Julian (emperor)

Julian (Latin: Flavius Claudius Julianus; Ancient Greek: ἸουλιανόςIoulianos; 331 – 26 June 363) was Caesar of Western Rome from 355 to 360 and Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, public conversion to paganism, and promotion of NeoplatonicHellenism caused him to be remembered as Julian the Apostate in the Christian tradition.

A nephew of Constantine the Great, Julian was one of few in the imperial family to survive the purges and civil wars during the reign of Constantius II, his cousin. Julian was orphaned as a child after his father was executed in 337 and spent much of his life under Constantius' close supervision. However, the emperor allowed Julian freedom to pursue an education in the Greek-speaking east. In 355, Constantius II appointed Julian to govern Gaul; his rule was successful, defeating and countering Germanic raids across the Rhine and encouraging the provinces' return to prosperity. In 360, he was proclaimed emperor by his soldiers at Lutetia (Paris), sparking a civil war with Constantius. However, Constantius died before the two could face each other in battle, having named Julian as his successor to prevent further bloodshed.

In 363, Julian embarked on against the Sasanian Empire, mustering the largest Roman army to ever face the Persians. The campaign was initially successful, securing a victory outside the capital of Ctesiphon. However, rather than besiege the city, Julian instead moved into Persia's heartland, where he soon faced supply problems and was forced to retreat northwards while being ceaselessly harassed by Persian skirmishers. During the Battle of Samarra, Julian was mortally wounded. He was succeeded by Jovian, a senior officer in the imperial guard, who was obliged to cede territory, including Nisibis, in order to save the trapped Roman forces. Julian and Jovian were the last sole emperors to rule the whole Empire for their entire reign, after which it was permanently divided between a Western and Eastern court.

Julian was the last non-Christian ruler of the Roman Empire, and he believed it necessary to restore the Empire's ancient Roman values and traditions in order to save it from dissolution. He purged the top-heavy state bureaucracy, openly promoted pagans to high political offices, and attempted to revive traditional Roman religious practices at the expense of Christianity. His efforts to build a Third Temple in Jerusalem were probably intended to harm Christianity rather than please Jews. Julian also expelled Christians from the military and forbade them from teaching and learning classical texts. Though his reign saw a brief resurgence of paganism in public and political life, his policies ultimately had no lasting effect on its continuing decline.