Emperor Julian

Olympios666 · 2025-07-01T15:33:23+00:00

You Alexandrians are ancient Greeks By the gods! I am ashamed when I hear even one of you declare himself a Christian! The true yehuborim were slaves of the Egyptians, and you, who are descended from the Egyptians, have become slaves of those who despise their ancestors! Alexander was devout, but not in the way of the Christians or the yehuborim, for he was named after Zeus. Emperor Julian (331-363 AD) Flavius Claudius Julianus was born in 331 (or 332) in Constantinople to Julius Constantius (son of Constantine Chlorus, who was the half-brother of Constantine the Great) and Vasilina. His mother came from an aristocratic family and was a Christian, having as her uncle the Arian bishop of Nicomedia, Eusebius. After Julian's birth, she gradually lost her strength and died within a few months. When Julian was 7 years old, his uncle, Emperor Constantine the Great, also died. Power was taken by his son Constantius, who was completely influenced by the Arian Christian eunuchs of the court. His first priority was to assassinate all those who could have a legal claim to the throne, including Julian's father. Thus, from a very young age, he was orphaned by both parents, experiencing persecution and constant fear for his life. At any moment, the emperor could order his execution for the slightest reason, due to the constant slander of the courtiers. From his youth, therefore, Julian learned very well not to let others know what he was thinking and to behave in public as expected of him, knowing how to change his behavior and his words depending on who he was addressing. He lived for many years in isolation and under constant surveillance by informers in isolated fortresses, initially in Nicomedia in Cappadocia. They took great care to keep him away from any political or military education. His first two teachers were his uncle, Bishop Eusebius, who catechized him in Christianity, and the eunuch Scythian slave Mardonius (who was also the tutor of his mother Vasilina), who introduced him to ancient Greek education. Until the end of his life, Julian spoke fondly of Mardonius, who from an early age taught him to stay away from theaters and racetracks, which at that time had become a form of "slavery," attracting people of the lowest class and uneducated. He urged him, for example, to read Homer instead. Later, he attended classes given by the orators Ecebolius and Nicocles. Emperor Constantius was a fanatical Arian and wanted to keep Julian away from the pagans (followers of the ancient Greek religion), so he did not allow him to attend the lessons of the pagan Libanius. However, Julian managed to obtain copies of his teachings and maintain secret contact through correspondence with nationalist circles. In this way, he also maintained communication with the theurgist Aidesius and the Neoplatonist Maximus of Ephesus. Later, he was secretly initiated into the Mithraic mysteries. As he grew older, he managed to win the protection and favor of Empress Eusebia, who considered him a harmless intellectual. Thus, he was allowed to travel, albeit under constant surveillance. He went to Ilion-Troas, where he worshipped at the tomb of Achilles and saw the hero's shrine. One of the happiest moments of his life was when he was allowed to go to Athens, which at that time was a great philosophical center and was inhabited mostly by a purely ethnic population (as was the case throughout Greece, Italy, and the West). In Athens, he came into contact with various philosophical schools, which were still flourishing. He also hastened to be initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries. He was highly educated. One of the important aspects of Julian, which is not widely known, is that he was an important writer and mystic. His surviving works are fascinating. Some of his writings are: "Against the Christians," "Misopogon," "On the Three Forms," "The Machines," "To the Mother of the Gods," and "To King Helios." He was initiated into the mysteries of theosophical Neoplatonism. He always wrote at night, with a "messy handwriting." He had a particular weakness for Pythagoras, Plato, and Iamblichus. He rejected Pyrrho and Epicurus. Also, although he respected Diogenes, he rejected most of his followers. His cousin, Emperor Constantius, removed him from his philosophical career in 355, appointing him Caesar of the West. He married him to his sister Helena (who died shortly afterwards) and sent him to Gaul, where the inhabitants of the region were suffering constant raids by the Alamanni (Germans). Constantius probably hoped that his cousin would be killed in one of these raids. However, to everyone's surprise, Julian proved to be an excellent "student" and soon became a highly skilled soldier and general! He managed not only to stop the enemy raids, but also to regain all the lost territories of the empire in the wider region. At the same time, he reorganized Gaul and lowered taxes. He lived in Paris (then called Lucetia) on an island in the Seine River, avoiding all forms of comfort. He