Julian (Emperor)

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Julian (emperor)

Julian (Latin: Flavius Claudius Iulianus Augustus ,Greek: Φλάβιος Κλαύδιος Ἰουλιανὸς Αὔγουστος;[1]

331/332[2] – 26 June 363), also known as Julian theApostate, was Roman Emperor from 361 to 363, as wellas a notable philosopher and author in Greek.[3]

A member of the Constantinian dynasty, Julian be-came Caesar over the western provinces by order ofConstantius II in 355 and in this role campaigned suc-cessfully against the Alamanni and Franks. Most notablewas his crushing victory over the Alamanni in 357 at the

Battle of Argentoratum despite being outnumbered. In360 in Lutetia (Paris) he was proclaimed Augustus by hissoldiers, sparking a civil war between Julian and Constan-tius. Before the two could face each other in battle, how-ever, Constantius died, after naming Julian as his rightfulsuccessor. In 363, Julian embarked on an ambitious cam-paign against the Sassanid Empire. Though initially suc-cessful, Julian was mortally wounded in battle and diedshortly thereafter.

Julian was a man of unusually complex character: hewas “the military commander, the theosophist, the so-cial reformer, and the man of letters”.[4] He was the last

non-Christian ruler of the Roman Empire, and it washis desire to bring the Empire back to its ancient Ro-man values in order to save it from dissolution.[5] Hepurged the top-heavy state bureaucracy and attempted torevive traditional Roman religious practices at the costof Christianity. His rejection of Christianity in favourof Neoplatonic paganism caused him to be called Julianthe Apostate (Ἀποστάτης Apostates , “a person who hasabandoned their religion, principles”[6]) by the church.[7]

He was the last emperor of the Constantinian dynasty, theempire’s first Christian dynasty.

1 Life

1.1 Early life

Flavius Claudius Julianus, born in May or June 332 [8] or331 in Constantinople, was the son of Julius Constan-tius (consul in 335), half brother of Emperor ConstantineI, and his second wife, Basilina, a woman of Greekorigin.[9][10] Both of his parents were Christians. Hispaternal grandparents were Western Roman EmperorConstantius Chlorus and his second wife, Flavia Max-

imiana Theodora. His maternal grandfather was JuliusJulianus, praetorian prefect of the East under emperorLicinius from 315 to 324 and consul after 325.[11] The

Julian solidus , c. 361. The obverse shows a bearded Julian

with an inscription, FL(AVIVS) CL(AVDIVS) IVLIANVS PP AVG (PP=Pater Patriae, “father of the nation"; AVG=Augustus). The

reverse depicts an armed Roman soldier bearing a military stan-

dard in one hand and subduing a captive with the other, a refer-

ence to the military strength of the Roman Empire, and spells out

VIRTVS EXERCITVS ROMANORVM, “the bravery/virtue of the

Roman army”. Under the soldier one reads SIRM indicating the

coin was minted in Sirmium , the home of Constantine’s family.

name of Julian’s maternal grandmother is unknown.

In the turmoil after the death of Constantine in 337, inorder to establish himself and his brothers, Julian’s zeal-ous Arian cousin Constantius II appears to have led amassacre of most of Julian’s close relatives. Constan-tius II allegedly ordered the murders of many descen-dants from the second marriage of Constantius Chlorusand Theodora, leaving only Constantius and his broth-ers Constantine II and Constans I, and their cousins, Ju-lian and Gallus (Julian’s half-brother), as the survivingmales related to Emperor Constantine. Constantius II,Constans I, and Constantine II were proclaimed joint em-perors, each ruling a portion of Roman territory. Julianand Gallus were excluded from public life, were strictlyguarded in their youth, and given a Christian education.

They were likely saved by their youth and at the urging ofthe Empress Eusebia. If Julian’s later writings are to bebelieved, Constantius would later be tormented with guiltat the massacre of 337.

Initially growing up in Bithynia, raised by his mater-nal grandmother, at the age of seven he was under theguardianship of Eusebius of Nicomedia, the semi-ArianChristian Bishop of Nicomedia, and taught by Mardo-nius, a Gothic eunuch, whom Julian wrote warmly oflater. After Eusebius died in 342, both Julian andGallus were exiled to the imperial estate of Macellumin Cappadocia. Here Julian met the Christian bishop

George of Cappadocia, who lent him books from the clas-sical tradition. At the age of 18, the exile was lifted andhe dwelt briefly in Constantinople and Nicomedia.[12]

1

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2 1 LIFE

He became a lector, a minor office in the Christianchurch, and his later writings show a detailed knowledgeof the Bible, likely acquired in his early life.[13] (Look-ing back on his life in 362, Julian wrote, in his thirty-first year, that he had spent twenty years in the way ofChristianity and twelve in the true way, i.e., the way of

Helios.)[14]

Julian studied Neoplatonism in Asia Minor in 351, at firstunder Aedesius, the philosopher, and then Neoplatonictheurgy from Aedesius’ student, Maximus of Ephesus.He was summoned to Constantius’ court in Mediolanum(Milan) in 354 and kept there for a year; in the summerand fall of 355, he was permitted to study in Athens.While there, Julian became acquainted with two menwho later became both bishops and saints: Gregory ofNazianzus and Basil the Great. In the same period, Julianwas also initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries, which hewould later try to restore.

Constantine II died in 340 when he attacked his brotherConstans. Constans in turn fell in 350 in the war againstthe usurper Magnentius. This left Constantius II as thesole remaining emperor. In need of support, in 351 hemade Julian’s half-brother, Gallus, Caesar of the East,while Constantius II himself turned his attention west-ward to Magnentius, whom he defeated decisively thatyear. In 354 Gallus, who hadimposed a rule of terror overthe territories under his command, was executed. Julianwas summoned to court, and held for a year, under sus-picion of treasonable intrigue, first with his brother andthen with Claudius Silvanus; he was cleared, in part be-

cause the Empress Eusebia intervened on his behalf, andhe was sent to Athens. (Julian expresses his gratitude tothe empress Eusebia in his third oration.)[15]

1.2 Caesar in Gaul

After dealing with the rebellions of Magnentius and Syl-vanus, Constantius felt he needed a permanent represen-tative in Gaul. In 355, Julian was summoned to appearbefore the emperor in Mediolanum and on 6 Novemberwas made Caesar of the West, marrying Constantius’ sis-ter, Helena. Constantius, after his experience with Gal-lus, intended his representative to be more a figureheadthan an active participant in events, so he packed Julianoff to Gaul with a small retinue and Constantius’ prefectsin Gaul would keep him in check. At first reluctant totrade his scholarly life for war and politics, he eventuallytook every opportunity to involve himself in the affairsof Gaul.[16] In the following years Julian learned how to

lead and then run an army, through a series of campaignsagainst the Germanic tribes that had settled on both sidesof the Rhine.

Julian in military dress. Despite having received no military ed-

ucation, Julian proved to be an able military commander, ob-taining an important victory in Gaul and leading a Roman army

under the walls of the Sassanid Empire's capital.

1.2.1 Campaigns against Germanic kingdoms

In 356 during his first campaign he led an army to theRhine, engaged the inhabitants there and won back sev-eral towns that had fallen into Frankish hands, includingColonia Agrippina (Cologne). With success under hisbelt he withdrew for the winter to Gaul, distributing his

forces to protect various towns, and choosing the smalltown of Senon near Verdun to await the spring.[17] Thisturned out to be a tactical error, for he was left with insuf-ficient forces to defend himself when a large contingentof Franks besieged the town and Julian was virtually heldcaptive there for several months, until his general Marcel-lus deigned to lift the siege. Relations between Julian andMarcellus seem to have been poor. Constantius acceptedJulian’s report of events and Marcellus was replaced asmagister equitum by Severus.[18][19]

The following year saw a combined operation plannedby Constantius to regain control of the Rhine from the

Germanic peoples that had spilt across the river onto thewest bank. From the south his magister peditum Barbatiowas to come from Milan and amass forces at Augst (nearthe Rhine bend), then set off north with 25,000 sol-diers; Julian with 13,000 troops would move east fromDurocortorum (Rheims). However, while Julian was intransit, a group of Laeti attacked Lugdunum (Lyon) andJulian was delayed in order to deal with them. This leftBarbatio unsupported and deep in Alamanni territory, sohe felt obliged to withdraw, retracing his steps. Thusended the coordinated operation against the Germanicpeoples.[20][21]

