Jovian

Flavius Claudius Iovianus was born in 332 and was the son of the commander of the imperial  bodyguards at the time of Constantius II. He himself was a member of the guard and rose to the positions held by his father by 363.

 

He accompanied Julian on his campaign to defeat the Sassanid’s but after Julian was mortally wounded Jovian stepped up and claimed power.

As the army continued their retreat Jovian was forced to draw up a peace treaty in exchange for the safe exit of his army. This was seen as a weak choice and his popularity quickly declined.

During his rule Jovian set about setting up Christianity as the state religion but after a rule of only 8 months Jovian was found dead in his tent in 364, the cause of death but down to carbon monoxide fumes from his fire.


 
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