ate sparingly at the mess hall with his company and always fought in the vanguard alongside his soldiers, thus earning their trust and admiration. Both his soldiers and the people of Gaul adored him. All this was not viewed favorably by the emperor, who, wanting to remove him from the region, asked him to take his troops and come to face the Persians. However, this provoked a reaction from the soldiers, who did not want to be separated from the families they had created in Gaul. This led to their rebellion, and they proclaimed Julian emperor against his will in 361. He tried to explain the situation to his cousin in letters, but seeing that there was no willingness to understand or compromise on the other side, he realized that conflict was now his only option. He therefore began to march on Constantinople. During his descent, and before he reached the city, the unexpected happened! His cousin Constantius died (November 3, 361), leaving Julian as the undisputed heir to the throne. He therefore continued on his way and, upon arriving in Constantinople, was welcomed with great joy, as he was the first emperor to have been born there. The first thing he did as emperor was to gather philosophers and intellectuals around him to help him govern, telling them to always tell him their true opinion and to avoid flattery. In general, he chose his associates very well. He removed Christians from high political and military positions and reduced the countless staff of the court, keeping only a cook and a barber. minimized the decoration of the palace, and court life began to resemble his own austere lifestyle. Among other things, the palace stopped accepting theatrical troupes. Julian can easily be described as a philosopher king according to Platonic standards. His model of administration was the Stoic emperor Marcus Aurelius. The sophist Libanius considered him the reincarnation of the great Alexander. He reorganized the tax system (by writing off debts and promoting tax exemptions—he reduced taxes by 1/5) and public services. He punished thieves and swindlers, standing up against the greed of merchants, and when the city of Antioch was starving, he bought wheat from his personal fortune and distributed it to the people. He strengthened the power and autonomy of local councils, aiming to restore the autonomy of city-states. One of his most significant changes was the introduction of religious tolerance. He attempted, in a way, to create a religion that accepted all gods and had a clergy made up of priests from all religions. The emperor would be the head of this entire religious system. He recalled the orthodox Christian leaders from exile, who had been persecuted by his Arian predecessor, Constantius. With this move, he had the secret hope that Christians would tear each other apart in an internal religious conflict. He was convinced that the restoration of the ancient Greek religion was his sacred duty and divine mission. He ordered that the ancient Greek temples, which had been converted into Christian churches, be returned to the pagans, along with their property, which had been violently seized in previous years. He gathered the priests of the ancient gods, who had been hiding from the wrath of the Christians, and re-erected the statues. He abolished subsidies to churches and their representatives and at the same time prohibited anyone from leaving their property to them as a bequest. One of his most important prohibitions was that Christian rhetoricians and grammarians were no longer allowed to teach philosophy or use texts from Greek literature in their Christian teachings, saying: "Those who wish to become teachers must be righteous and reasonable people, and the ideas they have embraced must not conflict with their public office... Let them go to the churches of Christians to interpret Matthew and Luke...". Of course, he did not exclude Christians from studying at philosophical schools, since, as he said: "It would not be reasonable or fair to close the door to children who do not yet know which direction to take... I believe that the foolish should be taught, not punished!" He believed that all the ills of the empire were due to Christianity and that only by returning to the traditional ancient Greek religion could the empire experience a new heyday. For this reason, Christians called him an apostate and a transgressor, epithets by which he remained known throughout history. On the other hand, the nationalists called him the Great. Libanius characteristically says: "Some called you their child and others called you their father, but to all you were their protector!" Of course, his efforts were doomed to failure in the eastern part of the empire, where the majority of the people were uneducated and had embraced Christianity. Salutarius characteristically says that "Julian has created a religion for the few. According to him, only philosophers can attain knowledge of the divine." He therefore wanted to revive the ancient Greek religion by basing it on philosophy. His tragic and fatal mistake was his decision to