Julian (Latin:Flavius Claudius Julianus;Greek:Ioulianos; 331 26 June 363) wasRoman emperorfrom 361 to 363, as well as a notablephilosopherand author in Greek.His rejection ofChristianity, and his promotion ofNeoplatonicHellenismin its place, caused him to be remembered asJulian the Apostatein Christian tradition. nephew ofConstantine, Julian was one of few in the imperial family to survive the purges and civil wars during the reign ofConstantius II, his cousin. Julian became an orphan as a child after his father was executed in 337, and spent much of his life under Constantius's close supervision.However, the emperor allowed Julian to freely pursue an education in the Greek-speaking east, with the result that Julian became unusually cultured for an emperor of his time.In 355, Constantius II summoned Julian to court and appointed him to ruleGaul. Despite his inexperience, Julian showed unexpected success in his new capacity, defeating and counterattackingGermanicraids across theRhineand encouraging the ravaged provinces' return to prosperity.In 360, he was proclaimed emperor by his soldiers atLutetia(Paris), sparking a civil war with Constantius. However, Constantius died before the two could face each other in battle, and named Julian as his successor. In 363, Julian embarked onan ambitious campaignagainst theSasanian Empire. The campaign was initially successful, securinga victoryoutsideCtesiphoninMesopotamia.However, he did not attempt to besiege the capital. Julian instead moved into Persia's heartland, but he soon faced supply problems and was forced to retreat northwards while being ceaselessly harassed by Persian skirmishes. During theBattle of Samarra, Julian was mortally wounded under mysterious circumstances.He was succeeded byJovian, a senior officer in the imperial guard, who was obliged to cede territory, includingNisibis, in order to save the trapped Roman forces. Julian was a man of unusually complex character: he was "the military commander, the theosophist, the social reformer, and the man of letters".He was the last non-Christian ruler of the Roman Empire, and he believed that it was necessary to restore the Empire's ancient Roman values and traditions in order to save it from dissolution.He purged thetop-heavy state bureaucracy, and attempted to revivetraditional Roman religious practicesat the expense ofChristianity. His attempt to build aThird TempleinJerusalemwas probably intended to harm Christianity rather than pleaseJews.Julian also forbade Christians from teaching and learning classical texts