Silvia Acerbi, Una nota sobre san Mercurio el Capadocio y la muerte de Juliano

The legend of the soldier St Mercurius killing Emperor Julian gives a miraculous and providential view of the rumours that attributed the emperor’s death to a Christian soldier. The authors aim to trace the historical origins of this story — that was first included in John Malalas’s Byzantine chronicle (circa 570) — and to trace its political-religious context: Basil of Caesarea and Cappadocia, a region rich in military equestrian saints. From there, the legend would have spread to Syria, where it was heard by the Antiochian Malalas.