expel the Persian envoys who had come to ask for peace. Julian wanted revenge for the Persian invasions of previous years. His campaign was based on the model of Alexander the Great's campaign. His victories followed one after another until he reached Ctesiphon. Unfortunately for the Greeks, on June 26, 363, Julian was struck by a spear from an "unknown" in the lower part of his liver. He did not die instantly, but was given first aid and wanted to return to battle to boost the morale of his army. However, he had already lost a lot of blood and was too weak to do so. Julian realized he was going to die when he asked where he was and was told he was in Phrygia, since he had previously received an oracle saying he would lose his life there. His last hours were very reminiscent of those of Socrates, as he discussed the immortality of the soul with his friends (among whom were the philosophers Maximus and Priscus) and even rebuked them when they wept, saying: "...it was unworthy to mourn a ruler who was going to join the heavens and the stars." He felt no fear at the prospect of leaving life, saying: "... because I share with philosophers the common belief that the soul is much happier than the body... I also think that the gods themselves granted death to very virtuous people, as if it were a supreme reward." Therefore, as an initiate into many ancient mysteries and as a mystic, he knew very well that there is no such thing as death, but only a transformation to a new level of life. He was 32 years old when he died. Libanius openly accused Christians of Julian's death, basing his accusation on testimonies he had obtained from soldiers who were present, as well as on the fact that no Persian went to King Sapor to ask for a reward for the assassination of the leader of the Roman Empire. In his work written in memory of Julian, the sophist comments: "Gone, no longer glorified is goodness! Now the factions of the impure and the dissolute have the upper hand... the way is wide open for the wicked against the righteous..." These words express the widespread despair of all the nations at the loss of their leader and protector. It is a fact that immediately after Julian's death, the library of Antioch was set on fire, temples were destroyed, gymnasiums and museums were destroyed, and in general a wave of violence and terror broke out against all nationalities, with persecutions and murders of both the faithful of the ancient beliefs and philosophers. Aemianus Marcellinus, who knew Julian very well and had remained with him until his last moments, described him in his book on the Roman Empire as "a capable leader both in peace and in war." In his analysis of Julian's character, he said that he had taken care to develop all the qualities that philosophers considered important for a worthy man and leader. These included moderation, wisdom, justice, courage, military skills, dignity, and generosity. He could impose his opinion when he wanted to, but without showing cruelty. After the death of his wife, he was not interested in carnal matters and, as a true philosopher, he lived simply, slept little, and ate moderately. Of course, on the other hand, some of his flaws, according to Marcellinus, were that he talked a lot and, because he had an inner need to be accepted and popular (obviously a remnant of his lonely and isolated childhood), he often paid attention even to the most "useless" person. My personal opinion is that this simply proves that Julian was anything but arrogant and that he respected every human being, so much so that he devoted a little time to what they had to say. In general, he can be described as a handsome man with good physical proportions and of average height. His gaze was intense and sparkling. He was often unkempt, with relatively long, unkempt hair, a thick beard, and perpetually stained hands, as he enjoyed writing. His appearance reminded people of philosophers, and his opponents criticized him for this, since the new fashion in the empire (especially in Antioch) was for men to shave, wear soft fabrics, and anoint themselves with perfumes. Julian remained emperor for only twenty months, from 361 to 363, having made drastic changes in all areas of the empire and achieving the restoration of the state, which until then had fallen into a miserable state. Although his history and actions were distorted for many centuries by Christians, it is significant that Voltaire considered him the second most important man in world history. On his original tomb in Tarsus, Cilicia, it was written: "He was a good king and a capable warrior." Later, his remains were transferred to Constantinople.

Wisdom_Seeker

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Jul 1, 2025

The last true Emperor of Rome. His memory will forever live in our hearts, and his courage and valor will continue to empower us.

I'm going to work on his personality page translation after finishing Plethon.

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Emperor Julian

Wisdom_Seeker

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