Text: Unknown philosopher
Unknown philosopher
Since ancient times, there have not been many Ming monarchs, but the Roman Empire has such a Ming monarch, who has not reigned for a long time, and has made a lot of contributions to people's livelihood, military affairs, and law, but this is such an emperor who can be called "a generation of Ming Jun", when later generations mention him, the most used word is actually "apostate", what is going on?
Julian as a teenager
Julian was a figure who lived in the early to mid-4th century AD. In his time, the Roman Empire, although outwardly powerful, had actually begun to decline.
This is because at the beginning of the 4th century, the Roman Empire experienced a number of civil wars, which led to a significant weakening of the military and a decline in the defense of its borders.
High taxes lowered the standard of living of the people, while absolute monarchy caused the cities to gradually decline. In this context, many Romans turned to Christianity, seeking salvation and happiness in the afterlife.
Julian was born in Constantinople in 331 AD, when his uncle, Constantine the Great, moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople.
Julian's family suffered an internal purge after the death of Constantine the Great, his father was killed in the purge, and Julian himself became a prisoner and was placed under house arrest for more than a decade.
He completely lost his freedom during this time, was watched and restricted. It was a very painful time for him, he lived a life of isolation from the outside world and lived in fear every day.
During his incarceration, Julian was educated by Christian teachers who both taught knowledge and acted as watchdogs.
Since Constantius II was a supporter of Christianity, Julian received a rigorous Christian education and witnessed controversy and strife within Christianity.
All these negative experiences gave Julian an an initial understanding of Christianity.
Under the influence of outside compulsion, Julian began to regularly attend church prayers, read Bibles, fast, and participate in martyrdom remembrances. This made him a devout Christian in the eyes of others.
Julian's childhood was not all Christian influence. His Enlightenment teacher, Mardonius, was a polytheist with a deep knowledge of classical Greek culture and philosophy, and he played a key role in Julian's enlightenment.
Under his care and guidance, the young Julian came into contact with many Greek polytheists and great philosophers, and this was the first time Julian felt pure joy and happiness.
However, in 342 AD, Julian was sent to an ancient castle in Marselu to be placed under house arrest, and his initiation teacher Mardonius was not allowed to accompany him, which made him feel even more lonely.
During these six years, Julian and his brother Galus were confined to the castle and had limited contact with the outside world.
While receiving the teachings of Christian priests, Julian also secretly read Greek classics and created his own spiritual world.
In his mind, Christianity became an abominable religion that brought him nothing but pain and suffering.
In 348 AD, Constantius II allowed Julian to return to Constantinople, and Julian began his rhetorical studies in Constantinople and Nicomydea.
His childhood experiences led him to develop an antipathy for Christianity and a liking for the Greek gods. This inclination of faith was deepened during his study tours.
After meeting the Neo-Platonists led by Maximus, he began to learn Xi and participate in pagan mystical rituals.
Julian mastered the methods of communicating with the gods through Xi and practice, and eventually converted to paganism completely.
In his eyes, the freedom and plurality of the Greek gods contrasted sharply with the uniqueness and bondage of Christianity.
He argues that the Christian doctrine of the single god binds human beings to a mindset of worship and faith, hindering the development of free thinking and creativity.
In the middle of the 4th century AD, the Roman Empire faced a crisis on many fronts. Since the crisis of the third century, the Roman Empire has not been able to fully solve the problems of economy, people's livelihood, faith, social morality, and military.
In terms of faith, years of war and disaster caused many Romans to despair of the gods, believing that they no longer sheltered Rome.
Those who had lost their faith gradually lost the Roman spirit and fell into a state of indulgence in pleasure and social moral degradation.
On the military side, Magnentius, a barbarian general, rebelled in 350 and killed the Western Emperor Constantius, who controlled most of the empire, and demanded that the eastern emperor Constantius II recognize him as the new ruler of the western part of the empire.
The border crisis facing the Western Empire provided Julian with the opportunity to advance.
On the economic front, the decline of imperial slavery plunged the economy into depression and the currency depreciation was a serious problem.
And in the eastern part of the empire, the most powerful enemy of the Roman Empire, Sassanid Persia, led by King Shapur II, also posed a threat to Rome.
Faced with the threat of multiple Germanic tribal armies in the west and pressure from the Sassanid Persian Empire in the east, Constantius II realized that the empire needed two rulers to divide the east and west in order to deal with these threats.
Then he remembered that he had another living male relative, Julian.
Vice-Emperor Julian
Julian was appointed Caesar by Constantius II in 355 AD to take charge of the defenses of the region west of the Alps and to repel barbarian invasions.
Julian was appointed vice-emperor not only because of their kinship, but also because of the influence of Empress Eusebia, the wife of Constantius II.
When Julian took office, he was challenged by the barbarians of the Rhine and the barbarians of Gaul. He led his army to a major victory at the Battle of Strasbourg in 357, demonstrating exceptional command and military talent.
He calmly laid out a rational strategic layout and boosted morale at critical moments, and finally won the victory.
After 5 years of fighting, Julian won not only the loyalty of the Gallic army, but also the respect and gratitude of the Gallic people.
During his time in Gaul, he showed a concern for the well-being and well-being of his subjects.
