Flavius Jovinus () was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

general and consul of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

. He was of Gallic or Germanic origin and was both born and buried in

Durocortorum Durocortorum was the name of the city of Reims during the Roman era. It was the capital of the Remi tribe and the second largest city in Roman Gaul. Before the Roman conquest of northern Gaul, the city was founded circa 80 BC and was the capit ...

, modern day

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

Biography

Jovinus first appears in the historical record as an officer of unspecified rank in emperor Julian's army. He, along with one other officer, commanded the one-third of Julian's army sent into Italy from Gaul. Later during the same campaign he was promoted to the rank of ''

magister equitum The , in English Master of the Horse or Master of the Cavalry, was a Roman magistrate appointed as lieutenant to a dictator. His nominal function was to serve as commander of the Roman cavalry in time of war, but just as a dictator could be n ...

'' and besieged

Aquileia Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small ( ...

until the war's end. After the war, he was one of the judges at the Trials of Chalcedon. When emperor Julian invaded the Persian Empire, he left Jovinus in Gaul. Julian died on the Persian campaign, and his successor,

Jovian Jovian is the adjectival form of Jupiter and may refer to: * Jovian (emperor) (Flavius Iovianus Augustus), Roman emperor (363–364 AD) * Jovians and Herculians, Roman imperial guard corps * Jovian (lemur), a Coquerel's sifaka known for ''Zobooma ...

, tried to oust Jovinus because he feared his popularity with the troops could allow him to usurp imperial power. However, Jovian's appointee declined the promotion, and then Lucillianus, another officer, decided to go to Gaul and take up the position. Contemporary historian

Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus, occasionally anglicized as Ammian ( Greek: Αμμιανός Μαρκελλίνος; born , died 400), was a Greek and Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquit ...

criticizes Lucillianus for immediately putting a civil official on trial for corruption, without first securing the safety of the province or the loyalty of the soldiers. This official fled to the army and claimed that Julian was still alive and Jovian was trying to usurp his power, so the soldiers rioted and killed Lucillianus. After all this effort and chaos to dismiss him, Jovinus took charge, calmed the soldiers, and convinced them to support Jovian. As thanks, Jovian finally reconfirmed Jovinus as ''magister equitum'' in Gaul. Jovian soon died, and his successors,

Valentinian I Valentinian I (; 32117 November 375), also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. He ruled the Western Roman Empire, Western half of the empire, while his brother Valens ruled the Byzantine Empire, East. During his re ...

and

Valens Valens (; ; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the Byzantine Empire, eastern half of the Roman Em ...

, divided the empire between them, with Valentinian ruling in the west. Jovinus was made a ''

magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers"; : ) was a top-level military command used in the late Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, the e ...

'' in Valentinian's army, and led a campaign against the

Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...

in 365-66. He engaged the Alemanni, who had crossed the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

, in three notable battles: one at '' Scarponna'' (Dieulouard), another along a river

, Res gestae, XXVII 2 (probably the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

), and a final encounter at

Châlons-en-Champagne Châlons-en-Champagne () is a city in the Grand Est region of France. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims. Formerly called Châlons ...

. He was elected to the prestigious

consulship The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...

in 367, together with another ''magister'', Lupicinus. After converting to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, Jovinus sponsored the construction of the church of Saint-Agricole and Saint-Vital on the site of the present abbey church of Saint-Nicaise de Reims. He was buried in this church in 370 in a white Marmara marble sarcophagus imported from Italy. This sarcophagus measures 1.48m x 2.85m x 1.33m and weighs approximately 2 metric tons. On its front is a relief of a hunting scene, with Jovinus shown on horseback, spearing a lion. It has been in the Musée d'Archéologie de Saint-Rémi in Reims since 1958. However, its attribution to Jovinus has been disputed since 1880. Jovinus is also credited with the founding of

Joigny Joigny () is a commune in the Yonne département in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. It is located on the banks of the river Yonne. History The current city, originally known as Joviniacum in Latin, was founded during Roman ti ...

(''Joviniacum''). Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

Biography

See also

References

External links