(FLAVIUS CLAUDIUS JULIANUS):
By: Richard Gottheil, Michael Adler
Roman emperor; born Nov. 17, 331; reigned from Nov., 361, till June, 363.
The recognition of Christianity as the religion of the state by Constantine the Great, uncle of Julian, about the year 312 had resulted in an increase of persecution for the Jews of the Roman empire; but Julian, immediately upon his accession to the throne, issued a proclamation extending freedom and equal rights to all sects and beliefs, Jewish, pagan, and Christian. In his passionate devotion to paganism, which he vainly sought to reestablish, Julian vehemently opposed Christianity; but for Judaism and the Jew he showed every consideration. His knowledge of Jewish affairs was extensive. In his writings he refers to the Sabbath, the Passover, the dietary laws, the laws of sacrifice, circumcision, and other Jewish practises. He is said to have established among the Jews of Palestine an order of patricians, who exercised judicial functions, and whom he entitled "primates" (called in the Talmud "aristoi").
His Views on Judaism.
His views upon Judaism are set forth at length in his polemic against Christianity. He regards Judaism as inferior to Hellenism, but vastly superior to Christianity. He is particularly severe upon the Jewish doctrines of monotheism and the election of Israel. He inveighs against the narratives of the Creation, the garden of Eden, the Flood, etc., with the same arguments as were employed at a much later date by Voltaire. Throughout his polemic (only extant in St. Cyril's works) he displays an accurate knowledge of the Old Testament, often quoting it with fluency. His acquaintance with the text was, however, limited entirely to the version of the Septuagint: he knew little or no Hebrew.
The most important incident in his career that is associated with Jewish history is his proposal to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. This novel suggestion was propounded by him in a letter addressed to the "Community of the Jews," at the beginning of the year 363. In this epistle Julian alludes to his abolition of the heavy taxes which had been imposed upon the Jews and to his desire to treat them amicably.
Promise to Restore the Temple.
"Desiring to extend yet further favors to you, I have exhorted my brother, the venerable Patriarch Julos [i.e., Hillel II.], to put a stop to the collection of the so-called Apostolé [see Jew. Encyc. ii. 20, s.v.] among you; and henceforward no one will be able to oppress your people by the collection of such imposts, so that everywhere throughout my kingdom you may be free from care: and thus enjoying freedom, you may address still more fervent prayers for my empire to the Almighty Creator of the Universe, who has deigned to crown me with his own undefiled right hand. . . . Thus should you do, in order that when I return safely from the Persian war, I may restore the Holy City of Jerusalem, and rebuild it at my own expense, even as you have for so many years desired it to be restored; and therein will I unite with you in giving praise to the Almighty."
This promise of the emperor, which must have raised joyous hopes in the hearts of the Jews, was destined not to be realized. The work probably was never commenced; for Julian fell in the war against Persia, and with his death the condition of Israel changed for the worse.
Many eminent writers upon Jewish and Church history, however, believe that the work of rebuilding the Temple was commenced immediately after the above-mentioned letter was written, but that, owing to certain strange causes which are explained in different ways, it was unexpectedly interrupted. Grätz, Gibbon, and Milman accept this view; but a careful inquiry into the evidence for the opinion results in tracing its origin to a fanciful legend first narrated by a bitter Christian enemy of Julian, Gregory Nazienzus. This fable is the source of the account given by the heathen historian AmmianusMarcellinus, and of the various versions detailed by the Church chroniclers. The only references in Jewish writings to the project of the emperor are to be met with in works of the sixteenth century, which references are without independent value.
The cause of the almost complete silence of the Jerusalem Talmud on Julian is supposed by Grätz ("Gesch." 2d ed., iv. 372) to have been the fact that the restoration of the Temple was not thought of otherwise than in connection with the appearance of the Messiah, as whom a Roman emperor could not be considered. Bacher has shown that the Palestinian amora, R. Aḥa (see Jew. Encyc. i 276, s.v. Aḥa [Aḥai] III.), who was a contemporary of Julian, voices a different sentiment, and that he possibly refers to the plan of Julian in such sayings as: "The Temple will be rebuilt before the appearance of the Davidic kingdom" (Yer. Ma'as. Sh. 56a); "Five things were missing in the Second Temple: fire, the Ark, Urim and Thummim, anointing-oil, and the Shekinah"—hinting that the Third Temple might be built even without these (Yer. Ta'an. 65a). Julian is also mentioned by name in Yer. Ned. 37d, where the expedition of 
against the Persians is referred to. There is no need to change the reading to 
, as Grätz (l.c. p. 492) has done (see "J. Q. R." x. 168).
