The Last Pagan Emperor of Rome – Part 1/3: The Early Years (331 – 363 AD)
Born in 331 AD, Flavius Claudius Julianus was thrust into some rather complicated family dealings at a very early age. After the death of Constantine the Great in 337 AD, Julian’s rather zealous cousin Constantius II – an Arian Christian – led a massacre against Julian’s entire family, in order to establish himself as the sole emperor of the Roman Empire.
For some reason, he allowed a few males related to Constantine the Great to live, namely Julian and his brother Gallus, and two of the murderer’s own brothers. Constantius II proclaimed himself and his brothers to be joint emperors, and he gave them each a portion of Roman territory to watch over. He then established a strict regimen of Arian Christian education for the young Julian and Gallus.
According to traditional accounts, Julian was tutored by the famous Arian Christian Bishop of Nicomedia, Eusebius – along with his maternal grandmother and a Gothic eunuch named Mardonius. However, it was in 342 that both Julian and Gallus were exiled to Cappadocia, where Julian remained until the exile was lifted at the age of 18.
In 340 AD, Constantine II died after attacking his brother Constans to try and take over his territory – and a decade later, Constans fell during a war against a potential usurper named Magnentius. This left only the man who’d murdered Julian’s family as the sole emperor. Naturally, he was somewhat desperate for support, and so he gave Julian’s brother Gallus a position as Caesar of the East in 351 AD. The problem was, Gallus hadn’t exactly had the best role models for leadership… and his briefly imposed reign of terror over the East resulted in his execution only four years later.
In an effort to avoid a potential quest for vengeance, Julian was imprisoned for a short time while the pain of his brother’s death wore off. Unfortunately for Constantius II, there were far too many threats to the Roman Empire which he simply couldn’t take care of on his own – and so he turned to his late surviving male relative, Julian. He released Julian from prison, made him Caesar of the West, and quickly had him married off to his cousin – and sister of Constantius – Helena.
Now, it was Julian’s turn to defend the Empire… and to take his own revenge on Constantius II who had not only murdered his entire family, but also forced him into exile and the acceptance of Christianity.
…to be continued…
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Tomorrow: Part 2 of course!
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