Few men of late antiquity are as well known as
Julian II, usually referred to as "the Philosopher"
or "the Apostate". Julian was not satisfied with
Christianity, even from an early age. His
formative years were spent studying philosophy,
paganism, ‘magic’, occultism and related
subjects that were frowned upon by the Church.
So much did Julian enjoy his scholarly pursuits
that he avoided any call to Imperial duties, even
though he was one of the few surviving males of
the House of Constantine. His memories of
family politics could not have been fond, as
many of his direct and extended family were
murdered in the purge of 337. Among the
survivors – because of their youth – were Julian
and his cousin Constantius Gallus. When Julian
was compelled by Constantius II to rule in the
west as Caesar, he knew that he faced a difficult
task: not only was the west constantly in danger
from barbarian invasion, but it was under-
funded and had too small an army. Nonetheless
he proved resourceful, persistent and, above all,
capable. Indeed, he grew in popularity so much
that it alarmed Constantius II in the east. Finally,
in 360, Julian was hailed emperor by his western
army, and he marched eastward to confront
Constantius II. The empire was fortunate that
Constantius II died before the armies of the east
and the west could clash, for each army was
extremely loyal to their emperor, and the
resulting battle would have been horrific. As sole
emperor for two years, Julian’s principal tasks
were to restore pagan institutions that had
suffered at the hands of the Christian Church,
and to launch a much-anticipated invasion of
Persia. Julian was remarkably successful in both
endeavours, but was cut down in a battle against
the Persians, either by an enemy or by one of his
own Christian soldiers.
- (MT.125)
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