9. Jo'vian did not
long survive this peaceful triumph of Christianity; after a reign of
eight months, he was found dead in his bed, having been suffocated by
the mephitic vapours which a charcoal fire extracted from the fresh
plaster, on the walls of his apartment.
[Sidenote: A.D. 364.]
10. During ten days the Roman empire remained without a sovereign, but
finally the soldiers elevated to the imperial purple, Valentinian, the
son of count Gratian, an officer of distinguished merit. He chose as
his associate in the government his brother Valens, whose only claim
seems to have rested on fraternal affection; to him he entrusted the
rich prefecture of the East, while he himself assumed the
administration of the western provinces, and fixed the seat of his
government at Milan. 11. Though in other respects cruel, Valentinian
was remarkable for maintaining a system of religious toleration; but
Valens was far from pursuing such a laudable course. He had imbibed
the errors of Arius, and bitterly persecuted all who remained faithful
to the Catholic doctrines.
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