This morning I got a bit of a jolt when I was checking the blot stats and noticed that someone conducted a search on my wordpress blog site for information on Julian Caesar's "personal life".
Anyone who has visited the site may have wondered why I use - Julian1st - in the address line of the web location.
It was sort of an inside joke, but I guess some astute individual figured it out.
It requires a bit of an explanation, though.
Although I believe in reincarnation - up until earlier this year - I never entertained any lofty notions about being anyone in particular - such as Christ, any celebrated author, whomever!
Then, out-of-the-blue one day at the San Francisco Library, I got an inkling as to who I may have been.
Each morning - when the library opened promptly at nine - I took the long trek upstairs to a section where tomes on Eastern Religion and Philosophy were shelved, since I was avidly researching my keen interest in Buddhism.
One day, as I strode up to the spot at a long wooden table where I usually whiled away most of the early morning hours, a book was resting face-up in the location right where I usually plopped myself down.
Odd, that.
After all, when the Library first opens in the wee hours of the day, usually there aren't any books out on the tables, yet.
Curious, I plucked up the hardcover book staring up at me.
The publication was a biography on the Roman leader, Julian I.
As I turned the pages, I suddenly realized that the former Emperor of Rome, shared a number of things in common with me.
For starters, our physical appearance - curly hair and muscular build - appeared to be strikingly similar, somehow.
As I continued on and read about Julian's philosophies - and his funadamental ideas about life - I was astounded to discover how closely the musings rang true with my own theories.
Suddenly, it occurred to me, I was Julian (the) 1st in a prior life!
Flavius Claudius Julianus was born in May (I was born May) in Constantinople and was the son of Julius Constantius (a half brother of Emperor Constantine I and second wife Basilina).
His paternal grandparents were Emperor "Constantius Chlorus" and his second wife "Flavia Maximiana Theodora".
His maternal grandfather was Julius Julianus, praetorian prefect of the Orient, under Emperor Licinius from 315 to 324.
The name of Julian's maternal grandmother is unknown.
In the turmoil after the death of Constantine in 337 (in order to establish himself as sole emperor) Julian's zealous Christian cousin led a massacre against Julian's family.
Constantius II ordered the murders of descendants from the second marriage of Constantius Chlorus and Theodora.
Constantius and his brothers Constantine II and Constans I (and cousins Julian and Gallus) were the only males related to Constantine who survived.
Constantius II, Constans I, and Constantine II were proclaimed joint Emperors and each proceeded to rule a portion of the Roman territory.
Constantius II them oversaw a strict Arian Christian education for Julian and Gallus.
Most descriptions of the life of Julian speculate about his early psychological development and education.
Initially he grew up in Bithynia and was raised by his maternal grandmother.
At the age of seven, Julian was placed under the guardianship of Eusebius of Nicomedia (my own legal guardianship commenced at that age) and the semi-Arian Christian Bishop of Nicomedia.
At this juncture, Julian was tutored by Mardonius, a Gothic eunuch.
In 342, both Julian and Gallus were exiled to the imperial estate of Macellum in Cappadocia.
There, Julian met the Christian Bishop George of Cappadocia, who lent him books from the classical tradition.
At the age of 18, the exile was lifted (I was released from my own legal guardianship by the State at the same age) and Julian resided briefly in Constantinople and Nicomedia.
In his thirty-first year, Julian wrote that he had spent twenty years in the actual "way of error" and eleven in the true way.
Similarly, I have come to some of the same conclusions about myself, although the time frames differ a bit.
Julian became a lector, a minor office in the Christian church, and his later writings showed a detailed knowledge of the Bible.
My own fascination with the scriptures dovetails here, too.
Julian studied Neoplatonism in Asia Minor in 351 - at first under Aedesius (the philosopher) - then with Neoplatonic theurgy from Aedesius' student, Maximus of Ephesus.
He was summoned to Constantius' court in Milan in 354 and housed there for a year.
In the summer and fall of 355, Julian was permitted to study at Athens where he met Gregory Nazianzus for the first time.
