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Why did the historian Ammianus Marcellinus criticize Julian’s ban on Christian teachers?

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Julian Julian the Apostate, detail of a marble statue; in the Louvre, Paris.

The historian Ammianus Marcellinus, despite his admiration for Julian as a leader and soldier, criticized the emperor's decision to prohibit Christians from teaching classical literature and rhetoric.12

Ammianus explicitly condemned this policy as "inhumane" and suggested that it was an action better "committed to oblivion". While Ammianus was himself a pagan and shared Julian’s appreciation for traditional Hellenic culture, he viewed the restriction on Christian educators as an unjust and excessive measure that tarnished the emperor's legacy.12