Julian and the Consulship: Politics and Representation

Resumen:
This article is a comprehensive study of the meaning of consulship in the writings and political activity of Emperor Julian (331-363 AD). The consulship was probably the only Roman institution deemed worthy of recognition by the philo-Hellenic ruler. In the Panegyric in Honour of Empress Eusebia, Julian ponders the excellence of the Republican consulship as a form of government that could put an end to the excesses of tyranny, an issue that Claudius Mamertinus and Libanius echo in their consular speeches addressed to him. Being Augustus, Julian was inspired by the ancient consular ceremonies of Republican times to banish the symbols of the Constantinian monarchy and promote the symbolic value of the consulship to encourage the troops marching towards Persia.