Julian's personal religion was bookish and philosophical (like mine).
He viewed the traditional myths as allegories in which the ancient gods were aspects of a philosophical divinity.
A view I do not hold.
The chief surviving sources are his orations on Helios and the Great Mother, which are viewed by scholars as panegyrics and not theological treatises.
Julian learned theurgy (something I dabbled with in my teenage years) from Maximus, a student of Iamblichus (I was self-taught).
Certain aspects of Julian's thought - such as his reorganization of paganism under High Priests and his fundamental monotheism - displayed a Christian influence.
Unlike Julian 1st, I never recognized paganism, and have always followed the strict dictates of Christianity which I wholeheartedly adhere to.
Despite having received no military education, Julian proved to be a good military commander.
I am vehemently opposed to War and am basically a pacifist by nature.
The commander-in-chief won his first important victory at Gaul, after leading a Roman army under the walls of the Sassanid Empire's capital.
Constantine II died in 340 when he attacked his brother Constans.
Constans - in turn - fell in 350 in the war against the usurper Magnentius.
Consequently, Constantius II was left as the sole remaining Emperor.
To bolster his strength in 351, Constantius made Julian's half-brother - Gallus - Caesar of the East.
Then, Constantius turned his attention westward to Magnentius, where he won a major battle later that year.
In 354, Gallus - who had imposed a rule of terror over the territories under his command - was executed.
Julian was summoned to court and held for a year under suspicion of treasonable intrigue in view of his close ties with his brother and Claudius Silvanus.
However, Julian was cleared of any wrongdoing - the Empress Eusebia intervened on his behalf - and he was summarily sent on to Athens.
When Constantius was confronted with a Persian War, he was in dire need of a representative in Gaul that he could trust.
Julian was thus summoned to the Emperor in Mediolanum (Milan).
On November 6th (355), Julian was crowned Caesar of the West.
On the heels of this appointment, Julian married Constantius' sister, Helena.
In the years that followed, Julian fought back the Germanic tribes that vigorously sought to intrude upon the Roman Empire.
Julian won back Colonia Agrippina (Cologne) in the fortuitous year of 356 during his first campaign in Gaul, too.
The following summer, he led an army of 13,000 men to glory against the Alamanni at the Battle of Strasbourg (a major Roman victory).
In 358, Julian gained victory over the Salian Franks on the Lower Rhine.
The Chamavi were also forced back to Hamaland around the same time frame.
During his residence in Gaul, Julian also attended to non-military matters.
He prevented a tax increase by the Gallic praetorian prefect - Florentius - and personally administered the Province of Belgica Secunda.
In the fourth year of his campaign in Gaul - the Sassanid Emperor, Shapur II - invaded Mesopotamia and took the city of Amida after a seventy-three day siege.
In February 360, Constantius ordered Julian to send Gallic troops to the eastern army.
This provoked an insurrection by troops of the Petulantes - who proclaimed Julian Emperor in Paris - and led to a very swift military campaign to secure or win the allegiance of others.
From June to August of that year, Julian led a successful campaign against the Attuarian Franks.
That same June - forces loyal to Constantius II - captured the city of Aquileia on the north Adriatic coast (which was subsequently besieged by 23,000 men loyal to Julian).
Civil war was avoided only by the death of Constantius II - who, in his last will - recognized Julian as his rightful successor.
Right away, Julian reduced the expenses of the Imperial Court and removed all the eunuchs from office.
An action - I, personally - would never have taken.
In his continuing campaign of sweeping change, Julian proceeded to reduce a luxury tax established in the court of Constantius.
In addition, he cut back the number of servants and guards on the public coffers.
I'm in accord with that decision.
The young Emperor also started a Chalcedon tribunal where some followers of Constantius were tortured and killed under supervision of magister militum Arbitio
I am against the torture of prisoners under any circumstances.
After ascending to the Imperial throne, Julian instituted political reforms distinct from his religious activities.
