Since his death on a Persian battlefield in AD 363, the violent end of the Emperor Julian (Flavius Claudius Julianus, 332-363) has become synonymous with the death of paganism. Vilified throughout history as the Apostate, the young philosopher-warrior was the last and arguably the most potent threat to Christianity. This work examines Julian's emergence as the sole survivor of a political dynasty soaked in blood, and traces his journey from an aristocratic Christian childhood to his initiation into pagan cults and his mission to establish paganism as the dominant faith of the Roman world.