With Barbatio safely out of the picture, KingChnodomarius led a confederation of Alamanniforces against Julian and Severus at the of Battle of Ar-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Argentoratumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chnodomariushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alamannihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugdunumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laetihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rheimshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durocortorumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiseraugsthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbatiohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magister_peditumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magister_equitumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verdun#Historyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colognehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonia_Agrippinahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassanid_Empirehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaulhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Strasbourghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine#Historic_and_military_relevancehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_tribeshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_(wife_of_Julian)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eusebia_(empress)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudius_Silvanushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_(title)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantius_Gallushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnentiushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_usurperhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleusinian_Mysterieshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_of_Caesareahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_of_Nazianzushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_of_Nazianzushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediolanumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximus_of_Ephesushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theurgyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aedesiushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helioshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lector


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1.3 Rebellion in Paris 3

gentoratum. The Romans were heavily outnumbered[22]

and during the heat of battle a group of 600 horsemenon the right wing deserted,[23] yet, taking full advantageof the limitations of the terrain, the Romans wereoverwhelmingly victorious. The enemy was routed anddriven into the river. King Chnodomarius was captured

and later sent to Constantius in Milan.[24][25] Ammianus,who was a participant in the battle, portrays Julian incharge of events on the battlefield[26] and describes howthe soldiers, because of this success, acclaimed Julianattempting to make him Augustus, an acclamation herejected, rebuking them. He later rewarded them fortheir valor.[27]

Rather than chase the routed enemy across the Rhine, Ju-lian now proceeded to follow the Rhine north, the routehe followed the previous year on his way back to Gaul. AtMoguntiacum (Mainz), however, he crossed the Rhine inan expedition that penetrated deep into what is today Ger-

many, and forced three local kingdoms to submit. Thisaction showed the Alamanni that Rome was once againpresent and active in the area. On his way back to winterquarters in Paris he dealt with a band of Franks that hadtaken control of some abandoned forts along the MeuseRiver.[25][28]

In 358, Julian gained victories over the Salian Franks onthe Lower Rhine, settling them in Toxandria in the Ro-man Empire, north of today’s city of Tongeren, and overthe Chamavi, who were expelled back to Hamaland.

1.2.2 Taxation and administration

At the end of 357 Julian, with the prestige of his victoryover the Alamanni to give him confidence, prevented atax increase by the Gallic praetorian prefect Florentiusand personally took charge of the province of Belgica Se-cunda. This was Julian’s first experience with civil ad-ministration, where his views were influenced by his lib-eral education in Greece. Properly it was a role that be-longed to the praetorian prefect. However, Florentius andJulian often clashed over the administration of Gaul. Ju-lian’s first priority, as Caesar and nominal ranking com-

mander in Gaul, was to drive out the barbarians who hadbreached the Rhine frontier. However, he sought to winover the support of the civil population, which was neces-sary for his operations in Gaul and also to show his largelyGermanic army the benefits of Imperial rule. He there-fore felt it was necessary to rebuild stable and peacefulconditions in the devastated cities and countryside. Forthis reason, Julian clashed with Florentius over the lat-ter’s support of tax increases, as mentioned above, andFlorentius’s own corruption in the bureaucracy.

Constantius attempted to maintain some modicum ofcontrol over his Caesar, which explains his removal of

Julian’s close adviser Saturninius Secundus Salutius fromGaul. His departure stimulated the writing of Julian’s ora-tion, “Consolation Upon the Departure of Salutius”.[29]

1.3 Rebellion in Paris

19th century depiction of Julian being proclaimed Emperor in

Paris at the Thermes de Cluny , standing on a shield in the

Frankish manner, in February 360.

In the fourth year of Julian’s stay in Gaul, the SassanidEmperor, Shapur II, invaded Mesopotamia and took thecity of Amida after a 73-day siege. In February 360, Con-stantius II ordered more than half of Julian’s Gallic troopsto his eastern army, the order by-passing Julian and goingdirectly to the military commanders. Although Julian atfirst attempted to expedite the order, it provoked an insur-rection by troops of the Petulantes , who had no desire toleave Gaul. According to the historian Zosimus, the army

officers were those responsible for distributing an anony-mous tract[30] expressing complaints against Constantiusas well as fearing for Julian’s ultimate fate. Notably ab-sent at the time was the prefect Florentius, who was usu-ally never far from Julian’s side, though now he was keptbusy organizing supplies in Vienne and away from anystrife that the order could cause. Julian would later blamehim for the arrival of the order from Constantius.[31] Am-mianus Marcellinus even suggested that the fear of Juliangaining more popularity than himself caused Constantiusto send the order on the urging of Florentius. [32]

The troops proclaimed Julian Augustus in Paris, and this

in turn led to a very swift military effort to secure or winthe allegiance of others. Although the full details are un-clear, there is evidence to suggest that Julian may have atleast partially stimulated the insurrection. If so, he wentback to business as usual in Gaul, for, from June to Au-gust of that year, Julian led a successful campaign againstthe Attuarian Franks.[33][34] In November, Julian beganopenly using the title Augustus, even issuing coins withthe title, sometimes with Constantius, sometimes with-out. He celebrated his fifth year in Gaul with a big showof games.[35]

In the spring of 361, Julian led his army into the territory

of the Alamanni, where he captured their king, Vadomar-ius. Julian claimed that Vadomarius had been in leaguewith Constantius, encouraging him to raid the borders of

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4 1 LIFE

Raetia.[36] Julian then divided his forces, sending one col-umn to Raetia, one to northern Italy and the third he leddown the Danube on boats. His forces claimed controlof Illyricum and his general, Nevitta, secured the pass ofSucci into Thrace. He was now well out of his comfortzone and on the road to civil war. [37] (Julian would state

in late November that he set off down this road “because,having been declared a public enemy, I meant to frightenhim [Constantius] merely, and that our quarrel should re-sult in intercourse on more friendly terms...”[38])

However, in June, forces loyal to Constantius capturedthe city of Aquileia on the north Adriatic coast, an eventwhich threatened to cut Julian off from the rest of hisforces, while Constantius’s troops marched towards himfrom the east. Aquileia was subsequently besieged by23,000 men loyal to Julian.[39] All Julian could do was sitit out in Naissus, the city of Constantine’s birth, waitingfor news and writing letters to various cities in Greecejus-

tifying his actions (of which only the letter to the Atheni-ans has survived in its entirety).[40] Civil war was avoidedonly by the death on November 3 of Constantius, who, inhis last will, is alleged by some sources to have recognizedJulian as his rightful successor.

1.4 The new emperor and his administra-

tion

The Church of the Holy Apostles, where Julian brought Con-stantius II to be buried.

On December 11, 361, Julian entered Constantinople assole emperor and, despite his rejection of Christianity, hisfirst political act was to preside over Constantius’ Chris-

tian burial, escorting the body to the Church of the Apos-tles, where it was placed alongside that of Constantine.[41]

This act was a demonstration of his lawful right to thethrone.[42] He is also now thought to have been responsi-ble for the building of Santa Costanza on a Christian sitejust outside Rome as a mausoleum for his wife Helena

and sister-in-law Constantina.[43]

The new Emperor rejected the style of administration ofhis immediate predecessors. He blamed Constantine forthe state of the administration and for having abandonedthe traditions of the past. He made no attempt to restorethe tetrarchal system begun under Diocletian. Nor didhe seek to rule as an absolute autocrat. His own philo-sophic notions led him to idealize the reigns of Hadrianand Marcus Aurelius. In his first panegyric to Constan-tius, Julian described the ideal ruler as being essentially

primus inter pares (“first among equals”), operating un-der the same laws as his subjects. While in Constantino-

ple therefore it was not strange to see Julian frequentlyactive in the Senate, participating in debates and makingspeeches, placing himself at the level of the other mem-bers of the Senate.[44]

He viewed the royal court of his predecessors as ineffi-cient, corrupt, and expensive. Thousands of servants, eu-nuchs, and superfluous officials were therefore summar-ily dismissed. He set up the Chalcedon tribunal to dealwith the corruption of the previous administration underthe supervision of magister militum Arbitio. Several high-ranking officials under Constantius including the cham-berlain Eusebius were found guilty and executed. (Julian

was conspicuously absent from the proceedings, perhapssignaling his displeasure at their necessity.)[45] He con-tinually sought to reduce what he saw as a burdensomeand corrupt bureaucracy within the Imperial administra-tion whether it involved civic officials, the secret agents,or the imperial post service.

Another effect of Julian’s political philosophy was thatthe authority of the cities was expanded at the expense ofthe imperial bureaucracy as Julian sought to reduce di-rect imperial involvement in urban affairs. For example,city land owned by the imperial government was returnedto the cities, city council members were compelled to re-

sume civic authority, often against their will, and the trib-ute in gold by the cities called the aurum coronarium wasmade voluntary rather than a compulsory tax. Addition-ally, arrears of land taxes were cancelled.[46] This was akey reform reducing the power of corrupt imperial offi-cials, as the unpaid taxes on land were often hard to calcu-late or higher than the value of the land itself. Forgivingback taxes both made Julian more popular and allowedhim to increase collections of current taxes.

