The Works of the Emperor Julian, Vol. 1 (Loeb)

INTRODUCTION

...at dawn, he was raised on a shield and crowned with a standard-bearer’s chain, as there was no diadem available. Julian sent a full account of these events to Constantius by way of Pentadius and the loyal eunuch Eutherius. Constantius replied that he must be content with the title of Caesar [junior emperor]. Constantius had already gone to Caesarea to prepare for his Persian campaign and decided to handle the more pressing danger from the East before reckoning with Julian. The prefect Florentius fled to the Emperor and was made consul for the year 361. Constantius sent Nebridius the quaestor to succeed Florentius in Gaul, and Julian accepted him as prefect.

Julian left Paris for Vienne by way of Besançon, a town he describes in Letter 8. From there, he led his troops to another victory, this time over the Attuarii who were raiding Gaul, and on November 6, 360, he celebrated his quinquennalia, or fifth year as Caesar. He had not yet declared his change of religion, and in January 361, while spending the winter at Vienne, he took part in the feast of the Epiphany. In July, he set out for the East, determined to win recognition of his rank as Augustus from Constantius, either by persuasion or force. His troops were divided to march by three different routes, and he led the strongest division through the Black Forest (see frag. 2) and along the Danube. Sirmium (Mitrovitz) welcomed him with acclamation in October, and he went into winter quarters at Naissa (Nish). From there, he addressed manifestos to the Roman Senate, the Spartans, Corinthians, and Athenians, justifying his conduct toward Constantius and proclaiming his design to restore the Hellenic religion. Of these documents, only the letter to the Athenians survives, along with a brief fragment of the letter to the Corinthians (frag. 3).