He repaired cities and fortifications, solved food shortages, and introduced measures such as tax breaks to ease the pressure on the people to survive. In addition, he served as a judge and investigated a number of corrupt practices.
Under Julian's rule, Gaul was rebuilt and prospered, and the strength and discipline of the army were enhanced.
Julian's rule in Gaul demonstrated his care and ability to govern his subjects, and was instrumental in restoring stability to the Roman Empire and its influence in Gaul.
Julian proclaimed emperor
Julian's growing power in Gaul alarmed Constantius II.
The emperor demanded that Julian provide a large number of troops for supplies, which led to a significant reduction in Julian's military strength.
Enraged soldiers were so unhappy that they stormed Julian's palace to raise him to a shield and honored him as "Julian Augustus", becoming the first person in Roman history to be proclaimed emperor.
Julian sent an emissary to Constantius II to make it clear that it was not his intention to become emperor, and that he wanted the two to rule the empire together.
However, Constantius II refused Julian's request, which strained relations and civil war was on the verge of breaking out.
In April 361, after a year-long stalemate, Julian addressed the army, stating that he would defend his position by force. In May of the same year, Julian launched a civil war and appointed officials in charge of administrative and military affairs.
Just as the civil war was about to break out, Emperor Constantius II died suddenly while traveling through the Silesian region.
Upon receiving this news, the cavalry from Constantinople reported to Julian and honored him as the sole emperor. This news allowed Julian to inherit the throne without clashes between armies, saving Rome from another civil war.
Julian succeeded to the throne in a relatively peaceful manner, and Julian's succession to the throne was warmly welcomed by people from all walks of life throughout the country.
After all, his bravery and wisdom in the wars between Gaul and the Germans made him a war hero, and people were still very willing to accept the hero as the new king.
After Julian took over Constantinople, he quickly strengthened his political power.
He began a structural reform of the court, simplifying the complex hierarchical and ceremonial procedures that had been prevalent since Constantine the Great, and massively reducing unnecessary court personnel in order to cut court expenses.
On the economic front, Julian faced the legacy of the Imperial City Self-Government. Local cities are facing financial difficulties due to their declining incomes.
To address this issue, Julian worked to enact policies of tax relief and the restoration of the traditional model, aimed at restoring the city's revenues and increasing the number of city councillors.
Julian also undertook a number of projects, such as the construction of a new library and a large dock in Constantinople, and the expansion of the existing seaport to promote economic development.
Julian made a lot of efforts to revitalize the city's economy, which was related not only to his strong sense of responsibility to the empire, but also to his intention to restore polytheism. On the Reformation, he announced the resumption of polytheistic worship and temple sacrifices.
Julian carried out a series of legislative reforms and promulgated a number of legal provisions. In his decrees, he reflected his concern for the people's livelihood, introduced measures to stabilize prices, and cared about the well-being of the people.
The end of the Constantine dynasty
Julian inherited the Roman Empire from Constantius II, and of course the war between the latter and the Sassanid Persian Empire.
Julian took this crusade very seriously, and he used the silver vulture flag, which was topped with a silver eagle, as the flag of the army. The flag indicates that the Roman legion he led was a traditional Roman legion, not a Christian one.
The Persians adopted scorched-earth tactics, and when faced with the Roman army, which burned the fleet and lost a large number of supplies, they burned villages, irrigation systems, food, fodder, etc., so that the Roman army could not be supplied during the retreat.
At the same time, the Persian army continued to harass the already exhausted Romans.
On June 26, 363, as the Roman army marched to Malanga, the Persian army, which had been lying in ambush behind the hills, appeared and attacked the rear of the Roman army. Julian quickly rushed to the rear of the attacked army and personally went into battle to boost morale.
But in the midst of the war and chaos, a spear grazed Julian's arm, pierced his ribs and pierced directly into his liver.
Despite his injuries, Julian showed fearless heroism.
But he was unable to move anymore due to his injuries, and he knew he was about to die. He summoned the generals to give an account of what was next, and then died that night.
Julian had no sons during his lifetime, and the Constantine family had no male heirs after his death, and Julian's collapse meant another change of power in Constantinople, and the end of the Constantine dynasty.
epilogue
As a philosopher-monarch after Marcus Aurelius, one of the Five Wise Emperors, his ambition was not limited to defending the empire by force, but he saw the deeper lesions of the empire with the eyes of a scholar, and was determined to put the empire back on track by carrying out a series of drastic reforms in various fields.
But the era in which he lived was no longer the period when the spiritual culture and classical spiritual civilization of Greece and Rome were in full swing.
The barbarian invasions, military tyranny, and extravagance and corruption within the empire since the crisis of the third century have long since worn out the noble republican spirit of the time of Cato the Elder and Scipio the Great, as well as the classical imperial spirit of the time of Augustus, Trajan, and others.
At this time, the Roman spirit had gradually been eaten away by the Christian spirit of the afterlife, salvation, etc., which were promoted by Christians.
Julian's attempts to reconstruct the pagan system modeled on the Christian Church were not only resisted by the Christians, but also failed to win the favor of the pagans, and ultimately fell short when he died on the battlefield of Persia.