While he ceded much of the authority of the imperialgovernmentto the cities, Julian also took more direct con-trol himself. For example, new taxes and corvées had to

be approved by him directly rather than left to the judge-ment of the bureaucratic apparatus. Julian certainly had a

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1.6 The Persian campaign 5

clear idea of what he wanted Roman society to be, both inpolitical as well as religious terms. The terrible and vio-lent dislocation of the 3rd century meant that the East-ern Mediterranean had become the economic locus ofthe Empire. If the cities were treated as relatively au-tonomous local administrative areas, it would simplify the

problems of imperial administration, which as far as Ju-lian was concerned, should be focused on the administra-tion of the law and defense of the empire’s vast frontiers.

In replacing Constantius’s political and civil appointees,Julian drew heavily from the intellectual and professionalclasses, or kept reliable holdovers, such as the rhetoricianThemistius. His choice of consuls for the year 362was more controversial. One was the very acceptableClaudius Mamertinus, previously the Praetorian prefectof Illyricum. The other, more surprising choice wasNevitta, Julian’s trusted Frankish general. This latter ap-pointment made overt the fact that an emperor’s author-

ity depended on the power of the army. Julian’s choiceof Nevitta appears to have been aimed at maintaining thesupport of the Western army which had acclaimed him.

1.5 Clash with the Antiochenes

After five months of dealings at the capital, Julian leftConstantinople in May and moved to Antioch, arriving inmid-July and staying there for nine months before launch-ing his fateful campaign against Persia in March 363. An-tioch was a city favored by splendid temples along with

a famous oracle of Apollo in nearby Daphne, which mayhave been cause for him choosing to reside there. It hadalso been used in the past as a staging place for amassingtroops, a purpose which Julian intended to follow.[47]

His arrival on 18 July was well received by the Antioch-enes, though it coincided with the celebration of the Ado-nia, a festival which marked the death of Adonis, so therewas wailing and moaning in the streets—not a good omenfor an arrival.[48][49]

Julian soon discovered that wealthy merchants were caus-ing food problems, apparently by hoarding food and sell-ing it at high prices. He hoped that the curia would deal

with the issue for the situation was headed for a famine.When the curia did nothing, he spoke to the city’s leadingcitizens, trying to persuade them to take action. Think-ing that they would do the job, he turned his attention toreligious matters.[49]

He tried to resurrect the ancient oracular spring ofCastalia at the temple of Apollo at Daphne. After be-ing advised that the bones of 3rd-century bishop Babylaswere suppressing the god, he made a public-relations mis-take in ordering the removal of the bones from the vicinityof the temple. The result was a massive Christian proces-sion. Shortly after that, when the temple was destroyed by

fire, Julian suspected the Christians and ordered stricterinvestigations than usual. He also shut up the chief Chris-tian church of the city, before the investigations proved

that the fire was the result of an accident.[50][51]

When the curia still took no substantial action in regardsto the food shortage, Julian intervened, fixing the pricesfor grain and importing more from Egypt. Then land-holders refused to sell theirs, claiming that the harvest

was so bad that they had to be compensated with fairprices. Julian accused them of price gouging and forcedthem to sell. Various parts of Libanius’ orations may sug-gest that both sides were justified to some extent [52][53]

while Ammianus blames Julian for “a mere thirst forpopularity”.[54]

Julian’s ascetic lifestyle was not popular either, since hissubjects were accustomed to the idea of an all-powerfulEmperor who placed himself well above them. Nor didhe improve his dignity with his own participation in theceremonial of bloody sacrifices.[55] As David S. Pottersays:

They expected a man who was both re-moved from them by the awesome spectacleof imperial power, and would validate their in-terests and desires by sharing them from hisOlympian height (...) He was supposed to beinterested in what interested his people, and hewas supposed to be dignified. He was not sup-posed to leap up and show his appreciation fora panegyric that it was delivered, as Julian haddone on January 3, when Libanius was speak-ing, and ignore the chariot races.[56]

He then tried to address public criticism and mockingof him by issuing a satire ostensibly on himself, calledMisopogon or “Beard Hater”. There he blames thepeopleof Antioch for preferring that their ruler have his virtuesin the face rather than in the soul.

Even Julian’s intellectual friends and fellow pagans wereof a divided mind about this habit of talking to hissubjectson an equal footing: Ammianus Marcellinus saw in thatonly the foolish vanity of someone “excessively anxiousfor empty distinction”, whose “desire for popularity oftenled him to converse with unworthy persons”.[57]

On leaving Antioch he appointed Alexander of Heliopo-lis as governor, a violent and cruel man whom the Anti-ochene Libanius, a friend of the emperor, admits on firstthought was a “dishonourable” appointment. Julian him-self described the man as “undeserving” of the position,but appropriate “for the avaricious and rebellious peopleof Antioch”.[58]

1.6 The Persian campaign

Julian’s rise to Augustus was the result of military insur-rection eased by Constantius’s sudden death. This meant

that, while he could count on the wholehearted supportof the Western army which had aided his rise, the East-ern army was an unknown quantity originally loyal to the

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libaniushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misopogonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panegyrichttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_gouginghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylas_of_Antiochhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adonishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiochhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevittahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praetorian_prefecture_of_Illyricumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praetorian_prefecthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudius_Mamertinushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Themistiushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetoric


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6 1 LIFE

Emperor he had risen against, and he had tried to woo itthrough the Chalcedon Tribunal. However, to solidify hisposition in the eyes of the eastern army, he needed to leadits soldiers to victory and a campaign against the Persiansoffered such an opportunity.

An audacious plan was formulated whose goal was to laysiege on the Sassanid capital city of Ctesiphon and defini-tively secure the eastern border. Yet the full motivationfor this ambitious operation is, at best, unclear. There wasno direct necessity for an invasion, as the Sassanids sentenvoys in the hope of settling matters peacefully. Julianrejected this offer.[59] Ammianus states that Julian longedfor revenge on the Persians and that a certain desire forcombat and glory also played a role in his decision to goto war.[60]

Illustration from The Fall of Princes by John Lydgate (whichis a translation of De Casibus Virorum Illustribus by Giovanni Boccaccio) depicting “the skyn of Julyan”. There is no evidence

that Julian’s corpse was skinned and displayed, and it is likely

that the illustrator simply confused the fate of Julian’s body with

that of Emperor Valerian.

1.6.1 Into enemy territory

On 5 March 363, despite a series of omens againstthe campaign, Julian departed from Antioch with about65,000-83,000,[61][62] or 80,000–90,000 men,[63] andheaded north toward the Euphrates. En route he was

met by embassies from various small powers offering as-sistance, none of which he accepted. He did order theArmenian king Arsaces to muster an army and awaitinstructions.[64] He crossed the Euphrates near Hierapolisand moved eastward to Carrhae, giving the impressionthat his chosen route into Persian territory was downthe Tigris.[65] For this reason it seems he sent a forceof 30,000 soldiers under Procopius and Sebastianus fur-ther eastward to devastate Media in conjunction with Ar-menian forces.[66] This was where two earlier Romancampaigns had concentrated and where the main Per-sian forces were soon directed.[67] Julian’s strategy lay

elsewhere, however. He had had a fleet built of over1,000 ships at Samosata in order to supply his army fora march down the Euphrates and of 50 pontoon shipsto facilitate river crossings. Procopius and the Arme-nians would march down the Tigris to meet Julian nearCtesiphon.[66] Julian’s ultimate aim seems to have been“regime change” by replacing king Shapur II with hisbrother Hormisdas.[67][68]

After feigning a march further eastward, Julian’s armyturned south to Circesium at the confluence of theKhabur(“Abora”) and the Euphrates arriving at the beginning ofApril.[66] Passing Dura on April 6, the army made good

progress, bypassing towns after negotiations or besiegingthose which chose to oppose him. At the end of Aprilthe Romans captured the fortress of Pirisabora, whichguarded the canal approach from the Euphrates to Cte-siphon on the Tigris.[69] As the army marched towardthe Persian capital, the Sassanids broke the dikes whichcrossed the land, turning it into marshland, slowing theprogress of the Roman army.[70]

1.6.2 Ctesiphon

By mid-May, the army had reached the vicinity of the

heavily fortified Persian capital, Ctesiphon, where Julianpartially unloaded some of the fleet and had his troopsferried across the Tigris by night.[71] Before the gates ofthe city the Romans defeated the Persians (Battle of Cte-siphon), driving them back into the city.[72]

