Life
An officer of Frankish ancestry, Nevitta is first mentioned regarding a battle against the Alamanni who had been pillaging the region of Raetia in 357. The Romans were led by Barbatio and Ammianus Marcellinus writes that "Nevitta, commander of a troop of cavalry and afterwards consul, was present and conducted himself manfully." [1] In 361 Julian promoted Nevitta to the rank of magister equitum . [2]
When Julian decided to move against Constantius in a bid for power, Nevitta was one of his two generals, the other being Jovinus. The bulk of Julian's force was divided between these two. It was Nevitta's task to lead his army through Raetia and then guard the pass of Succi, thus protecting Julian's rear as the Caesar moved on to Constantinople. [3] Ammianus took the opportunity to describe Nevitta at this point in his career: "a man neither in high birth, experience nor renown comparable with those on whom Constantius conferred the highest magistracy, but on the contrary somewhat boorish, and (what was more intolerable) cruel in his high office." [4]
When the emperor Julian set up a tribunal at Chalcedon to try those involved in the excesses of the previous government, Nevitta was appointed as one of the judges. [5] In January 362 he was appointed as consul along with Claudius Mamertinus. [6] The following year Nevitta accompanied Julian on his Parthian expedition. With the death of his emperor no further mention is found of Nevitta.
Constantius II was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civil wars, court intrigues, and usurpations. His religious policies inflamed domestic conflicts that would continue after his death.
Julian was the Caesar of the West from 355 to 360 and Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplatonic Hellenism in its place, caused him to be remembered as Julian the Apostate in Christian tradition. He is sometimes referred to as Julian the Philosopher.
Valentinian I, sometimes called Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. He ruled the Western half of the empire, while his brother Valens ruled the East. During his reign, he fought successfully against the Alamanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians, strengthening the border fortifications and conducting campaigns across the Rhine and Danube. His general Theodosius defeated a revolt in Africa and the Great Conspiracy, a coordinated assault on Roman Britain by Picts, Scoti, and Saxons. Valentinian founded the Valentinianic dynasty, with his sons Gratian and Valentinian II succeeding him in the western half of the empire.
Jovian was Roman emperor from June 363 to February 364. As part of the imperial bodyguard, he accompanied Julian on his campaign against the Sasanian Empire. Julian was killed in battle, and the exhausted and ill-provisioned army declared Jovian his successor. Unable to cross the Tigris, Jovian made peace with the Sasanids on humiliating terms. He spent the rest of his seventh-month reign traveling back to Constantinople. After his arrival at Edessa, Jovian was petitioned by bishops over doctrinal issues concerning Christianity. Albeit the last emperor to rule the whole Empire during his entire reign, he died at Dadastana, never having reached the capital.
Flavius Claudius Constantius Gallus was a statesman and ruler in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire from 351 to 354, as Caesar under emperor Constantius II, his cousin. A grandson of emperor Constantius Chlorus and empress Flavia Maximiana Theodora, and a son of Julius Constantius and Galla, he belonged to the Constantinian dynasty. Born during the reign of his uncle Constantine the Great, he was among the few male members of the imperial family to survive the purge that followed Constantine's death. Under Constantius II, Gallus served as deputy emperor, based in Antioch and married to Constantius' sister Constantina. He dealt with a Jewish revolt in the years 351-352. Gallus ultimately fell out of favor with Constantius and was executed, being replaced as Caesar by his younger half-brother Julian.
Paulus Catena was a senior Roman public official who served as an investigator and notary for Constantius II during the mid-fourth century. He is principally known through the writings of Ammianus Marcellinus, though he is also present in the works of Libanius and Julian the Apostate. Marcellinus describes him as infamously cruel, and a skilled fabricator of false accusations.
Ursicinus was a Roman senior military officer, holding the rank of Magister Equitum per Orientem and even Magister Peditum Praesentalis in the later Roman Empire c. 349–359. He was a citizen of Antioch and was well connected in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire.
Petulantes was an auxilia palatina of the Late Roman army.
Shortly after the death of Roman emperor Constantius II, his successor Julian held a tribunal at the city of Chalcedon, which was then a suburb of Constantinople. Saturninius Secundus Salutius, who was raised to the rank of Praetorian Prefect was given the chief oversight and with him were associated Claudius Mamertinus, and four military commanders, Arbitio, Agilo, Nevitta and Jovinus. The first two were ex-officers of Constantius, while the other two had served with Julian.
Barbatio was a Roman general of the infantry under the command of Constantius II. Previously he was a commander of the household troops under Gallus Caesar, but he arrested Gallus under the instruction of Constantius, thereby ensuring his promotion on the death of Claudius Silvanus. In 359, both he and his wife Assyria were arrested and beheaded for treason against Constantius, possibly as part of a plot by Arbitio, a senior cavalry commander, and another exponent of the forms of scheming and political intrigue that became such a part of the later Roman Empire.
Flavius Arbitio was a Roman general and Consul who lived in the middle of the 4th century AD.
Eusebia was the second wife of Roman emperor Constantius II. The main sources for the knowledge about her life are Julian's panegyric "Speech of Thanks to the Empress Eusebia", as well as several remarks by the historian Ammianus Marcellinus.
Apodemius was an officer of the Roman Empire, a courtier of Emperor Constantius II, involved in the deaths of Constantius Gallus and Claudius Silvanus.
Eusebius was a high-ranking officer of the Roman Empire, holding the position of praepositus sacri cubiculi during the rule of Emperor Constantius II (337-361).
Florentius was a Roman praetorian prefect under the Caesar Julian and later a consul, before falling from grace when Julian became emperor.
Flavius Taurus was a politician and a military officer of the Roman Empire. He was Praetorian Prefect of Italy and Africa, and consul in 361 AD.
Domitius Modestus was a politician of the Roman Empire. He held appointments under the emperors Constantius II, Julian, and Valens, and was consul in 372. Previously a pagan, he converted to Arianism under Valens, and was sent by Valens to mediate between the Arian and Nicene factions with Basil of Caesarea.
Flavius Arintheus was a Roman army officer who started his career in the middle ranks and rose to senior political and military positions. He served the emperors Constantius II, Julian, Jovian and Valens. In 372 he was appointed consul, alongside Domitius Modestus.
Dagalaifus was a Roman army officer of Germanic descent. A pagan, he served as consul in 366. In the year 361, he was appointed by Emperor Julian as comes domesticorum. He accompanied Julian on his march through Illyricum to quell what remained of the government of Constantius II that year. He led a party into Sirmium that arrested the commander of the resisting army, Lucillianus. In the spring of 363, Dagalaifus was part of Julian's ultimately-disastrous invasion of Persia. On June 26, while still campaigning, Julian was killed in a skirmish. Dagalaifus, who had been with the rear guard, played an important role in the election of the next emperor. The council of military officers finally agreed on the new comes domesticorum, Jovian, to succeed Julian. Jovian was a Christian whose father Varronianus had himself once served as comes domesticorum.
Flavius Sallustius was a career Roman official whom the emperor Julian appointed praetorian prefect of Gaul shortly after he proclaimed himself emperor. Some experts identify him with the Neoplatonist Sallustius.
