Emperor Julian: official image and political communication

Abstract

The article examines the official image of the Roman emperor Julian (Caesar 359-361; Augustus 361-363), known to us mainly from numismatic evidence. The analysis of the changes in Julian’s appearance over time, accompanied by the reading of some key passages of the emperor’s own writings, shows how his portrait was transformed through the main steps of his career, in close connection with the development of his political, philosophical, and religious programme.

Keywords

• julian emperor
• portrait
• roman coinage
• late antiquity