Jovian's reign lasted just eight months — long enough to surrender Nisibis and significant Mesopotamian territory to Shapur II to secure Roman withdrawal after Julian's disastrous Persian campaign, but not long enough for the VOT V vows struck at Thessalonica to have any realistic prospect of fulfillment. The votis coinage expressed hope for a five-year anniversary; Jovian died in February 364, likely of carbon monoxide poisoning from a charcoal brazier, before completing his first winter in power.
Jovian's reign lasted just eight months — long enough to surrender Nisibis and significant Mesopotamian territory to Shapur II to secure Roman withdrawal after Julian's disastrous Persian campaign, but not long enough for the VOT V vows struck at Thessalonica to have any realistic prospect of fulfillment. The votis coinage expressed hope for a five-year anniversary; Jovian died in February 364, likely of carbon monoxide poisoning from a charcoal brazier, before completing his first winter in power.