Bibliography:
M. Adler, The Emperor Julian and the Jews, in J. Q. R. July, 1893;
Grätz, Gesch. iv. 371;
Gibbon, Decline and Fall, ch. xxiii.;
Newman, Essay on Miracles, p. 134, Oxford, 1842;
G. H. Rendall, The Emperor Julian (Hulsean Essay for 1876);
Alice Gardner, Julian, Philosopher and Emperor (in Putnam's Heroes of the Nations Series), ch. xi. and notes;
P. Allard, Un Précurseur du Sionisme: Julien l'Apostat et les Juifs, in Le Correspondant, 1901, pp. 530 et seq.
Also known as Flavius Claudius Julianus
Profile Roman Emperor. He was a son of Julius Constantius, the half-brother of Constantine the Great. He received a Christian training which was modified by his interest in neo-Platonism and other philosophy, chiefly Hellenic. In 355 he was presented to the army as Caesar and he married Helena, sister of the Emperor Constantius, who was his cousin, and was sent as Governor to Gaul. There he completely routed the Alamanni near Strasbourg. He demanded higher recognition and, when Constantius refused, advanced to Illyricum. Constantius died on the way to meet him, in 361; Julian advanced in triumph to Constantinople, and immediately ordered a return to pagan worship and issued many decrees against Christians. The dying words attributed to him are (of Christ): "Thou hast conquered, O Galilean."
Born 331 in Constantinople
Died 363 in Persia of wounds received during the Persian war
(FLAVIUS CLAUDIUS JULIANUS).Roman emperor 361-63, b. at Constantinople in 331, d. 26 June, 363, son of Julius Constantius, the half-brother of Constantine the Great. With his stepbrother Gallus, who was some years older, he escaped the massacre of his kinsfolk at Constantinople after the death of Constantine the Great, and was brought up by the eunuch Mardonius and the philosopher Nicocles—the latter secretly a pagan. The suspicious Emperor Constantius sent Julian later to the castle of Macellum in Cappadocia. Julian received a Christian training, but the recollection of the murder of his relatives sowed in him a bitter resentment against the authors of that massacre, and he extended this hatred to the Christians in general. When Constantius became involved in war in the West with the usurper Magnentius, he named Gallus his colleague, with the title of Caesar. Julian was allowed to study at Constantinople, but his intellectual character aroused attention and caused Constantius to send him in 350 to Nicomedia. Here Julian devoted himself exclusively to neo-Platonic philosophy, mixed with all kinds of magic and mysteries. The neo-Platonist, Maximus of Ephesus, dazzled him by his fantastic teachings and prophesied his destined task, the restoration of paganism. When, at the close of 354, Constantius recalled Gallus Caesar to Italy, and had him beheaded for his manifold cruelties, Julian was taken a state prisoner to Milan, but, gaining the sympathy of the Empress Eusebia, secured permission to visit in 355 the schools of Athens, where Greek philosophy and rhetoric were enjoying their last period of prosperity. Julian now went over completely to the so-called Hellenism, and was initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries.Julian was presented on 6 November, 355, to the army as Caesar, married the emperor’s youngest sister Helena, and then sent to Gaul. Here he at once displayed great ability, both as soldier and administrator. He boldly advanced from his headquarters at Vienne to Reims, and thence made a sally into the territory of the Alamanni on the Upper Rhine, occupying and garrisoning Cologne, which a year before had been taken and sacked by the Franks. The following year, although not supported by the troops of Constantius, he completely routed over 30,000 Alamanni near Strasburg. He then returned by way of Mainz, Cologne, and Julich to Reims and Lutetia (Paris). In a later expedition he opened the Rhine again for the passage of ships: in 359 he even made his way into the heart of the territory of the Alamanni (the present Wurtemberg). Julian also displayed an unwearied activity in promoting just taxation and administration of the laws. In the meantime war had again broken out with Persia, King Shâpûr demanding the cession of Mesopotamia and Armenia. Long jealous of Julian, the emperor now ordered the latter to send a part of his most experienced German auxiliaries, although these troops had been enlisted for the Gallic war only. Against the