Although the undeniable tactical success left the Romanarmy in control of the battlefield, the Persian capital wasnot taken, the main Persian army was still at large andapproaching, while the Romans lacked a clear strategicobjective.[73] In the council of war which followed, Ju-lian’s generals persuaded him not to mount a siege againstthe city, given the impregnability of its defenses and the

fact that Shapur would soon arrive with a large force.[74]Julian not wanting to give up what he had gained andprobably still hoping for the arrival of the column un-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ctesiphon_(363)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ctesiphon_(363)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anbar_(town)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dura-Europoshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khabur_Riverhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circesiumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormizd_(Constantinople)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shapur_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procopius_(usurper)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harranhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manbijhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arshak_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian%2527s_Persian_expeditionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerian_(emperor)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Boccacciohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Boccacciohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lydgatehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ctesiphon


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1.7 Tomb 7

der Procopius and Sebastianus, set off east into the Per-sian interior, ordering the destruction of the fleet.[72] Thisproved to be a hasty decision, for they were on the wrongside of the Tigris with no clear means of retreat and thePersians had begun to harass them from a distance, burn-ing any food in the Romans’ path. A second council

of war on 16 June 363 decided that the best course ofaction was to lead the army back to the safety of Ro-man borders, not through Mesopotamia, but northwardto Corduene.[75][76]

1.6.3 Death

Sassanian relief of the investiture of Ardashir II showingMithra, Shapur II and Ahura Mazda above a defeatedJulian, lying prostrate

Detail of the fallen Julian

During the withdrawal, Julian’s forces suffered several at-tacks from Sassanid forces.[76] In one such engagementon 26 June 363, the indecisive Battle of Samarra nearMaranga, Julian was wounded when the Sassanid armyraided his column. In the haste of pursuing the retreat-ing enemy, Julian chose speed rather than caution, takingonly his sword and leaving his coat of mail.[77] He re-ceived a wound from a spear that reportedly pierced thelower lobe of his liver, the peritoneum and intestines. Thewound was not immediately deadly. Julian was treatedby his personal physician, Oribasius of Pergamum, whoseems to have made every attempt to treat the wound.This probably included the irrigation of the wound witha dark wine, and a procedure known as gastrorrhaphy,

the suturing of the damaged intestine. On the thirdday a major hemorrhage occurred and the emperor diedduring the night.[78][79] As Julian wished, his body was

buried outside Tarsus, though it was later removed toConstantinople.[80]

In 364, Libanius stated that Julian was assassinated by aChristian who was one of his own soldiers;[81] this chargeis not corroborated by Ammianus Marcellinus or other

contemporary historians. John Malalas reports that thesupposed assassination was commanded by Basil of Cae-sarea.[82] Fourteen years later, Libanius said that Julianwas killed by a Saracen (Lakhmid) and this may havebeen confirmed by Julian’s doctor Oribasius who, havingexamined the wound, said that it was from a spear usedby a group of Lakhmid auxiliaries in Persian service. [83]

Later Christian historians propagated the tradition thatJulian was killed by Saint Mercurius.[84] Julian was suc-ceeded by the short-lived Emperor Jovian who reestab-lished Christianity’s privileged position throughout theEmpire.

Libanius says in his epitaph of the deceased emperor(18.304) that “I have mentioned representations (of Ju-lian); many cities have set him beside the images of thegods and honour him as they do the gods. Already a bless-ing has been besought of him in prayer, and it was not invain. To such an extent has he literally ascended to thegods and received a share of their power from him them-selves.” However, no similar action was taken by the Ro-man central government, which would be more and moredominated by Christians in the ensuing decades.

Considered apocryphal is the report that his dyingwords were νενίκηκάς με, Γαλιλαῖε, or Vicisti, Galilaee

(“You have won, Galilean"),

[85]

supposedly expressing hisrecognition that, with his death, Christianity would be-come the Empire’s state religion. The phrase introducesthe 1866 poem Hymn to Proserpine, which was AlgernonCharles Swinburne's elaboration of what a philosophicpagan might have felt at the triumph of Christianity. Italso ends the Polish Romantic play The Undivine comedywritten in 1833 by Zygmunt Krasiński.

1.7 Tomb

As he had requested, Julian’s body was buried in Tarsus.It lay in a tomb outside the city, across a road from thatof Maximinus Daia.[86]

However, chronicler Zonaras says that at some “later”date his body was exhumed and reburied in or near theChurch of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, whereConstantine and the rest of his family lay.[87] His sarcoph-agus is listed as standing in a “stoa” there by ConstantinePorphyrogenitus.[88] The church was demolished by theOttoman Turks after the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

Today a sarcophagus of porphyry, identified as Julian’s,stands in the grounds of the Archaeological Museum inIstanbul.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_Porphyrogenitushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_Porphyrogenitushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Apostleshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zonarashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zygmunt_Krasi%C5%84skihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algernon_Charles_Swinburnehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algernon_Charles_Swinburnehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymn_to_Proserpinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jovian_(Emperor)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Mercuriushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakhmidhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_of_Caesareahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_of_Caesareahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Malalashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammianus_Marcellinushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarsus_(city)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oribasiushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intestinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Samarrahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahura_Mazdahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shapur_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithrahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardashir_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corduene


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8 2 JULIAN AND RELIGIOUS ISSUES

Porphyry sarcophagi outside the Istanbul Archaeological Mu-

seum. Julian’s is the left-hand one.

2 Julian and religious issues

2.1 Beliefs

Julian’s personal religion was both pagan and philosophi-cal; he viewed thetraditional myths as allegories, in whichthe ancient gods were aspects of a philosophical divinity.The chief surviving sources are his works To King Helios and To the Mother of the Gods , which were written aspanegyrics, not theological treatises.

While there are clear resemblances to other forms ofLate Antique religion, it is controversial as to which va-

riety it is most similar to. He learned theurgy fromMaximus of Ephesus, a student of Iamblichus;[89] hissystem bears some resemblance to the Neoplatonism ofPlotinus; Polymnia Athanassiadi has brought new atten-tion to his relations with Mithraism, although whetherhe was initiated into it remains debatable; and cer-tain aspects of his thought (such as his reorganizationof paganism under High Priests, and his fundamentalmonotheism) may show Christian influence. Some ofthese potential sources have not come down to us, andall of them influenced each other, which adds to thedifficulties.[90]

According to one theory (that of G.W. Bowersock inparticular), Julian’s paganism was highly eccentric andatypical because it was heavily influenced by an esotericapproach to Platonic philosophy sometimes identified astheurgy and also Neoplatonism. Others (Rowland Smith,in particular) have argued that Julian’s philosophical per-spective was nothing unusual for a “cultured” pagan ofhis time, and, at any rate, that Julian’s paganism was notlimited to philosophy alone, and that he was deeply de-voted to the same gods and goddesses as other pagans ofhis day.

Because of his Neoplatonist background Julian accepted

the creation of humanity as described in Plato’s Timaeus .Julian writes, “when Zeus was setting all things in or-der there fell from him drops of sacred blood, and from

them, as they say, arose the race of men.”[91] Furtherhe writes, “they who had the power to create one manand one woman only, were able to create many men andwomen at once....”[92] His view contrasts with the Chris-tian belief that humanity is derived from the one pair,Adam and Eve. Elsewhere he argues against the single

pair origin, indicating his disbelief, noting for example,“how very different in their bodies are the Germans andScythians from the Libyans and Ethiopians.”[93][94]

The Christian historian Socrates Scholasticus was of theopinion that Julian believed himself to be Alexanderthe Great “in another body” via transmigration of souls,“in accordance with the teachings of Pythagoras andPlato".[95]

2.2 Restoration of Paganism as state reli-

gion

Julian the Apostate presiding at a conference of sectarians , byEdward Armitage , 1875

See also: henosis and henotheism

After gaining the purple, Julian started a religious refor-mation of the state, which was intended to restore the loststrength of the Roman state. He supported the restora-tion of Hellenistic polytheism as the state religion. Hislaws tended to target wealthy and educated Christians,and his aim was not to destroy Christianity but to drive

the religion out of “the governing classes of the empire— much as Buddhism was driven back into the lowerclasses by a revived Confucian mandarinate in 13th cen-tury China.”[96]

He restored pagan temples which had been confiscatedsince Constantine’s time, or simply appropriated bywealthy citizens; he repealed the stipends that Constan-tine had awarded to Christian bishops, and removed theirother privileges, including a right to be consulted on ap-pointments and to act as private courts. He also reversedsome favors that had previously been given to Christians.For example, he reversed Constantine’s declaration that

Majuma, the port of Gaza, was a separate city. Majumahad a large Christian congregation while Gaza was stillpredominantly pagan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Cityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majumahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_the_Song_Dynastyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_the_Song_Dynastyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenistic_religionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henotheismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henosishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Armitagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_(spirit)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Greathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Greathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates_Scholasticushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Bowersockhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotheismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithraismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plotinushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoplatonismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iamblichushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximus_of_Ephesushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theurgyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panegyrichttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybelehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helioshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoplatonism#The_One


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2.2 Restoration of Paganism as state religion 9

On 4 February 362, Julian promulgated an edict to guar-antee freedom of religion. This edict proclaimed that allthe religions were equal before the law, and that the Ro-man Empire had to return to its original religious eclecti-cism, according to which the Roman state did not imposeany religion on its provinces. Practically however, it had

as its purpose the restoration of paganism at the expenseof Christianity.

