Roman Emperor. He was born into a military family in AD 331, and by AD 363 had risen to be commander of the imperial bodyguards. He accompanied the Emperor Julian the Apostate on his campaign against Shapur II of Mesopotamia in AD 363, and was declared Emperor by the army when Julian was killed. He immediately reversed Julian's return to paganism, restored Christianity as the official religion of the Empire and revoked his edicts against the Christians. In AD 363 he ordered the burning of the Library of Antioch and introduced the death penalty for the worship of ancestral Gods. He reinstated Athanasius to the archiepiscopal throne and commanded him to draw up a statement of the Orthodox faith. He lost popularity when he was forced to sign a humiliating treaty in which he surrendered large amounts of territory to the Persians. In AD 364, he hurried to Constantinople to consolidate his position, but died during the journey, possibly from inhaling poisonous fumes from his fire.
Roman Emperor. He was born into a military family in AD 331, and by AD 363 had risen to be commander of the imperial bodyguards. He accompanied the Emperor Julian the Apostate on his campaign against Shapur II of Mesopotamia in AD 363, and was declared Emperor by the army when Julian was killed. He immediately reversed Julian's return to paganism, restored Christianity as the official religion of the Empire and revoked his edicts against the Christians. In AD 363 he ordered the burning of the Library of Antioch and introduced the death penalty for the worship of ancestral Gods. He reinstated Athanasius to the archiepiscopal throne and commanded him to draw up a statement of the Orthodox faith. He lost popularity when he was forced to sign a humiliating treaty in which he surrendered large amounts of territory to the Persians. In AD 364, he hurried to Constantinople to consolidate his position, but died during the journey, possibly from inhaling poisonous fumes from his fire.
Bio by: js
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