[1] After this there was no time for laments or tears. For after caring for Julian’s body as well as the means at hand and the circumstances allowed, in order that he might be laid to rest in the place which he had previously chosen, ¹ at dawn of the following day, which was the twenty-seventh of June, with the enemy swarming about us on every side, the generals of the army assembled, and having called in the commanders of the legions and of the squadrons of cavalry, they consulted about choosing an emperor.

[2] They were divided into turbulent factions, for Arintheus and Victor, with the other survivors of the palace officials of Constantius, looked around for a suitable man from their party; on the other hand, Nevitta and Dagalaifus, as well as the chiefs of the Gauls, sought such a man among their fellow-soldiers.

[3] After some discussion, all by general agreement united on Salutius, and when he pleaded illness and old age, one of the soldiers ² of higher rank, perceiving Salutius’ determined opposition, said: What would you do if the emperor (as often happens) had in his absence committed to you the conduct of this war? Would you not put aside everything else and save the soldiers from the threatening dangers? Do that now, and if we are permitted to see Mesopotamia, the united votes of both armies ³ will decide upon a lawful emperor.

[4] During this delay, which was slight considering the importance of the matter, before the various opinions had been weighed, a few hot-headed soldiers (as often happens in an extreme crisis) chose an emperor in the person of Jovianus, commander ⁴ of the household troops, who had claims for some slight consideration because of the services of his father. For he was the son of Varronianus, a well- known count, ⁵ who not long since, after ending his military career, had retired to a quieter life.

[5] Now Jovian, as soon as he had been clothed in the imperial robes and suddenly brought out from his tent, already hastening through the ranks of the soldiers, who were getting ready to march.

[6] And since the army extended for four miles, those in the van, on hearing some men shouting Jovianus Augustus, repeated the same sounds much more loudly; for struck by the near relationship of the name, since it differed in only one letter, ⁶ they thought that Julian had recovered and was being brought out amid the usual great acclaim. But when Jovianus a taller and bent men was seen advancing, they suspected what had happened, and all burst into tears and lamentation.

[7] But if any onlooker of strict justice with undue haste blames such a step taken in a moment of extreme danger, he will, with even more justice, reproach sailors, if after the loss of a skilled pilot, amid the raging winds and seas, they committed the guidance of the helm of their ship to any companion in their peril, whoever he might be.

[8] When this had been done as described, as if by the blind decree of fortune, the standard-bearer of the Joviani, ⁷ formerly commanded by Varronianus, who was at odds with the new emperor even when he was still a private citizen, just as he had been a persistent critic of his father, fearing danger from an enemy who had now risen above the ordinary rank, deserted to the Persians. And as soon as he had the opportunity of telling what he knew to Sapor, who was already drawing near, he informed the king that the man whom he feared was dead, and that an excited throng of camp-followers had chosen a mere shadow of imperial power in the person of Jovian, up to that time one of the bodyguard, and a slothful, weak man. On hearing this news, for which he had always longed with anxious prayers, the king, elated by the unexpected good fortune, added a corps of the royal cavalry to the army opposed to us and hastened on, ordering an attack upon the rear of our army.