After Constantine the Great's death, his three sons divided the empire among themselves. But their hunger for power recognized no kin. These sons began massacring their own uncles, cousins, and relatives to eliminate any other contenders for the throne.
Only two children survived this bloody ordeal—Gaulus and Julian.
Julian was only six years old at the time. He witnessed his father and family slaughtered on the orders of his own (Christian) cousins. This incident left a deep wound in Julian's young mind. He thought, "If this new religion (Christianity) teaches the shedding of blood, then I don't want it."
Julian was raised as a strict Christian under the supervision of priests. He was taught the Bible. He attended church and prayed during the day.
But in the dark of night, when everyone was asleep, Julian would light his candle and read the works of ancient Greek philosophers—Homer, Plato, and Socrates.
He fell in love with the world of the gods of ancient Rome (Zeus, Apollo, Athena). Deep down, he had become a pagan. But he couldn't reveal this secret to anyone, as doing so would result in his immediate execution. He had mastered the art of concealing his secret.
When Julian grew up, the emperor (his cousin Constantius II) gave him a position and sent him to Gaul (France). The emperor thought Julian, a bookworm, would be killed by the barbarian tribes in the forests.
But Julian surprised everyone. He turned out to be a brilliant general, like Julius Caesar. He defeated the Germanic tribes in Gaul. His soldiers loved him so much that they raised him to their shields and proclaimed him "Augustus" (Emperor).
A civil war was imminent, but luck was on Julian's side. Emperor Constantius died of a fever on the way.
361 AD
Julian was now the sole and undisputed master of the world's largest empire. And upon ascending the throne, he cast off the mask he had worn for 20 years.
He issued a decree throughout the empire: "Christianity is no longer the sole religion of Rome. Open the locks of the old temples! Bring back the idols of the gods! Resume animal sacrifice!"
The Christian world was stunned. This 30-year-old new emperor wanted to uproot the religion that had so laboriously captured Rome. History gave him the name—Julian the Apostate.
But Julian was no fool. He knew that if he put Christians to the sword, they would become "martyrs" and their numbers would increase.
So he devised a very clever strategy. He didn't kill Christians, but instead tried to make them "illiterate." He decreed that no Christian teacher could teach Greek literature. He took away all the church's money and privileges.
Julian was willing to go to any lengths to prove Christians wrong. Jesus Christ had prophesied that the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem would never be rebuilt. Julian opened the treasury to rebuild it. But it is said that when the workers began digging the temple's foundation, there were terrible earthquakes and balls of fire emerged from the ground, forcing work to be halted.
Well, Julian's biggest dream wasn't just to convert religion. He considered himself the reincarnation of Alexander the Great.
363 AD. Julian assembled a massive army of 65,000 soldiers and attacked the Persian Sassanid Empire in the East. He wanted to conquer Ctesiphon, the capital of Persia.
Initially, he advanced victoriously, reaching the gates of the Persian capital. But the Persians were very cunning. Instead of engaging in direct battle, they adopted a scorched earth strategy. They retreated and burned their own fields, wells, and villages.
The Roman army began to suffer from hunger and thirst. The intense heat of the desert was killing them.
Julian had to decide to retreat. And this is where he made a mistake that would cost him his life. To hasten his army's retreat, he set fire to his own supply ships in the Tigris River, preventing the soldiers from seeing back and the enemy from finding them.
June 26, 363 AD. Battle of Samarra.
The Roman army was retreating when suddenly a cloud of dust arose. The Persian army had attacked from the rear.
Julian was in his tent. As soon as he heard the news of the attack, he became so excited that he didn't even bother to put on his armor. He simply grabbed his sword, jumped on his horse, and charged into the battlefield.
He was encouraging his troops when an unknown spear came ripping through the air. Whether it was thrown by a Roman or a Persian remains a mystery to this day (some historians believe it was a Christian soldier from Julian's own army).
The spear pierced Julian's ribs and penetrated his liver.
Julian fell from his horse. He was immediately carried into the tent. The bleeding wouldn't stop.
Legend says that when Julian realized he was dying and his dream of bringing back the gods was shattered, he scooped a handful of blood from his wound, threw it skyward, and shouted: "Vicisti, Galilaee!" (You have conquered, O Galilean! — You have conquered, O Galilean!)
By "Galilean" he meant Jesus Christ, who hailed from Galilee.
Around midnight, at just 31 years old, Julian died.
And with him, the last hope for Rome's ancient gods (paganism) died forever. After this, no Roman or Byzantine emperor was ever a pagan.
But with Julian's departure, Rome was about to face a crisis no one had imagined. The emperors who followed Julian no longer had to fight religion, but an enemy that threatened to shake the ground beneath their feet.
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