Julian II, as Caesar, 355-360. Solidus (Gold, 21 mm, 4.43 g, 12 h), Antiochia, 355-360. D N IVLIANV-S NOB CAES Bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust of Julian II to right. Rev. GLORIA REI PVBLICAE / SMANA Roma, helmeted, seated facing on the left, holding spear in her left hand, and Constantinopolis, turreted, seated to left with her right foot on prow on the right, holding scepter in her left hand, supporting between them a shield decorated with a large star. Depeyrot 10/2. RIC 167. Very rare. Sharply struck and lustrous, an unusually well preserved example for this difficult issue. Minor doubling on the obverse, otherwise, virtually as struck.



Julian II, a nephew of Emperor Constantine the Great, was the son of Julius Constantius, Constantine’s half-brother. This made him a first cousin of Constantius II, who in AD 355 appointed him Caesar after removing and executing his own half-brother, Constantius Gallus. Gallus, also a cousin of Julian, had earlier been elevated by the emperor to Caesar of the East, but his harsh rule and suspicions of treason made him deeply unpopular with Constantius II, and he was eventually executed at Pula.

Until then, Julian had lived largely outside politics as a scholar, but now he was drawn into imperial affairs. As Caesar, he was tasked with securing the western provinces of the empire, though he initially remained in the East to become acquainted with its political networks and military situation. There he was kept under close watch, for Constantius was wary after Gallus’s disastrous tenure.

For Constantius, Julian’s elevation was a way to strengthen the dynasty without granting him too much power at once. Yet Julian soon proved himself an able ruler and general, straining his relationship with the emperor. These tensions culminated in 361 in an open civil war - but before a battle could be fought, Constantius died of illness, leaving Julian to assume sole rule without opposition.