Today in History: Julian the Apostate

On this day (November 6) in 355, Roman Emperor Constantius II appointed his cousin Julian to be Caesar (and his heir). Julian would go on to become the philosopher-Emperor known as Julian the Apostate. Julian attempted to reverse the Christianization of Rome not through persecution but by cutting off imperial support for the churches, ending preferences for Christians, and mandating that all religions (including those branches of Christianity deemed “heresies” by the Christian authorities) be treated equally under the law. No more persecution of anyone on religious grounds.

Julian might have succeeded in fatally undermining Christianity but he picked a completely unnecessary war with the Persians and died in combat early in his reign. One of the great alternate history questions is: How would the Mediterranean world have developed if Julian the Apostate had reigned to a ripe old age?