Nephew of the Emperor Constantine, Flavius Claudius Julianus became Emperor of the Roman Empire in 361 AD. Emperor for less than two years, Julian is best remembered for his short-lived revival of paganism. However, his brief reign also saw the return of economic and political stability and prosperity and promised a return to the golden days of the empire.

The Early Life of Julian the Apostate

Born in Constantinople in 331AD, Julian was born into a Christian Imperial dynasty intent on murdering each other. His father, Julius Constantius, son of Constantius Chlorus, and half-brother of Constantine I, was assassinated in 337 AD, caught up in the bloody struggle for power between Constantine’s three sons, Constantine II, Constantius II and Constans. Of his immediate family, only Julian and his half-brother Gallus survived. Brought up in Cappadocia, they remained in seclusion until first Gallus and then in 355AD, Julian were recalled to the Imperial court in Milan.

Education and Intellect

Julian’s attraction to pagan philosophy probably began with the classical education he received in Cappadocia under the tutelage of the eunuch Mardinius. While his brother served as Caesar or deputy to Constantius, Julian began a pilgrimage to the great centres of classicism. First, he went to Ephesus, where he secretly abandoned Christianity in favour of theurgy, a Neo-Platonist philosophy that connected the material world with the cosmos by magic. From here, Julian continued to Athens, where he studied and developed his ideas.

Julian wrote prolifically. His surviving works include 80 of his letters, eight speeches, two satires: “The Beard Hater” and “Banquet” (which describes the reception of Constantine the Great in Olympus) and his treatise “Against the Galileans”. These works are often satirical and witty, revealing an intellectual and theological mindset that questioned and rationalised his beliefs.

The Good Emperor

In 354 AD, Julian’s brother Gallus was executed by Constantius. In 355AD, Julian was summoned to Milan to take his place. He was married to the Emperor’s sister, made Caesar and given administration of Gaul and Britain. 

Julian now proved his worth as an efficient administrator and military commander. He reformed taxation and secured his provinces against barbarian incursions by defeating Germanic tribes such as the Alemanni and Franks. His troops so admired him that they mutinied against the Emperor and, in 361 AD, proclaimed Julian emperor instead. However, a civil war was prevented by the death of Constantius.

On becoming emperor, Julian began his attempts to resurrect the golden age of the empire. His reforms included a streamlined civil service and taxation reforms — and the removal of state funding from Christianity and tax concessions from its clergy. This was the beginning of his open attempts to reverse the religious sensibilities of the empire.

The Pagan Revival

On assuming the purple, Julian openly declared his paganism. Although he did not embrace all of the empire’s cults, he set about a widespread programme of restoration. The old cults and priesthoods were reestablished and temples repaired or rebuilt. It was even his ambition to restore the Temple of Jerusalem. 

Julian’s general attitude was one of religious tolerance. Christianity, despite losing its many official benefits, was not attacked. However, the Emperor did display a certain intellectual bias against “the Galileans“, as he disparagingly called them, by forbidding them from teaching classical literature.

The empire’s Christians did not receive Julian’s reforms well. At Antioch, where Julian made his base six months into his rule, the predominantly Christian town greeted him with derision, mocking his classical affectations and undermining his attempts at reform, effectively sabotaging his efforts to stem a famine. His satire “The Beard Hater” was written as a satirical response to this wave of unpopularity.

The Persian Campaign

In 362 AD, Julian left Antioch to begin his campaign against the Persians, an overt attempt to resurrect the military glory of the empire. For a time, he was successful. His army won a decisive early victory against the Persian King Shapur II near Ctesiphon. However, as the army pressed further into Persian territory, the campaign began to weaken. 

In June 363 AD, Julian was wounded by a spear thrown by a mysterious horseman. He died three days later without naming a successor, leaving the army to elect his second in command, Jovian, to take his place.

His body was buried north of Tarsus in October of that year, and the philosopher Libanius gave his funeral oration. His reforms faded, and with him, the last hopes of a revived, pagan empire were buried.

Resources

Hazel, John, Who’s Who in the Roman World. Routledge: London and New York

Murdock, Adrian, The Last Pagan: Julian the Apostate and the Death of the Ancient World. Sutton Publishing

Price, Simon and Kearns, Emily (ed), The Oxford Classical Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion.