New Black Army Sculpt: Julian the Apostate

[Doc Twilight]

Hi, everybody -

Thought you'd get a kick out of this. This is the first fig for the next wave and the first mounted figure we've done. Julian
the Apostate (essentially the last Pagan Roman emperor, and the last emperor to effectively rule both the Western and Eastern Roman Empires together.) Some have called Julian one of the greatest generals of antiquity; he was also a philosopher, playwright, and architect. One of his pet projects was the reconstruction of the Great Temple at Jerusalem, which ended when a series of mysterious accidents occurred (fireballs flying out of the ruins, sightings of ghosts, etc... very eerie stuff). He spoke at least fifteen different languages, was a scholar of world religion, and had memorized the holy books of most of these faiths. He was also a grandson of Constantine the Great.

Julian died during a campaign against Sassanid Persia. Now, interestingly enough, Sassanid Persia had a very strange version of history. The founders of the Sassanid line believed that the second century AD Roman Emperor Philip the Arab was the same fellow as Philip of Macedon, and that Alexander Severus, another second century ruler, was essentially Alexander the Great; they believed that they were simply re-fighting the Persian Wars fought by Alexander back in the 300s BC...

Anyway, Julian had just taken the Persian capital and was marching north to intercept the main Persian Army as part of a two pronged offensive when the rearguard of the army was caught by a Persian scouting force. Because he was a very popular man with the army, Julian rushed from his tent to the rearguard in order to rally the troops. He didn't have time to put on his armor. At some point during the fighting, a javelin struck him, and he was mortally wounded. Some have insisted that the assassin was a Persian, others that the killer was a disaffected Persian. Nobody knows for sure, and even the location of the wound is debated.

As he lay dying, Julian held a spirited debate with his officers and the members of his personal guard about life after death, and the nature existence of the soul as it was conceptualized in various world religions. His last words were supposedly "Galilean, Thou Hast Conquered", referring to his lifelong battle against Christianity.


Anyway, I think he'd work pretty well for a variety of settings, both historical and otherwise, and at any rate, he was a figure I thought needed to be done so, there ya go. Leandro Ventic did this, and he did a great job, based entirely upon various shots of artifacts I sent him. It's an excellent likeness, based upon coins and busts. Just awesome. He even got the equipment right.  I hope to have him do more work for me soon!

Julian will be part of wave two of the Champions of History range.





-Doc

[Heldrak]

While it's a nice figure Doc, it does look rather more like an equestrian statue than a representation of an actual guy (to my eye, anyway...). That being said, you may do a brisk business for people that need a nice bronze for their town square...

[Mad Doc Morris]

Cool, an unusual choice. I really like the general appearance of this miniature, although there are a few downsides. Mainly I'm not that sure about the horse, it looks rather big for a Roman one. Even the Emperor rode small breeds - look at the Capitolinian Marcus Aurelius. The rider's legs look a bit short - before the introduction of stirrups the legs were mostly hanging down.
Okay, minor flaws, but I wanted to mention them. Anyway, I'd like to purchase one for the sheer extravagance of it.

[Operator5]

I'll want to get at least one of them. As Heldrak said, I'm going to use mine as a statue atop a column.

[Doc Twilight]

Fair points, guys. If I could, just a couple counter-points.

The horse is large, but keep in mind that he will shrink somewhat during the casting process; greens are always bulkier than they will appear in metal form. Also, by the fourth century, Roman warhorses were, in fact, a bit larger. At any rate, the horse and rider aren't permanently attached, so I'm sure you could use another rider if you prefer!

As for the pose, I sort of like it. It's very martial/heroic. I asked Leandro to make it look like Julian was encouraging the troops on, and I think he did that successfully. But yeah, it'd make a good equestrian statue, too:) As for the legs, if you look at some period reliefs and coins, you will see that the pose is actually pretty accurate. Sitting with the legs gathered that way wasn't the only way to ride. Leandro used a photo of a Late Roman reenactor to find a pose he felt was appropriate as per riding the horse, so I feel confident, but your mileage may vary!

Thank you kindly for the comments, guys. I really appreciate it. I post this stuff here because I know my friends at the LAF will give an honest assessment.

-Alex