Anna Anachoutlou, born around 1280s, was a member of the ruling Komnenos dynasty of Trebizond, a Byzantine offshoot state on the Black Sea. She first became a nun, but when her brother died in 1341 without heirs, she was brought from her convent and crowned empress. She was the only woman to rule Trebizond independently, not just as a consort.
Her reign was marked by disputes among the aristocracy, who resisted being ruled by a woman. Despite opposition, she tried to assert authority and govern firmly. However, her position was undermined by rival claimants to the throne and unrest among nobles. In 1342, only one year into her rule, Anna was deposed in a palace coup. She was killed soon after, ending her short reign. Her death showed the limits placed on women in medieval politics, even for those of royal blood.
Anna remains remembered as a rare case of a woman exercising direct power in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Middle Ages.
