Editing Valentinian I (section)

== Rise to power ==
At the news of Julian's death on a campaign against the [[Sasanian Empire]], the army hastily declared [[Jovian (emperor)|Jovian]] the new emperor. He extricated his soldiers from Persian territory by agreeing to a humiliating peace treaty, then started back to Constantinople.{{sfn|Tomlin|1973|p=16}} During Jovian's brief reign Valentinian was promoted to tribune of a ''[[Scutarii]]'' (elite infantry) regiment, which Hughes considered to reflect the Emperor’s trust in him, and dispatched to [[Ancyra]].{{sfn|Hughes|2013|p=18}}

Jovian died in mysterious circumstances before he reached the capital, and a meeting of civil and military officials was convened at [[Nicaea]] to choose a new emperor. [[Salutius]], who had already refused the throne after Julian's death, now did so again, first for himself and then on behalf of his son.<ref>[[Edward Gibbon]], ''The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', (The Modern Library, 1932), ch. XXV., pp. 845, 846</ref> Two other names were proposed: [[Aequitius]], a tribune of the first Scutarii, and Januarius, a relative of Jovian's in charge of military supplies in Illyricum. Both were rejected; Aequitius as too rough and boorish, Januarius because he was too far away.{{sfn|Hughes|2013|p=18}}{{sfn|Curran|1998|pp=80-81}} As a man well qualified and at hand, the assembly finally agreed upon Valentinian and sent messengers to inform him in Ancyra.
[[File:INC-1867-r Солид. Валент II. Ок. 375—378 гг. (реверс).png|thumb|Valentinian and Valens enthroned on the reverse of a ''[[Solidus (coin)|solidus]]'' of Valens, marked {{Smallcaps|victoria {{Abbreviation|augg·|AUGUSTORUM}}}} ("''the [[Victoria (mythology)|Victory]] of Our Augusti''"). They hold together the [[Globus cruciger|orb]], a symbol of power]]