction to the history of Niketas and to the authorâs views of why this period saw such catastrophe for the Byzantines. It looks at Niketasâ thoughts about history-writing the emperors and the Comnene dynasty in particular about the presence of God in manâs affairs and the historianâs attitudes to the women of the imperial family. . Language: English