Italy: Icon of Jovian (331-364), 64th Roman emperor, from the book Icones imperatorvm romanorvm (Icons of Roman Emperors), Antwerp, c. 1645

Jovian (331-364) was the son of Varronianus, the commander of Emperor Constantius II's imperial bodyguards. Jovian eventually rose to the same command as his father, serving under Emperor Julian against the Sassanid Empire. When Julian died from a mortal wound while fighting in 363, Jovian became emperor after others had declined to don the purple.

Jovian's hasty election and the situation he found himself in forced him to sign a humiliating peace treaty with the Sassanids, before heading back to the empire. He reestablished Christianity as the state religion, ending the paganism revival of his predecessor, issuing an edict of toleration. Christianity would remain the dominant religion of both halves of the empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.

Jovian's popularity rapidly declined due to the provinces lost in the Sassanid peace treaty, and as he was rushing back to Constantinople to consolidate his power, he was found dead in his tent. His death has since been attributed to either carbon monoxide poisoning from the fumes of a charcoal warming fire or a surfeit of mushrooms.

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