By The European Times | Created at 2026-08-03 14:08:32 | Updated at 2026-08-04 03:59:02
14 hours ago
Among the Roman emperors of the 4th century, there is hardly a more controversial and difficult-to-understand figure than Flavius Claudius Julianus, who went down in history as Julian the Apostate.
For the Christian tradition, he is the ruler who renounces the faith in which he was raised and makes the last serious attempt to restore the old pagan cults. For others, he is a brilliantly educated philosopher, a capable military leader, and an unusually modest emperor who opposes the luxury, intrigue, and moral decay of the late Roman court. His short reign shows the clash between two worlds – the dying ancient religion and Christianity, which is already becoming the main spiritual and political force of the empire.
Julian was born in 331 or 332 in Constantinople. He belongs to the dynasty of Constantine the Great. His father, Julius Constantius, was the emperor’s half-brother, and Julian himself grew up close to the supreme power, but also under the constant threat it brought. After the death of Constantine the Great in 337, a large part of the men in the imperial family were killed so that they could not challenge the power of his sons. Among the victims was Julian’s father. Of the children, only he and his older brother Constantius Gallus survived.
This family tragedy left a deep mark on the character of the future emperor. Julian was raised as a Christian, but he probably never forgot that the people responsible for the destruction of his family also presented themselves as defenders of the Christian faith. His childhood and adolescence were spent under strict supervision. Together with his brother, he was kept away from political life, as Emperor Constantius II was afraid of possible pretenders to the throne.
Julian found salvation from the palace atmosphere in education. He studied in Nicomedia, Pergamum, Ephesus and Athens and became one of the most educated rulers of late antiquity. He studied Homer, Plato, Aristotle and Neoplatonic philosophy. He was particularly strongly influenced by philosophers and mystics who presented paganism not simply as a collection of old rites, but as a complete religious and philosophical system.
In Athens, Julian encountered the environment to which the future great Christian theologians Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian also belonged. It cannot be said with certainty that there was a close friendship between Julian and Basil, but they belonged to the same educated generation and knew the same philosophical and literary traditions. Gregory the Theologian certainly observed Julian as a student and later wrote harsh words against him. Thus, Athens became the place where the future defender of paganism and the future leaders of the Christian church met. All of them knew ancient culture very well, but made different choices about its place in the new Christian world.
Julian gradually abandoned Christianity, although he hid his true beliefs for a long time. He accepted the pagan mysteries and began to believe that the ancient gods could restore the spiritual power of the Roman Empire. For him, Hellenistic culture and veneration of the gods were inseparable. Therefore, his later nickname “Apostate” did not simply mean a change in personal religion, but a rejection of the direction the empire had taken after Constantine the Great.
Julian’s path to power was unexpected. After his brother Gallus was accused of abuses and executed, Constantius II was left with almost no close relatives to whom he could entrust the governance of the vast state. In 355 in Mediolanum, today’s Milan, Julian received the title of Caesar. This did not make him an equal emperor, but a junior ruler and assistant to the augustus Constantius II. To be even more closely connected to the dynasty, Julian married Helena, the emperor’s sister.
He was sent to Gaul, against a backdrop of difficult political circumstances. Germanic tribes were crossing the Rhine, cities were falling, and Roman power was weakening. Although until then known primarily as a philosopher and scholar, Julian displayed unexpected military talent. He restored discipline, improved supplies, and personally participated in campaigns. In 357, he won a major victory over the Alemanni at Argentoratum, today’s Strasbourg. New campaigns across the Rhine followed, rebuilding destroyed fortresses, and freeing Roman prisoners.
Military successes made Julian extremely popular among the soldiers. When Constantius II ordered part of the Gallic units to be sent to the East against Persia, the soldiers revolted. In 360, in Lutetia, today’s Paris, they proclaimed Julian Augustus, that is, a full emperor. Preparations for a civil war began, but no major clash occurred. Constantius II died in 361, and Julian remained the sole ruler of the Roman Empire. As emperor, he immediately began to restore the old cults. He opened temples, restored the privileges of the pagan priests, and restored the sacrifices. Julian did not openly declare a mass persecution of Christians. He even allowed the exiled Christian bishops to return, partly because he believed that their internal disputes would weaken the church. Nevertheless, his policies had a clearly anti-Christian slant.
Particularly telling is the law that restricted Christian teachers from teaching classical literature. According to Julian, a person who did not believe in the ancient gods had no moral right to interpret Homer and other pagan authors. He also encouraged the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, probably with the intention of challenging the Christian claim that its destruction was the final fulfillment of biblical prophecy. However, the construction was not carried out.
Julian understood that the old paganism could not be defeated by restoring the rites alone. He tried to transform it on a model that largely resembled the Christian church. He demanded from the priests a moral life, care for the poor, and public service. This is one of the great paradoxes of his policy – in trying to defeat Christianity, he borrowed from its organization and from the system of charity developed in the church.
Julian’s personal life sharply differed from the luxury of most emperors. He lived almost ascetic, ate modestly, slept little, and devoted much of his time to reading, writing, and state work. He was not interested in expensive clothes and lavish court ceremonies. After the death of his wife Helena, he did not remarry and was not known for lovers or court entertainment. His appearance and behavior sometimes caused ridicule, but even his opponents recognized his discipline and unpretentiousness.
His greatest military undertaking was the campaign against Sassanid Persia in 363. Julian gathered a huge army and advanced deep into Persian territory. The Romans reached the capital Ctesiphon and won a battle near the city, but failed to capture it. The emperor decided to continue inland, ordering a large part of the fleet to be burned. The decision turned out to be a grave mistake. The Persians avoided a decisive battle, destroying crops and hindering the supply of the Roman army. In the ensuing retreat, Julian was mortally wounded by a spear during the battle. He died on June 26, 363, at the age of thirty-one. It is not known for certain who struck the blow. According to the most common version, it was a Persian soldier. However, rumors appeared in ancient times that Julian may have been killed by a Christian in his own army. There is no evidence of such a murder. His legendary last words, “You have conquered, Galilean,” are probably a late invention, intended to present his death as a recognition of the victory of Christ.
With Julian, the last real attempt by the Roman Empire to return to the old gods died. His successor Jovian put an end to the pagan reforms and restored the privileged position of Christianity. Only a few decades later, pagan cults were already subject to official restrictions.
Julian’s legacy cannot be reduced solely to the nickname “Apostate”. He was a capable commander, an educated philosopher and a ruler with an unusual sense of personal discipline. At the same time, his political project was doomed because he tried to restore a world that had already lost its social unity. Old paganism had a rich philosophy, literature and rituals, but it did not have the organization, social power and historical momentum of the Christian church.
Julian remains a tragic figure – a man who strived not just for power, but for the revival of the civilization he loved. His life shows that even imperial orders cannot turn history back. He managed to defeat Germanic tribes, restore Roman rule in Gaul, and reach the walls of Ctesiphon, but he failed to bring the gods of Olympus back to the heart of an empire that had already chosen another path.
Illustration: Portrait of Julian the Apostate (Flavius Claudius Julianus (331-363), Roman Emperor. Engraving of the 19th century. Unknown author.
