Julian Count of Ceuta

Julian was reportedly a count, the "Commander of Septem" (present-day Ceuta), and according to some scholars, possibly the last Byzantine Exarch of Africa. According to Arab chroniclers, Julian had an important role in the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, a key event in the history of Islam. The debate concerning Julian's historicity ranges at least to the 19th century; by the 21st century, the academic consensus seemed to lean toward Julian being ahistorical. Julian may have, in Kaegi's view, had some Byzantine title or rank for which no documentation exists before falling under the control of Theodoric. If Julian had a daughter in Spain, it would have been in a hostage situation, used as a check on his loyalty on the part of the Goths. The last securely known commander ofSeptem is Philagrius, a Byzantine treasurer who was exiled there in 641. Afterwards, the Byzantines may have lost control of the fortress in the chaos of Constans II's reign. The comes in the late Roman army.