Coptic icon showing Saint Mercurius killing Julian. According

to a tradition, Saint Basil (an old school-mate of Julian) had

been imprisoned at the start of Julian’s Sassanid campaign. Basil

prayed to Mercurius to help him, and the saint appeared in a

vision to Basil, claiming to have speared Julian to death.

Since the persecution of Christians by past RomanEmperors had seemingly only strengthened Christian-ity, many of Julian’s actions were designed to harassand undermine the ability of Christians to organizeresistance to the re-establishment of paganism in the

empire.[97] Julian’s preference for a non-Christian andnon-philosophical view of Iamblichus’ theurgy seems tohave convinced him that it was right to outlaw the prac-tice of the Christian view of theurgy and demand the sup-pression of the Christian set of Mysteries.[98]

In his School Edict Julian required that all public teach-ers be approved by the Emperor; the state paid or sup-plemented much of their salaries. Ammianus Marcelli-nus explains this as intending to prevent Christian teach-ers from using pagan texts (such as the Iliad , which waswidely regarded as divinely inspired) that formed the coreof classical education: “If they want to learn literature,

they have Luke and Mark: Let them go back to theirchurches and expound on them”, the edict says.[96] Thiswas an attempt to remove some of the power of the Chris-

tian schools which at that time and later used ancientGreek literature in their teachings in their effort to presentthe Christian religion as being superior to paganism. Theedict was also a severe financial blow, because it deprivedChristian scholars, tutors and teachers of many students.

In his Tolerance Edict of 362, Julian decreed the reopen-ing of pagan temples, the restitution of confiscated templeproperties, and the return from exile of dissident Chris-tian bishops. The latter was an instance of tolerance ofdifferent religious views, but it may also have been seenas an attempt by Julian to foster schisms and divisionsbetween different Christian sects, since conflict betweenrival Christian sects was quite fierce.[99]

His care in the institution of a pagan hierarchy in opposi-tion to that of the Christians was due to his wish to createa society in which every aspect of the life of the citizenswas to be connected, through layers of intermediate lev-

els, to the consolidated figure of the Emperor — the fi-nal provider for all the needs of his people. Within thisproject, there was no place for a parallel institution, suchas the Christian hierarchy or Christian charity.[100]

2.2.1 Paganism’s shift under Julian

DuringJulian’s brief reign from 361-363 CE, his popular-ity among the people and the army indicated that he mighthave brought paganism back to the fore of Roman publicand private life.[101] In fact, during his lifetime, neitherpagan nor Christian ideology reigned supreme, and the

greatest thinkers of the day argued about the merits andrationality of each religion.[102] Most importantly for thepagan cause, though, Rome was still a predominantly pa-gan empire that had not wholly accepted Christianity.[103]

Even so, Julian’s short reign did not stem the tide of Chris-tianity. The emperor’s ultimate failure can arguably beattributed to the manifold religious traditions and deitiesthat paganism promulgated. Most pagans sought religiousaffiliations that were unique to their culture and people,and they had internal divisions that prevented them fromcreating any one ‘pagan religion.’ Indeed, the term pa-gan was simply a convenient appellation for Christians to

lump together the believers of a system they opposed.[104]In truth, there was no Roman religion, as modern ob-servers would recognize it.[105] Instead, paganism camefrom a system of observances that one historian has char-acterized as “no more than a spongy mass of toleranceand tradition.”[105]

This system of tradition had already shifted dramaticallyby the time Julian came to power; gone were the daysof massive sacrifices honoring the gods. The communalfestivals that involved sacrifice and feasting, which onceunited communities, now tore them apart—Christianagainst pagan.[106] Civic leaders did not even have the

funds, much less the support, to hold religious festivals.Julian found the financial base that had supported theseventures (sacred temple funds) had been seized by his un-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Markhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Lukehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliadhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Basilhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Mercuriushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copt


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10 3 ANCESTRY

cle Constantine to support the Christian Church.[107] Inall, Julian’s short reign simply could not shift the feelingof inertia that had swept across the Empire. Christianshad denounced sacrifice, stripped temples of their funds,and cut priests and magistrates off from the social prestigeand financial benefits accompanying leading pagan posi-

tions in the past. Leading politicians and civic leadershad little motivation to rock the boat by reviving paganfestivals. Instead, they chose to adopt the middle groundby having ceremonies and mass entertainment that werereligiously neutral.[108]

After witnessing the reign of two emperors bent on sup-porting the Church and stamping out paganism, it is un-derstandable that pagans simply did not embrace Julian’sidea of proclaiming their devotion to polytheism and theirrejection of Christianity. Many chose to adopt a practi-cal approach and not support Julian’s public reforms ac-tively for fear of a Christian revival. However, this apa-

thetic attitude forced the emperor to shift central aspectsof pagan worship. Julian’s attempts to reinvigorate thepeople shifted the focus of paganism from a system oftradition to a religion with some of the same characteris-tics that he opposed in Christianity.[109] For example, Ju-lian attempted to introduce a tighter organization for thepriesthood, with greater qualifications of character andservice. Classical paganism simply did not accept thisidea of priests as model citizens. Priests were elites withsocial prestige and financial power who organized festi-vals and helped pay for them.[107] Yet Julian’s attempt toimpose moral strictness on the civic position of priest-

hood only made paganism more in tune with Christianmorality, drawing it further from paganism’s system oftradition.

Indeed, this development of a pagan order created thefoundations of a bridge of reconciliation over which pa-ganism and Christianity could meet.[110] Likewise, Ju-lian’s persecution of Christians, who by pagan standardswere simply part of a different cult, was quite an un-paganattitude that transformed paganism into a religion that ac-cepted only one form of religious experience while ex-cluding all others—such as Christianity.[111] In trying tocompete with Christianity in this manner, Julian funda-

mentally changed the nature of pagan worship. That is,he made paganism a religion, whereas it once had beenonly a system of tradition.

2.2.2 Juventinus and Maximus

Despite the emperor’s attempts to reconcile Christianityand paganism, many of the Church fathers viewed himwith hostility, and told stories of his supposed wickednessafter his death. A sermon by Saint John Chrysostom, en-titled On Saints Juventinus and Maximinus , tells the storyof two of Julian’s soldiers at Antioch, who were over-

heard at a drinking party, criticizing the emperor’s reli-gious policies, and taken intocustody. According to John,the emperor had made a deliberate effort to avoid creat-

ing martyrs of those who disagreed with his reforms; butJuventinus and Maximinus admitted to being Christians,and refused to moderate their stance. John asserts thatthe emperor forbade anyone from having contact with themen, but that nobody obeyed his orders; so he had the twomen executed in the middle of the night. John urges his

audience to visit the tomb of these martyrs.[112]

2.2.3 Charity

Because Christian charities were open to all, includingpagans, it put this aspect of the Roman citizens lives outof the control of the Imperial authority and under thatof the Church. Thus Julian envisioned the institutionof a Roman philanthropic system, and cared for the be-haviour and the morality of the pagan priests, in the hopethat it would mitigate the reliance of pagans on Christian

charity, saying: “These impious Galileans not only feed their own poor, but ours also; welcoming them into their agapae , they attract them, as children are attracted, with

cakes.” [113]

2.3 Attempt to rebuild the Jewish Temple

In 363, not long before Julian left Antioch to launch hiscampaign against Persia, in keeping with his effort to fos-ter religions other than Christianity, he ordered the Tem-ple rebuilt.[114] A personal friend of his, Ammianus Mar-cellinus, wrote this about the effort:

Julian thought to rebuild at an extravagantexpense the proud Temple once at Jerusalem,and committed this task to Alypius of Antioch.Alypius set vigorously to work, and was sec-onded by the governor of the province; whenfearful balls of fire, breaking out near the foun-dations, continued their attacks, till the work-men, after repeated scorchings, could approachno more: and he gave up the attempt.

