Flavius Claudius Jovianus

c.332-364. Roman emperor. A Christian from Pannonia and senior member of the imperial bodyguard, Jovian was a compromise choice as emperor in 363. His brief reign was hailed as guaranteeing the church a place in the state from which no subsequent emperor again sought its removal, though it appears that his official policy was one of broad toleration for all religious parties. To get the army safely out of Mesopotamia and to gain his own security, he agreed to a treaty with Shapur II with unfavorable provisions including the loss, not only of Transtigridian territory, but the frontier cities of Nisibis and Singara also. He did not have the chance to establish himself, for he died suddenly and mysteriously at Ancyra before he reached Constantinople.