Author: ZHANG Wei, PhD Candidate, Department of History, Fudan University.
Abstract:
While the two previous Emperors of the Constantine Dynasty of the Byzantine Empire supported the development of Christianity, in 361 AD Emperor Julian decided to lead a religious reformation to restore the dominance of Paganism. From the position of a modern scholar, this paper collates and analyses relevant documents to show how, in a short period of time, Julian revived plyhteism, and how the pagan revival led by Julian heightened tensions between Christianity and Paganism. The failure of the pagan revival made clear the scale of the incompatibility between Paganism and the new Empire. In the long run, the pagan revival led by Julian may have accelerated the retreat of Paganism from the stage of history and the Christianization of the Byzantine Empire.
Keywords:
Byzantine Empire; Julian the Emperor; Paganism; Christianity
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