The failure to rebuild the Temple has been ascribed tothe Galilee earthquake of 363, and to the Jews' ambiva-lence about the project. Sabotage is a possibility, asis an accidental fire. Divine intervention was the com-mon view among Christian historians of the time.[115] Ju-lian’s support of Jews caused Jews to call him “Julian theHellene".[116]

3 Ancestry

Ancestors of Julian

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_the_Greeks#Hellene_comes_to_mean_.22pagan.22https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galilee_earthquake_of_363https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_governorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alypius_of_Antiochhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammianus_Marcellinushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammianus_Marcellinushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agape_feasthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charitable_organizationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juventinus_and_Maximinushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Chrysostom


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11

4 Works

Julian wrote several works in Greek, some of which havecome down to us.

• Budé indicates the numbers used by Athanassiadi given in

the Budé edition (1963 & 1964) of Julian’s Opera.[130]

• Wright indicates the oration numbers provided in

W.C.Wright’s edition of Julian’s works.

The religious works contain involved philosophical spec-ulations, and the panegyrics to Constantius are formulaicand elaborate in style.

The Misopogon (or “Beard Hater”) is a light-hearted ac-count of his clash with the inhabitants of Antioch after hewas mocked for his beard and generally scruffy appear-ance for an Emperor. The Caesars is a humorous tale

of a contest between some of the most notable RomanEmperors: Julius Caesar, Augustus, Trajan, Marcus Au-relius, Constantine, and also interestingly Alexander theGreat. This was a satiric attack upon the recent Constan-tine, whose worth, both as a Christian and as the leaderof the Roman Empire, Julian severely questions.

One of the most important of his lost works is his Against the Galileans , intended to refute the Christian religion.The only parts of this work which survive are those ex-cerpted by Cyril of Alexandria, who gives extracts fromthe three first books in his refutation of Julian, ContraJulianum. These extracts do not give an adequate idea

of the work: Cyril confesses that he had not ventured tocopy several of the weightiest arguments.

These have been edited and translated several times sincethe Renaissance, most often separately; but all are trans-lated in theLoeb Classical Library edition of 1913, editedby Wilmer Cave Wright.

5 In fiction

• In 1847, the controversial German theologian DavidFriedrich Strauss published in Mannheim the pam-

phlet Der Romantiker auf dem Thron der Cäsaren(“A Romantic on the Throne of the Caesars”), inwhich Julian was satirised as “an unworldly dreamer,a man who turned nostalgia for the ancients intoa way of life and whose eyes were closed to thepressing needs of the present”. In fact, this was aveiled criticism of the contemporary King FrederickWilliam IV of Prussia, known for his romanticdreams of restoring the supposed glories of feudalMedieval society.[131]

• Julian’s life inspired the play Emperor and Galileanby Henrik Ibsen.

• Julian’s life and reign were the subject of the novelThe Death of the Gods (Julian the Apostate) (1895)

in the trilogy of historical novels entitled “Christand Antichrist” (1895–1904) by the Russian Sym-bolist poet, novelist and literary theoretician DmitriiS. Merezhkovskii.

• The opera Der Apostat (1924) by the composer and

conductor Felix Weingartner is about Julian.

• In 1945 Nikos Kazantzakis authored the tragedy Ju-lian the Apostate in which the emperor is depicted asan existentialist hero committed to a struggle whichhe knows will be in vain. It was first staged in Parisin 1948.

• Julian was the subject of a novel, Julian (1964), byGore Vidal, describing his life and times. It is no-table for, among other things, its scathing critique ofChristianity.

• Julian appeared in Gods and Legions , by MichaelCurtis Ford (2002). Julian’s tale was told by his clos-est companion, the Christian saint Caesarius, andaccounts for the transition from a Christian philos-ophy student in Athens to a pagan Roman Augustusof the old nature.

• Julian’s letters are an important part of the symbol-ism of Michel Butor's novel La Modification.

• The fantasy alternate history The Dragon Waiting by

John M. Ford, while set in the time of the Wars ofthe Roses, uses the reign of Julian as its point of di-vergence. His reign not being cut short, he was suc-cessful in disestablishing Christianity and restoring areligiously eclectic societal order which survived thefall of Rome and into the Renaissance Characters inthe novel refer to him as “Julian the Wise”.

• The dystopian speculative fiction novel Julian Com-stock: A Story of 22nd-Century America parallels thelife of Julian, with the title character as the heredi-tary president of an oligarchic future United Statesof America who tries to restore science and combat

the fundamentalist Christianity that has taken overthe country.

6 See also

• Libri tres contra Galileos

• Anbar, the ancient town of Perisabora destroyed byJulian in 363.

• Diodore of Tarsus

• Itineraries of the Roman emperors, 337–361

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itineraries_of_the_Roman_emperors,_337%E2%80%93361https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diodore_of_Tarsushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anbar_(town)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libri_tres_contra_Galileoshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Comstock:_A_Story_of_22nd-Century_Americahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Comstock:_A_Story_of_22nd-Century_Americahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculative_fictionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dystopianhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissancehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_of_divergencehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_of_divergencehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_the_Roseshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_the_Roseshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._Fordhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dragon_Waitinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_historyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Modificationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Butorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesarius_of_Nazianzushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Curtis_Fordhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Curtis_Fordhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gore_Vidalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_(historical_novel)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikos_Kazantzakishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Weingartnerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry_Merezhkovskyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry_Merezhkovskyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Symbolismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Symbolismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_the_Godshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrik_Ibsenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_and_Galileanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_William_IV_of_Prussiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_William_IV_of_Prussiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannheimhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Friedrich_Strausshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Friedrich_Strausshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loeb_Classical_Libraryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_of_Alexandriahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Greathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Greathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Aureliushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Aureliushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trajanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesarhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Caesars_(tale)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misopogonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panegyrics


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12 7 NOTES AND REFERENCES

7 Notes and references

[1] In Classical Latin, Julian’s name would be inscribed asFLAVIVS CLAVDIVS IVLIANVS AVGVSTVS.

[2] Tougher, 12, citing Bouffartigue: L'Empereur Julien et la

culture de son temps p. 30 for the argument for 331; A.H.Jones, J.R. Martindale, and J. Morris “Prosopography ofthe Later Roman Empire, Vol. I” p.447 (Iulianus 29) ar-gues for May or June 332.

[3] Grant, Michael (1980). Greek and Latin authors, 800B.C.-A.D. 1000, Part 1000. H. W. Wilson Co. p.240. ISBN 0-8242-0640-1. JULIAN THE APOSTATE(Flavins Claudius Julianus), Roman emperor and Greekwriter, was born at Constantinople in ad 332 and died in363.

[4] Glanville Downey, “Julian the Apostate at Antioch”,Church History, Vol. 8, No. 4 (December, 1939), pp.

303–315. See p.305.

[5] Athanassiadi, p.88.

[6] Chambers Dictionary

[7] Gibbon, Edward. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. p. Chapter 23.

[8] A.H. Jones, J.R. Martindale, and J. Morris “Prosopogra-phy of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. I” p.447.

[9] Norwich, John Julius (1989). Byzantium: the early cen-turies . Knopf. p. 83. ISBN 0-394-53778-5. JuliusConstantius...Constantine had invited him, with his sec-ond wife and his young family, to take up residence in hisnew capital; and it was in Constantinople that his thirdson Julian was born, in May or June of the year 332. Thebaby’s mother, Basilina, a Greek from Asia Minor, died afew weeks later...

[10] Bradbury, Jim (2004). The Routledge companion to me-dieval warfare. Routledge. p. 54. ISBN 0-415-22126-9. JULIAN THE APOSTATE, FLAVIUS CLAUDIUSJULIANUS, ROMAN EMPEROR (332-63) Emperorfrom 361, son of Julius Constantius and a Greek motherBasilina, grandson of Constantius Chlorus, the only paganByzantine Emperor.

[11] Jones, Martindale, and Morris (1971) Prosopography of theLater RomanEmpire volume 1, p.148, 478–479. Cam-bridge.

[12] Cambridge Ancient History, v.13, pp.44–45.

[13] Boardman, p. 44, citing Julian to the Alexandrians,Wright’s letter 47, of November or December 362.Ezekiel Spanheim 434D. Twelve would be literal, but Ju-lian is counting inclusively.

[14] Letter 47, Wright, v.3, p.149.

[15] R. Browning, The Emperor Julian (London, 1975), pp.

74–5. However, Shaun Tougher, “The Advocacy of anEmpress: Julian and Eusebia” (The Classical Quarterly,New Series, Vol. 48, No. 2 (1998), pp. 595–599), argues

that the kind Eusebia of Julian’s panegyric is a literary cre-ation and that she was doing the bidding of her husbandin bringing Julian around to doing what Constantius hadasked of him. See especially p.597.

[16] David S. Potter, The Roman Empire at Bay AD 180–395,p.499.

