Julian, who has since been known by the name of the Apostate, restored the pagan religion, and, after a short reign of twenty months, of which we have given a full account in the article JULIAN, he died of a wound received in a skirmish against the Persians, in the 32d year of his age.
Upon the death of Julian, the army unanimously raised to the empire an able general, Flavius Claudius Jovian, a native of Pannonia. Having been educated in the Christian faith, he at first refused the imperial diadem, on tit& ground that the people whom he was to govern had relapsed into the idolatry of their ances tors; but when the army assured him that they pre ferred the Christian religion, he immediately accepted of the sovereignty. Upon the death of Julian the troops which he had conducted against the Persians had been left in extreme distress; a famine raged in the camp to such a degree, that every man would have perished had not the Persians made them offers of peace.: and, though the terms were in general disadvantageous, in so far as they involved a surrender of territory to the Persians, yet, considering the state of the Roman army, they could not be too highly appreciated. Being now permitted to return homewards without molesta tion, Jovian had no sooner arrived at Antioch than he revoked all the laws that Julian had enacted against the Christians, and in favour of the pagans. He took part with the orthodox Christians against the Arians, and having recalled Athanasius, in a letter written in his own hand, he is said to have requested him to com pose the celebrated creed, which is now known in every corner of the Christian world. These enact ments, made during the march of his army, are an earnest of what might have been expected from Jovian, had he been permitted to reign; but on his way to Constantinople he was found dead in his bed, having been suffocated by the vapours of charcoal which had been lighted in his room.
On lie death of Jovian, Valentinian was proclaimed emperor; and the soldiers having insisted that he should assume a partner in the empire, he chose his brother Valens.
The empire having been invaded on all sides, it was thought necessary to divide it between the two sove reigns. In this partition, which was made at Mediana, in Dacia, Valcntinian received Illyricurn, Italy, Gaul, Spain, Britain, and Africa; while Valens obtained Asia, Egypt, and Thrace. Valentinian displayed his
military skill in the successes which he obtained over the barbarians both in Africa and Gaul, and on the banks of the Rhine and the Danube. The Quadi hav ing revolted, he took the field against them, and laid waste their country with fire and sword. The Quadi then sent ambassadors to sue for peace; but the em peror upbraided them for their conduct, and while in the act of speaking in great warmth, he burst a blood vessel,. and fell upon the ground. When conveyed to his chamber he was seized with violent convulsions, and expired in the greatest agony in the 55th year of his age, and the 12th of his reign.
The reign of Valens in the east was disturbed by the revolt of Procopius, who was aided by Eugenius, a wealthy eunuch, whom Valens had disgraced. The emperor was disposed to abdicate the sovereignty; but his friends would not permit him. Procopius, on the other hand, became odious to his own friends, who speedily abandoned him; and, in a battle which took place between him and Valens, he was taken prisoner, and put to death.
. The Goths, who were marching to the assistance of Procopius, retired when they learned his misfortunes; but Valens took them all prisoners; and in the war with those barbarians which succeeded, Valens was successful, and compelled them to make a peace ad vantageous to the Romans. The reign of Valens has been distinguished by his persecution of the orthodox clergy. Eighty of these clergy were sent to the em peror to complain of the treatment they had received; but he summarily ordered them to be put to death.— The person, however, who was charged with this odious duty, dreading a popular commotion, put them all on board a ship, and, when it was at some distance from the shore, the sailors set it on fire, and escaped in their boats. Valens likewise persecuted magicians, and all those who had books of magic in their library. Death and confiscation were the punishment which he inflicted on this occasion, and hence people of all ranks burnt their libraries, lest their enemies might have secretly introduced such works among the rest.