The Nicene Age · AD 313–400 · External witness
Emperor Jovian
AD 331 – 364 (reigned eight months) · Emperor · Restorer of the Nicene peace · Persia → Dadastana, Bithynia
External witness
Who Emperor Jovian was
The captain of the guards proclaimed emperor in Persia over Julian's body — who answered the acclamation, Theodoret says, by refusing to command pagans: 'I am a Christian'; and the army shouted back that they were Christians too. He extricated the legions at the price of Nisibis, restored the churches' privileges, recalled Athanasius with a letter asking his creed — and was dead within eight months, smothered by a charcoal brazier at Dadastana. Typed external per the emperor rule, Nicene though he was.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses and roman emperors.
Common questions
When did Emperor Jovian live?
Emperor Jovian is dated AD 331 – 364 (reigned eight months) in the archive, which places Emperor Jovian in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Emperor Jovian?
Emperor Jovian is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Ammianus Marcellinus, Socrates Scholasticus and Theodoret of Cyrus. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Emperor Jovian from?
The archive associates Emperor Jovian with Persia, Dadastana, Bithynia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Emperor Jovian’s contemporaries?
The archive links Emperor Jovian to 3 other figures, including Emperor Julian the Apostate, Athanasius of Alexandria and Emperor Valentinian I. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Res Gestae XXV.5–10 (the election in the field and the death at Dadastana)
c. AD 390Ecclesiastical History III.22 (the Nicene restoration begun)
c. AD 440Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret IV.1–2
c. AD 449'I am a Christian,' said Jovian, 'and cannot command the soldiers of Julian.' But they cried out with one voice, 'We too are Christians, O emperor' — and he accepted the empire.Theodoret of Cyrus · IV.1 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 301 · Hripsime and her company, AD 301
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
Place
Places served
The 3 places the sources put Emperor Jovian, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.
- 1Sasanian Persiaprovince only
- 2Dadastana
- 3Bithyniaprovince only