[17] Most sources give the town as Sens, which is well into theinterior of Gaul. See John F. Drinkwater, The Alamanni and Rome 213–496 , OUP Oxford 2007, p.220.

[18] Cambridge Ancient History, v.13, p.49.

[19] David S. Potter, The Roman Empire at Bay AD 180–395,p.501.

[20] David S. Potter, p.501.

[21] Cambridge Ancient History, v.13, pp.50–51.

[22] Ammianus says that there were 35,000 Alamanni, Res Gestae, 16.12.26, though this figure is now thought to bean overestimate – see David S. Potter, p.501.

[23] D. Woods, “On the 'Standard-Bearers’ at Strasbourg:Libanius, or. 18.58–66”, Mnemosyne, Fourth Series , Vol.50, Fasc. 4 (August, 1997), p. 479.

[24] David S. Potter, pp.501–502.


[26] Ammianus Marcellinus Res Gestae, 16.12.27ff, 38ff, 55

[27] Ammianus Marcellinus Res Gestae, 16.12.64–65

[28] John F. Drinkwater, The Alamanni and Rome 213–496 ,pp.240–241.


[30] grammation: cf. Zosimus, Historia Nova, 3.9, com-mented by Veyne, L'Empire Gréco-Romain, p.45

[31] Julian, Letter to the Athenians, 282C.



[34] Cambridge Ancient History, v.13, pp. 56–57.

[35] David S. Potter, p.506.

[36] Cambridge Ancient History v.13, p.58.


[38] In a private letter to his Uncle Julian, in W.C. Wright, v.3,p.27.

[39] J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries , 89




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezekiel_Spanheimhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopography_of_the_Later_Roman_Empirehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopography_of_the_Later_Roman_Empirehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-415-22126-9https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-415-22126-9https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-394-53778-5https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_the_Decline_and_Fall_of_the_Roman_Empirehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_the_Decline_and_Fall_of_the_Roman_Empirehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Gibbonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8242-0640-1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Latin


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13

[43] Webb, Matilda. The churches and catacombs of earlyChristian Rome: a comprehensive guide, p. 249-252,2001, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 1-902210-58-1,ISBN 978-1-902210-58-2, google books

[44] Cambridge Ancient History, v.13, pp. 63–4.



[47] Bowersock, p.95.

[48] Cambridge Ancient History, v.13 p.69.

[49] Bowersock, p.96.

[50] Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, 22.12.8 – 22.13.3

[51] Socrates of Constantinople, Historia ecclesiastica, 3.18

[52] Libanius, Orations , 18.195 & 16.21

[53] Libanius, Orations , 1.126 & 15.20

[54] Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, 22.14.1


[56] David S. Potter, The Roman Empire at Bay, pp. 515–516

[57] Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, 22.7.1, 25.4.17(Commented by Veyne, L"Empire Gréco-Romain, p.77)

[58] See Letter 622 by Libanius: “That Alexander was ap-pointed to the government at first, I confess, gave me someconcern, as the principal persons among us were dissatis-

fied. I thought it dishonourable, injurious, and unbecom-ing a prince; and that repeated fines would rather weakenthan improve the city....” and the translator’s note upon it:“This is the Alexander of whom Ammianus says (23.2),“When Julian was going to leave Antioch, he made oneAlexander of Heliopolis, governor of Syria, a turbulentand severe man, saying that 'undeserving as he was, sucha ruler suited the avaricious and contumellious Antiochi-ans’.” As the letter makes clear, Julian handed thecity overto be looted by a man he himself regarded as unworthy,andthe Christian inhabitants, who haddared to oppose hisattempt to restore paganism, to be forced to attend and ap-plaud pagan ceremonies at sword-point; and be 'urged' tocheer more loudly.”

[59] Libanius, Oration 12, 76–77

[60] Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, 22.12.1–2

[61] Zosimus, Historia Nova, book 3, chapter 12. Zosimus’text is ambiguous and refers to a smaller force of 18,000under Procopius and a larger force of 65,000 under Julianhimself; it’s unclear if the second figure includes the first.

[62] Elton, Hugh, Warfare in Roman Europe AD 350-425, p.210, using the higher estimate of 83,000.

[63] Bowersock, Julian the Apostate, p.108.

[64] Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, 23.2.1–2

[65] Ridley, Notes, p.318.

[66] Bowersock, Julian the Apostate, p.110.

[67] David S, Potter, The Roman Empire at Bay, p.517.

[68] Libanius, Epistulae, 1402.2

[69] Dodgeon & Lieu, The Roman Eastern Frontier and the

Persian Wars , p.203.

[70] Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, 24.3.10–11.

[71] Dodgeon & Lieu, The Roman Eastern Frontier and thePersian Wars , p.204.

[72] Cambridge Ancient History, p.75.

[73] Adrian Goldsworth, How Rome fell . New Haven: YaleUniversity Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-300-13719-4 , page232

[74] Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, 24.7.1.


[76] Dodgeon & Lieu, The Roman Eastern Frontier and thePersian Wars , p.205.


[78] Lascaratos, John and Dionysios Voros. 2000 FatalWounding of the Byzantine Emperor Julian the Apostate(361–363 A.D.): Approach to the Contribution of An-cient Surgery. World Journal of Surgery 24: 615–619.See p.618.

[79] Note that Ammianus Marcellinus (Res Gestae, 25.3.6 &23) is of the view that Julian died the night of the sameday that he was wounded.

[80] Grant, Michael. The Roman Emperors. (New York:Barnes and Noble Books, 1997), pp. 254.

[81] Libanius, Orations , 18.274

[82] Joannes Malalas, Chronographia, 333–334. PatrologiaGraeca XCII, col. 496.

[83] evidence preserved by Philostorgius, see David S. Potter,The Roman Empire at Bay AD 180–395, p.518

[84] Sozomenus, Historia ecclesiastica, 6.2

[85] First recorded by Theodoret, (Historia Ecclesiastica, 3.25)in the 5th century.

[86] Libanius, Oration 18, 306; Ammianus Marcellinus 23, 2.5and 25, 5.1. References from G. Downey,The tombs of the Byzantine emperors at the Church of the Holy Apostles

in Constantinople, Journal of Hellenic Studies 79 (1959)p.46

[87] Downey gives the text: '...later the body was transferredto the imperial city' (xiii 13, 25)

[88] Glanville Downey, The tombs of the Byzantine emperors at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, Journal

of Hellenic Studies 79 (1959) 27-51. On p. 34 he statesthat the Book of Ceremonies of Constantine Porphyrogen-itus gives a list of tombs, ending with: “43. In this stoa,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammianus_Marcellinushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodorethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sozomenushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philostorgiushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libaniushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780300137194https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libaniushttp://www.ccel.org/ccel/pearse/morefathers/files/libanius_02_16_letters_to_julian.htm#C10https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates_of_Constantinoplehttp://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hUN1K78QMskC&pg=PA249&dq=santa+costanza+rome&hl=en&ei=g2NRTvayJMzD8QOjwNyvBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CEQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=santa%2520costanza%2520rome&f=falsehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781902210582https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1902210581


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14 8 SOURCES

which is to the north, lies a cylindrically-shaped sarcoph-agus, in which lies the cursed and wretched body of theapostate Julian, porphyry or Roman in colour. 44 An-other sarcophagus, porphyry, or Roman, in which lies thebody of Jovian, who ruled after Julian.”

[89] The emperor’s study of Iamblichus and of theurgy are asource of criticism from his primary chronicler, Ammi-anus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, 22.13.6–8 and 25.2.5

[90] Tougher, Shaun (2007). Julian the Apostate. EdinburghUniversity Press. p. 27ff, 58f. ISBN 9780748618873.

[91] Julian, “Letter to a Priest”, 292. Transl. W.C. Wright,v.2, p.307.

[92] As above. Wright, v.2, p.305.

[93] Julian, "Against the Galilaeans", 143. Transl. W.C.Wright, v.3, p.357.

[94] Thomas F. Gossett, Race: The History of an Idea in Amer-

ica, 1963 (Southern Methodist University Press) /1997(Oxford University Press, USA), p. 8.

[95] Socrates Scholasticus, Church History, iii, 21.

[96] Brown, Peter, TheWorld ofLate Antiquity, W.W. Norton,New York, 1971, p. 93.

[97] Julian, Epistulae, 52.436A ff.

[98] See Theourgia-Demiourgia John P Anton.

[99] Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, 22.5.4.

[100] See Roberts and DiMaio.

[101] Adrian Murdoch, The Last Pagan (UK: Sutton PublishingLimited, 2003), 3.

[102] Adrian Murdoch, The Last Pagan (UK: Sutton PublishingLimited, 2003), 4.

[103] Scott Bradbury, “Julian’s Pagan Revival and the Declineof Blood Sacrifice,” Phoenix 49 (1995), 331.

