Julian and Marcus Aurelius

Abstract In keeping with the fanfare of superlatives which heralds Julian’s entry into the narrative of Ammianus’ history, only the great and the good provided adequate precedents for the youthful new Caesar. Thus in the eyes of the historian Julian’s virtues amounted to a comprehensive replay of all the qualities of the best of his predecessors—the wisdom of Titus, the military success of Trajan, the clemency of Pius, ‘and in his striving after truth and perfection he was the equal of Marcus Aurelius, on whom he endeavoured to model his own actions and character’. The mention of Marcus in this list of imperial exempla is accorded a special authority of its own; for whereas the others might be dismissed as figments of the historian’s craft, it was Julian himself, it is claimed, who actually adopted the philosopher-emperor as his guiding example. Ammianus’ statement mirrors a similar observation in the Breviarium of Eutropius: Julian was ‘not unlike Marcus Antoninus, whom he even took pains to copy’. Both writers could claim first-hand knowledge of the emperor—Ammianus was serving as an officer in Gaul when Julian first arrived there as Caesar at the end of 355, and later shared with Eutropius personal experience of the Persian campaign of 363 in the course of which Julian met his death —and consequently their remarks have commanded the respect of the scholarly tradition. It has become axiomatic to link Julian’s name specifically with that of Marcus Aurelius: one recent biographer of Julian, for example, has attributed to him an admiration of Marcus which ‘went beyond all conventions’.