Roman Imperial Julian II - Glory Of The Republic

Julian, because he was part of a lesser branch of the Imperial Dynasty begun by Constantius Chlorus [his father was a half-brother to Constantine I, who, being of the right age, was in a position to succeed his father in Eboracum in AD 306], was destined from birth in 331 to a life of obscurity and danger because of his potential risk to the ruling branch's control. When he was just a young boy, in 337, his cousin Constantius II presided over the murders of the majority of the male members of this lesser branch in an attempt to shore up his position and that of his brothers Constantine II and Constans I, who were proclaimed joint emperors that year after the death of their father Constantine I.

This massacre left only Julian and his brother Constantius Gallus as living members of that branch, and to keep these two from being a possible risk, they were set apart from public life in their youth and jealously guarded in a form of exile. Julian was raised and educated as a Christian, the religion of the ruling family, and when he was no longer held under exile, at the age of 18, he became a lector in the Christian church in the East, where occurred in circa 351 his conversion to the paganism for which he was chiefly to be remembered in posterity, followed by his seeking of further education in pagan texts and religious practices.

Meanwhile, however, a civil war between his cousins Constantine II and Constans I had left the former dead in 340, while the latter had died whilst fighting against the usurper Magnentius in 350. This left Julian's remaining cousin, Constantius II, alone and in need of assistance. Julian's brother Constantius Gallus was consequently made Caesar of the East in 351, but he was executed in 354 after a breakdown in his relationship with Constantius II. In 355, when he was again desirous of support from an imperial colleague, Constantius II raised Julian to be Caesar in the West, thinking Julian could be kept under the control of his prefects as a puppet figurehead. It is to this period of Julian's reign as Caesar that our coin belongs.

Initially unwilling to abandon his studies and the peace of his spiritual life, Julian nonetheless threw himself into the life of a Caesar, rejecting any sense that he might merely be a pawn of Constantius' men, and developed himself into a capable military leader and imperial administrator, achieving victories over a number of tribes, including the Franks and Alemanni, on either side of the Rhine, whilst also overseeing a restoration of Gaul to some level of peace and prosperity, in so doing clashing with the praetorian prefect of Gaul for attempting to lower taxes and reducing imperial corruption.