Julian dynasty

The Julian dynasty is a Urcean dynasty that has links with several royal families and has ruled Urcea since its inception with the Golden Bull of 1098. It has also ruled Paulastra since 1824.

The elder branch of the dynasty, the House of Julius, went extinct with the death of the Archduke Cumhachtabilis in 922 and were succeeded as senior house by the House of Harren. The Julian dynasty saw multiple inter-dynastic conflicts for the control of Urcea during the and  periods, including the Saint's War and the Urcean War of Religion. The current senior house of the dynasty is House de Weluta, whose head is the current Apostolic King of Urcea

Origins
The exact ancestry of the Julian dynasty - and the Julia gens of Great Levantia generally - are unknown. Several mythical origin stories from the Medieval period indicate that they were the first Latinic settlers from Adonerum to both discover and settle Urceopolis, although this story is considered by most modern historians to be a fabrication. The first historical record of the Julii occurs in 327 BC with one of its members being recorded as serving as that year. The Julii continued as a relatively obscure noble family of Great Levantia for most of its existence, but historians believe the family's continued existence through the fifth century AD suggests it to be a relatively prodigious and wealthy - if politically irrelevant - family. The leading family of the Julii - the Julii Cicurini - eventually built the fortified Domus Julii on the Caeline Hill section of Urceopolis in the early sixth century as fortified noble complexes in the declining city were becoming increasingly common after the collapse of Great Levantia.

The Julian dynasty is considered to be the direct descendants of the first Archduke of Urceopolis, Gaius Julius Cicurinus, who was later canonized as Saint Julius of the Caeline. Accordingly, the Julian dynasty is differentiated from the rest of the Julii generally by descent from the Julii Cicurini and specifically by either direct female or indirect fraternal relation to the Saint.

The "Julian legend" was a popular story in the early medieval period that suggested the Julii were the first clan with a paterfamilias to become Christian. According to this legend, in 202 AD, Gnaeus Julius Cicurinus converted to Christianity. He is supposed to have been killed by a family member in 205 AD for abjuring the family’s household gods and the state god, but legend claims he faked his death and continued to direct his family in secret until his death in 243 AD, making the Julii crypto-Christians. The legend persisted in popular imagination until the 7th century, with “Saint Cicurinus” emerging as a folk saint.