JULIAN

born AD 331/332, , Constantinople died June 26/27, 363, Ctesiphon, Mesopotamia byname Julian the Apostate, Latin Julianus Apostata, original name Flavius Claudius Julianus Roman emperor (AD 361363), nephew of Constantine the Great, and noted scholar and military leader who was proclaimed emperor by his troops. A persistent enemy of Christianity, he publicly announced his conversion to paganism (361), thus acquiring the epithet the Apostate. Additional reading Ancient By far the most important source is the history of Ammianus Marcellinus, a contemporary of Julian. He devotes far more space to Julian than to any other character in the extant portion of his history. See books XV, 8 to XXV, 4, in the 3 vol. ed. trans. by J.C. Rolfe (195056), which are virtually a biography of Julian. See also Julian's own works, Juliani imperatoris epistulae . . . , ed. by J. Bidez and F. Cumont (1922). For English readers the best edition is that of W.C. Wright, 3 vol., Loeb series (195354), with a very helpful introduction. Of secondary ancient sources the most valuable and balanced is the Breviarium of Eutropius. Modern Many monographs have been devoted to this controversial prince. Among them may be cited G.H. Rendall, The Emperor Julian, Paganism and Christianity (1879); G. Negri, L'imperatore Giuliano l'Apostata, 2nd ed. (1902; Julian the Apostate); P. Allard, Julien l'Apostat, 3 vol., 3rd ed. (190610); A. Rostagni, Giuliano l'Apostata (1919); J. Bidez, La Vie de l'empereur Julien (1930); and G.W. Bowersock, Julian the Apostate (1978). H. Mattingly's article on Julian in the Oxford Classical Dictionary is to be commended.