JULIAN II the "Apostate" (Flavius Claudius Julianus)

• When Constantius II defeated Magnetius in 355 he became the sole ruler of the Empire, but he decided to invite his half-cousin, Flavius Julianus, to become Caesar with responibility for Gaul and the Rhine frontier.
• Julian was so popular with his troops and civilians that in 360, Constantius decided to reduce his power. In response, the army proclaimed Julian Augustus in the west. Constantius refused to recognise this, but while on his way to deal with Julian, he died (November 361).
• Julian removed Christianity from it's position as the state religion, an act that earned him the title of "Apostate".
• Julian launched an invasion of Mesopotamia in March 363. There he was wounded in a skirmish and died shortly afterwards.