advice of Julian the imperial commissioner Decentius in the winter of 360 started with the picked troops by way of Paris and stopped here to rest: a mutiny now broke out, the troops appeared before Julian’s residence, and enthusiastically proclaimed him Augustus. To avoid a civil war, Julian sought to come to an agreement with Constantius whom he was ready to acknowledge as supreme emperor. Constantius. however, demanded the unconditional surrender of the title of Caesar and of his position as governor of Gaul. Neither the army nor the people would consent to this, and Julian advanced in the spring to Illyricum, taking possession of the capital, Sirmium. Shapur having disbanded his great Persian army, Constantius now planned to turn his entire fighting strength against his rebellious cousin Julian. While on the march, however, Constantius died, 3 November, 361.Julian advanced in triumph to Constantinople. Hitherto outwardly a Christian, he now let himself be portrayed as under the protection of Zeus, who in his opinion possessed with Helius the same undivided creative power. He commanded all towns to reopen the temples for pagan worship, restored animal sacrifices, and assumed the duties of a Pontifex Maximus. The Christians were united in fighting their enemy. Julian issued a decree that all titles to lands, rights and immunities bestowed since the reign of Constantine upon the Galileans, as he contemptuously called the Christians, were abrogated, and that the moneys granted to the Church from the revenues of the State must be repaid. He forbade the appointment of Christians as teachers of rhetoric and grammar. Still, he copied the organization of the Christian Church; he created, for example, a form of hierarchy, the head of which was the imperial Pontifex Maximus, and urged pagans to imitate such Christian virtues as charity and mercy. Yet Julian’s changes failed to bring him any appreciable success. His attempt to defy the Gospel and rebuild the temple at Jerusalen was brought to nothing by fire and earthquake.In May, 362, Julian left Constantinople for Asia and made active preparations at Antioch for a great war with Persia. While at Antioch in the winter of 362-63, he wrote his books against the Christians. In March, 363, he advanced from Antioch into Mesopotamia, successfully crossed the Tigris, and fought a successful battle with the Persians. Burning his supply fleet, he now marched into the interior of Persia, but soon found himself obliged by lack of provisions to begin a retreat, during which he was beset by the Persian cavalry. On 26 June, 363, he was wounded in the side by an arrow in a small cavalry skirmish, and died during the night. Various reports concerning the circumstances of his death have come down to us. Both Christians and pagans believed the rumor that he cried out when dying: Nenikekas Galilaie (Thou hast conquered, O Galilean). With Julian the dynasty of Constantine came to an end. He was rather a philosophical littérateur of a somewhat visionary character, than a great ruler whose actions were the dictates of strong will and principles. The good beginnings of a just government which he showed in Gaul were not maintained when he was sole ruler. Although his personal life was unostentatious, he was passionate, arbitrary, vain, and prejudiced, blindly submissive to the rhetoricians and magicians. Some of Julian’s many controversial writings, orations, and letters have been preserved, showing his discordant, subjective character.----------------------------------- TALBOT, (Euvres de Julien (Paris, 1863); HERTLEIN, Juliani imperatoris quae supersunt praeter reliquias apud Cyrillum omnia (Leipzig, 1875); NEUMANN, Juliani imperatoris librorum contra Christianos quae supersunt (1880); IDEM, Kaiser Julians Bucher gegen die Christen (1880); IDEM, Kaiser Julians Abfall vom Christentum (1884); WIEGAND, Die Alamannenschlacht bei Strassburg 357; KOCH, Kaiser Julian in Jahrb. fur klassische Philologie, suppl. vol. XXV (1899); ALLARD, Julien l’Apostat (3 vols., Paris, 1900-2); MAU, Ueber die Religionsphilosophie Kaiser Julians in seinen Reden auf Konig Helios und die Gottermutter (Leipzig and Berlin, 1908); ASMUS, Kaiser Julians philosophische Werke (Leipzig, 1908). KARL HOEBER Transcribed by Joseph E. O’Connor The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIIICopyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York