ABSTRACT
The Emperor Julian died from the wound he sustained in battle on 26 June 363. On the following day a relatively unknown commander by the name of Jovian was elevated to the throne. He continued the withdrawal from Persian territory, but, unable to cross the river Tigris, the army halted for four days at a place called Dura. There the Persians entered into negotiations with Jovian, who agreed to almost everything they demanded: the more time passed and supplies ran short, the less room for manoeuvre was available to him. Thus the new emperor surrendered several territories east of the Tigris to the Persians, as well as valuable frontier fortresses in eastern Mesopotamia, such as Nisibis; he also agreed not to lend assistance to the Armenian king Arsaces. Probably on 11 July the march back to Roman territory resumed; after enduring terrible privations, the remnants of the expeditionary force arrived back at Nisibis. See Chrysos 1976: 25-32, Blockley 1984: 31, 34-7, Gutmann 1991: 162-4, Winter and Dignas 2001: M18.1
The attitude of the sources to Jovian’s peace ranges from utter condemnation to an acceptance that he accomplished all that was possible under the circumstances; Christian writers naturally shift the blame for the surrender of Roman territory onto Julian.2