Julian's own personal tastes tended towards ascetism (such as my own) and this was reflected in his new court after it was swiftly purged of thousands of useless servants, untrustworthy eunuchs, and superfluous officials out to stab him in the back.
Julian touted his actions as mere "attacks on a system" he viewed as inefficient, corrupt, and expensive.
The forthright leader sought to reduce - what he perceived as a burdensome and corrupt bureaucracy within the Imperial administration - which included civic officials, secret agents, and the Imperial post service.
One of my own missions in this life has been to upseat corrupt officials, expose dishonest judges, and purge a legal system that is unjust to the people.
Julian saw his role as Emperor differently than his immediate predecessors.
For example, he did not intend to rule as an absolute autocrat.
In his view, the ideal ruler operated under the same laws as his subjects.
Subsequently, he expanded the authority of the cities (at the expense of the imperial bureaucracy) as he ultimately sought to reduce direct Imperial involvement in urban affairs (I am in accord).
For example, city land owned by the Imperial government was returned to the cities, city council members were compelled to resume civic authority (often against their will), and tributes in gold (known as "aurum coronarium") were made voluntary rather than a compulsory tax.
Additionally, arrears of land taxes were cancelled. (Amen)
Any new taxes and corvees had to be approved by Julian directly rather than left to the judgment of the bureaucrats.
Julian had a clear idea of what he wanted Roman society to be - both in political - as well as religious terms.
In replacing Constantius's political and civil appointees, Julian drew heavily from the intellectual and professional classes, or kept reliable holdovers such as the rhetorician Themistius.
The choices he favored in respect to consuls - in 362 - were more controversial.
Although Claudius Mamertinus (the former Praetorian Prefect of Illyricum) was considered acceptable, the selection of Nevitta - a trusted Frankish general - raised eyebrows.
The latter appointment reflected the fact that - for all his literary refinement and philosophic ideals - Julian's authority depended on the power of the army.
After taking center stage, Julian started a religious reformation of the state, which was intended to restore the lost strength of Rome.
Julian supported the restoration of Hellenic paganism as the state religion, for instance.
A mistake, I would never make.
Julian's laws tended to target the wealthy and educated Christians.
Even so, his aim was not to destroy Christianity - but to drive the religion out of "the governing classes of the empire" — much as Buddhism was driven back into the lower classes by a revived Confucian mandarinate in thirteenth-century China.
Bad!
In sum, he ended up restoring the pagan temples, which had been confiscated during the political regime of Constantine time and/or appropriated by wealthy citizens.
The young Caesar also repealed the stipends that Constantine had awarded to Christian Bishops, and removed other privileges, including the right to be consulted on appointments.
I would strip them of their power, too; deservedly so.
He reversed some favors bestowed upon Christians.
Julian (also known as "the Apostate") presided at a conference of sectarians - held by Edward Armitage - in which he promulgated an edict to guarantee freedom of religion.
This edict proclaimed that all the religions were equal before the law - and that the Roman Empire had to return to its original religious eclecticism - according to which the Roman State did not impose any religion on its provinces.
At long last, he was making some headway and some sense, to boot!
Some historians believe the sole purpose of the calculated move was to restore paganism at the expense of Christianity.
Julian's religious status is a matter of considerable dispute.
According to one theory (G.W. Bowersock's, in particular) Julian's Paganism was highly eccentric and atypical because it was heavily influenced by an esoteric approach to Platonic philosophy sometimes identified as theurgy and also neoplatonism.
Other scholars (Rowland Smith, for instance) argued that Julian's philosophical perspective was nothing unusual for a "cultured" Pagan of his time - and that Julian's Paganism - was not limited to philosophy alone.
After all, he was deeply devoted to the same Gods and Goddesses as other Pagans of his day.
According to Christian historian Socrates Scholasticus, Julian believed himself to be "Alexander the Great" in another body via transmigration of souls as taught by Plato and Pythagoras.
And now, Julian (Emperor of Rome) has moved on to this physical realm in the modern day, in this mortal shell!
Hail Caesar!
