author
Emperor of Rome Julian
331–363
A philosopher-emperor with a dramatic, short reign, he is remembered for trying to restore traditional Roman religion while leading the empire through war and political change. His life has fascinated historians because it mixes power, learning, and controversy in equal measure.
3 Audiobooks
Arguments of Celsus, Porphyry, and the Emperor Julian, Against the Christians Also Extracts from Diodorus Siculus, Josephus, and Tacitus, Relating to the Jews, Together with an Appendix
by active 180 Celsus (Platonic philosopher), Siculus Diodorus, Flavius Josephus, Emperor of Rome Julian, Porphyry, Cornelius Tacitus
The Works of the Emperor Julian, Vol. 1
by Emperor of Rome Julian
The Works of the Emperor Julian, Vol. 2
by Emperor of Rome Julian
About the author
Born in Constantinople in 331 or 332, Julian was a nephew of Constantine the Great and grew up in the shadow of violent imperial politics. Despite that dangerous beginning, he became highly educated in Greek literature and philosophy, and later gained a reputation not only as a ruler but also as a serious writer and thinker.
He served as caesar in the western empire from 355 to 360 and became sole Roman emperor in 361. Ancient and modern writers alike often call him "Julian the Apostate" because, after being raised in a Christian empire, he promoted traditional Roman religious practices instead and tried to reshape imperial religious life.
His reign was brief. In 363, during a campaign against Persia, he was mortally wounded and died that June. Even though he ruled for only a short time, he remains one of late antiquity’s most memorable emperors because of his military career, his philosophical interests, and his bold attempt to change the religious direction of the Roman world.