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He brought 90,000 soldiers and a library. Julian the Apostate marched from Antio
363 Event

March 5

Emperor Julian Marches 90,000 Troops Against Persia: Rome's Last Offensive

He brought 90,000 soldiers and a library. Julian the Apostate marched from Antioch into Persia with the largest Roman army assembled in decades — and 1,100 supply ships loaded not just with grain but with philosophy scrolls. The last pagan emperor wanted to prove the old gods still granted victory. He burned his own fleet after crossing the Tigris, trapping his men deep in enemy territory. Three months later, a spear found him during a skirmish. No one knows if it came from a Persian warrior or one of his own Christian soldiers. Rome never seriously invaded Persia again, and Christianity's grip on the empire became permanent — because a philosopher-emperor couldn't resist playing Alexander the Great.

March 5, 363

1663 years ago

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