[104] Scott Bradbury, “Julian’s Pagan Revival and the Declineof Blood Sacrifice,” Phoenix 49 (1995).

[105] Jonathan Kirsch, God against the Gods (New York: Pen-guin Group, 2004), 9.

[106] Scott Bradbury, “Julian’s Pagan Revival and the Declineof Blood Sacrifice,” Phoenix 49 (1995): 333.



[109] Harold Mattingly, “The Later Paganism,” The HarvardTheological Review 35 (1942): 178.

[110] Harold Mattingly, “The Later Paganism,” The HarvardTheological Review 35 (1942): 171.

[111] James O’Donnell, “The Demise of Paganism,” Traditio 35(1979): 53, accessed September 23, 2014, http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.vanderbilt.edu/stable/27831060.

[112] St. John Chrysostom, The Cult of the Saints (select homi-lies and letters), Wendy Mayer & Bronwen Neil, eds., St.Vladimir’s Seminary Press (2006).

[113] Quoted in : Schmidt, Charles (1889). The Social Results of Early Christianity (2 ed.). Wm. Isbister. p. 328. Re-trieved 2013-02-09.


[115] See “Julian and the Jews 361–363 CE” (Fordham Univer-sity, The Jesuit University of New York) and “Julian theApostate and the Holy Temple”.

[116] A Psychoanalytic History of the Jews, Avner Falk


[118] Athanassiadi, pp. 62–3.

[119] The manuscript tradition uses the name “Sallustius”, but

see Bowersock, p.45 (footnote #12), and Athanassiadi,p.20.




[123] Athanassiadi, p.141, “at the same time” as To The Cynic Heracleios .


[125] Athanassiadi, p.197, written for the Saturnalia festival,which began December 21.

[126] Athanassiadi, p.148, doesn't supply a clear date. Bower-sock, p.103, dates it to the celebration of Sol Invictus, De-cember 25, shortly after the Caesars was written.

[127] Athanassiadi, p.201, dates it “towards the end of his stayin Antioch”.

[128] Athanassiadi, p.161. - Wikisource:Against the Galileans

[129] Not dealt with in Athanassiadi, or dated by Bowersock,but reflects a time when Julian was emperor, and he had

other issues to deal with later.

[130] Julian’s Opera, edited by J.Bidez, G.Rochefort, andC.Lacombrade, with French translations of all the prin-cipal works except Against the Galilaeans , which is onlypreserved in citations in a polemic work by Cyril.

[131] Christopher Clark, “Iron Kingdom”, p. 446

8 Sources

• Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, Libri XV-XXV

(books 15–25). See J.C. Rolfe, Ammianus Marcelli-nus , Harvard University Press, Cambridge Mass.,1935/1985. 3 Volumes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammianus_Marcellinushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Clarkhttps://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Against%2520the%2520Galileanshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avner_Falkhttp://www.gibsoncondo.com/~david/convert/history.htmlhttp://www.gibsoncondo.com/~david/convert/history.htmlhttp://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/julian-jews.htmlhttp://books.google.com/books?id=X-UROGF6ZcUChttp://books.google.com/books?id=X-UROGF6ZcUChttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Chrysostomhttp://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.vanderbilt.edu/stable/27831060http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.vanderbilt.edu/stable/27831060http://www.roman-emperors.org/julian.htmhttp://www.cas.usf.edu/philosophy/curriculumvitae/antoncv2003.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libri_tres_contra_Galileoshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780748618873https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number


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15

• Ammianus Marcellinus, The Roman History of Am-mianus Marcellinus During the Reigns of the Em-

perors Constantius, Julian, Jovianus, Valentinian,

and Valens. Translated by C. D. Yonge. Full textat Internet Archive at https://archive.org/stream/theromanhistoryo28587gut/28587-0.txt. Guten-

berg etext# 28587.

• Julian the emperor: containing Gregory Nazianzen’s

two Invectives and Libanius’ Monody : with Julian’s

extant theosophical works., Translated by C.W.King. George Bell and Sons, London, 1888. At theInternet Archive

• Claudius Mamertinus, "Gratiarum actio Mamertini de consulato suo Iuliano Imperatori ", Panegyrici La-tini , panegyric delivered in Constantinople in 362,also as a speech of thanks at his assumption of theoffice of consul of that year

• Gregory Nazianzen, Orations , "First InvectiveAgainst Julian", "Second Invective Against Julian".Both transl. C.W. King, 1888.

• Libanius, Monody — Funeral Oration for Julian theApostate. Transl. C.W. King, 1888.

9 Further reading

•

Roberts, Walter E., and Michael DiMaio, “Julian theApostate (360–363 A.D.)", De Imperatoribus Ro-manis (2002)

• Athanassiadi, Polymnia. Julian. An Intellectual Bi-ography Routledge, London, 1992. ISBN 0-415-07763-X

• Bowersock, Glen Warren. Julian the Apostate. Lon-don, 1978. ISBN 0-674-48881-4

• Browning, Robert. The Emperor Julian, London,1975.

• Dodgeon, Michael H. & Samuel N.C. Lieu, TheRoman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars AD

226–363, Routledge, London, 1991. ISBN 0-203-42534-0

• Drinkwater, John F., The Alamanni and Rome 213– 496 (Caracalla to Clovis), OUP Oxford 2007. ISBN0-19-929568-9

• Gardner, Alice, Julian Philosopher and Em- peror and the Last Struggle of Paganism Against

Christianity, G.P. Putnam’s Son, London, 1895.

ISBN 0-404-58262-1 / ISBN 978-0-404-58262-3. Downloadable at https://archive.org/details/julianphilosophe00gard.

• Hunt, David. “Julian”. In The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 13 (Averil Cameron & Peter Gar-nsey editors). CUP, Cambridge, 1998. ISBN 0-521-30200-5

• Lascaratos, John and Dionysios Voros. 2000 Fa-

tal Wounding of the Byzantine Emperor Julian theApostate (361–363 A.D.): Approach to the Con-tribution of Ancient Surgery. World Journal of Surgery 24: 615–619

• Lenski, Noel Emmanuel Failure of Empire: Valens and the Roman State in the Fourth Century AD Uni-versity of California Press: London, 2003

• Lieu, Samuel N.C. & Dominic Montserrat: editors,From Constantine to Julian: A Source History Rout-ledge: New York, 1996. ISBN 0-203-42205-8

• Murdoch, Adrian. The Last Pagan: Julian the Apos-

tate and the Death of the Ancient World , Stroud,2005, ISBN 0-7509-4048-4

• Neander, August, The Emperor Julian and His Generation, An Historical Picture, trans-lated by G.V. Cox, John W. Parker, Lon-don, 1859. ISBN 0-217-34765-7 / ISBN9780217347655. Downloadable at https://archive.org/details/emperorjulianan01neangoog.

• Potter, David S. The Roman Empire at Bay AD 180– 395, Routledge, New York, 2004. ISBN 0-415-10058-5

• Rendall, Gerald Henry, The Emperor Julian: Pagan-ism and Christianity with Genealogical, Chronologi-

cal and Bibliographical Appendices, George Bell andSons, London, 1879. ISBN 1-152-51929-8 / ISBN9781152519299. Downloadable at https://archive.org/details/emperorjulian00rend.

• Ridley, R.T., “Notes on Julian’s Persian Expedition(363)", Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, Vol.22, No. 2, 1973, pp. 317–330

• Rohrbacher, David. Historians of Late Antiquity.Routledge: New York, 2002. ISBN 0-415-20459-3

• Rosen, Klaus. Julian. Kaiser, Gott und Christenhas-ser . Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart, 2006.

• Smith, Rowland. Julian’s gods: religion and philosophy in the thought and action of Julian the Apostate,London, 1995. ISBN 0-415-03487-6

• Veyne, Paul. L'Empire Gréco-Romain. Seuil, Paris,2005. ISBN 2-02-057798-4

10 External links

• Laws of Julian. Two laws by Constantius II, whileJulian was Caesar.

http://www.seanmultimedia.com/Pie_Julian_Apostate_Laws.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/2020577984https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0415034876https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0415204593https://archive.org/details/emperorjulian00rendhttps://archive.org/details/emperorjulian00rendhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781152519299https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781152519299https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1152519298https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0415100585https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0415100585https://archive.org/details/emperorjulianan01neangooghttps://archive.org/details/emperorjulianan01neangooghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780217347655https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780217347655https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0217347657https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0750940484https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0203422058https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominic_Montserrathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0521302005https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0521302005https://archive.org/details/julianphilosophe00gardhttps://archive.org/details/julianphilosophe00gardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780404582623https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780404582623https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0404582621https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0199295689ht

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