Shortly after the death of Roman emperor

Constantius II Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic ...

, his successor

Julian Julian may refer to: People * Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363 * Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots * Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints * Julian (give ...

held a tribunal at the city of

Chalcedon Chalcedon ( or ; , sometimes transliterated as ''Chalkedon'') was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the c ...

, which was then a suburb of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

Saturninius Secundus Salutius Saturninius Secundus Salutius ( 355–367) was a Roman official and Neoplatonist author. A native of Gaul, he had a successful career as a provincial governor and officer at the imperial court, becoming a close friend and adviser of the Emperor J ...

, who was raised to the rank of

Praetorian Prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...

was given the chief oversight and with him were associated Claudius Mamertinus (another civilian), and four military commanders, Arbitio, Agilo, Nevitta and

Jovinus :''Jovinus is a Roman cognomen, most often used for a 5th-century Roman usurper emperor. This article is about the Roman usurper. For the saint, see Saint Jovinus. For the Frankish duke, see Jovinus of Provence.'' For the 4th century Roman general ...

. The first two were ex-officers of Constantius, while the other two had served with Julian. At this tribunal a large part of Constantius's ministers were brought to trial. In charge of the daily inquisitions was Arbitio, "while the others were present merely for show" according to historian Ammianus Marcellinus. Palladius, Taurus, Euagrius, Saturninus and Cyrinus are known to have been exiled. Florentius, Ursulus and

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christ ...

were condemned to death. Apodemius and Paulus Catena were even burned alive. Another Florentius was imprisoned on a Dalmatian island.

died on 3 November 361, so all this must have happened in late 361 and early 362.This article is based on

Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally anglicised as Ammian) (born , died 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquity (preceding Procopius). His work, known as the ''Res Gestae' ...

, ''Res Gestae'', XXII.3, 4, 7-8 & 10.

References

{{Julian (emperor) 361 362 360s in the Byzantine Empire Julian (emperor)