ABSTRACT
The fourth century Letter of Julian to Themistius is one of the most important texts from late antiquity on the relation between philosophy and political power. There is no response from Themistius extant in Greek to the criticisms made by Julian against him in that letter, but an Arabic risāla attributed to Themistius has been interpreted as just such a response. Its authenticity has been disputed, but it was certainly regarded in the Syriac-Arabic area as stemming from Themistius, and is therefore of importance in the history of philosophy in that domain. (One of the two Arabic manuscripts testifies to the existence of a lost Syriac version.) Both letters are examined in this chapter, with particular reference to the possible significance of the risāla in the Christian Orient.
