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Jovinus is a Roman cognomen
Cognomen

The cognomen was originally a middle name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary ....
, most often used for a 5th century Roman usurper emperor. This article is about the Roman usurper. For the saint, see Saint Jovinus. For the Frankish duke, see Jovinus of Provence
Jovinus of Provence

Jovinus or Jovin was the List of dukes, kings, counts, and margraves of Provence from 570 until he was replaced by Sigebert I with Albinus of Provence in 573....
.


Jovinus was a Gallo-
Gaul

Gaul is the name used for the region of Western Europe comprising part of present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River Rhine....
Roman senator
Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the Greek historian Polybius, our principal source on the Constitution of the Roman Republic, the Roman Senate was the predominant branch of government....
 and claimed to be Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor

The Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin language titles such as imperator , Augustus , Caesar and princeps were all associated with it....
 (411 - 413).

Following the defeat of the usurper
Roman usurper

Usurpers are individuals or groups of individuals who obtain and maintain the power or rights of another by force and without legal authority. Usurpers were a common feature of the late Roman Empire, especially from the crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became the rule....
 known with the name of Constantine III
Constantine III (usurper)

Flavius Claudius Constantinus, known in English as Constantine III was a Roman Empire general who declared himself Western Roman Emperor in 407, abdicated in 411, and was captured and executed shortly afterwards....
, Jovinus was proclaimed emperor at Mainz
Mainz

Mainz is a city in Germany and the capital of the Germany States of Germany of Rhineland-Palatinate. It was a politically important seat of the Prince-elector of Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman Empire fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine River and formed part of the northernmost frontier of th...
 in 411, a puppet supported by Gundahar
Gunther

Gunther is the German Language name of a semi-legendary Kings of Burgundy of the early 5th century. Legendary tales about him appear in Latin, medieval Middle High German, Old Norse, and Old English language texts, especially concerning his relations with Siegfried and his death by treachery in the hall of Attila the Hun....
, king of the Burgundians
Burgundians

File:Roman Empire 125.svgThe Burgundians were an East Germanic language Germanic tribes which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose old form in Old Norse still was Burgundarholmr , and from there to mainland Europe....
, and Goar
Goar

Goar was a leader of the Alans in 5th century Gaul. He led his followers over the Rhine during the multi-tribe invasion of Gaul in 406, but quickly joined the Roman Empire, and subsequently played a role in the internal politics of Gaul....
, king of the Alans
Alans

The Alans or Alani were a group among the Sarmatians people, Eurasian nomads of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian language and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian language....
.






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Jovinus is a Roman cognomen
Cognomen

The cognomen was originally a middle name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary ....
, most often used for a 5th century Roman usurper emperor. This article is about the Roman usurper. For the saint, see Saint Jovinus. For the Frankish duke, see Jovinus of Provence
Jovinus of Provence

Jovinus or Jovin was the List of dukes, kings, counts, and margraves of Provence from 570 until he was replaced by Sigebert I with Albinus of Provence in 573....
.


Jovinus was a Gallo-
Gaul

Gaul is the name used for the region of Western Europe comprising part of present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River Rhine....
Roman senator
Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the Greek historian Polybius, our principal source on the Constitution of the Roman Republic, the Roman Senate was the predominant branch of government....
 and claimed to be Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor

The Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin language titles such as imperator , Augustus , Caesar and princeps were all associated with it....
 (411 - 413).

Following the defeat of the usurper
Roman usurper

Usurpers are individuals or groups of individuals who obtain and maintain the power or rights of another by force and without legal authority. Usurpers were a common feature of the late Roman Empire, especially from the crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became the rule....
 known with the name of Constantine III
Constantine III (usurper)

Flavius Claudius Constantinus, known in English as Constantine III was a Roman Empire general who declared himself Western Roman Emperor in 407, abdicated in 411, and was captured and executed shortly afterwards....
, Jovinus was proclaimed emperor at Mainz
Mainz

Mainz is a city in Germany and the capital of the Germany States of Germany of Rhineland-Palatinate. It was a politically important seat of the Prince-elector of Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman Empire fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine River and formed part of the northernmost frontier of th...
 in 411, a puppet supported by Gundahar
Gunther

Gunther is the German Language name of a semi-legendary Kings of Burgundy of the early 5th century. Legendary tales about him appear in Latin, medieval Middle High German, Old Norse, and Old English language texts, especially concerning his relations with Siegfried and his death by treachery in the hall of Attila the Hun....
, king of the Burgundians
Burgundians

File:Roman Empire 125.svgThe Burgundians were an East Germanic language Germanic tribes which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose old form in Old Norse still was Burgundarholmr , and from there to mainland Europe....
, and Goar
Goar

Goar was a leader of the Alans in 5th century Gaul. He led his followers over the Rhine during the multi-tribe invasion of Gaul in 406, but quickly joined the Roman Empire, and subsequently played a role in the internal politics of Gaul....
, king of the Alans
Alans

The Alans or Alani were a group among the Sarmatians people, Eurasian nomads of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian language and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian language....
. Jovinus kept his position in Gaul for two years, long enough to issue coinage that showed him wearing the imperial diadem
Diadem (personal wear)

A diadem is a type of Crown , specifically an ornamental headband worn by Eastern monarchs and others as a badge of royalty. The word derives from the Greek language d??d??a diadema, from d??d?? diadeo to bind round, or fasten....
. He was supported by a number of local Gallo-Roman nobles who had survived Constantine's defeat.

Under the pretext of Jovinus' imperial authority, Gundahar and his Burgundians established themselves on the left bank of the Rhine (the Roman side) between the river Lauter
Lauter

Lauter may refer to:In towns:*Lauter, Saxony, town in the district of Aue-Schwarzenberg, Saxony, Germany*Lauter, Bavaria, village in the district of Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany...
 and the Nahe
Nahe

The Nahe River is a river in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, Germany, a left tributary to the Rhine. It has also given name to the wine region Nahe situated around it....
. Here they founded a kingdom with the old Romanized Gaulish settlement of Borbetomagus (Worms
Worms, Germany

Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over title of "Oldest City in Germany"....
) as its capital.

Jovinus' end came after the Visigoths under Ataulf
Ataulf

Ataulf was king of the Visigoths from 410 to 415....
 left Italy (at Priscus Attalus
Priscus Attalus

Priscus Attalus was twice Roman usurper , against Roman Emperor Honorius , with Visigoths support.Priscus Attalus was a Greek from Asia whose father had moved to Italy under Valentinian I....
' advice), ostensibly to join him, carrying with them as hostages the ex-emperor Attalus and Galla Placidia
Galla Placidia

File:Aelia Galla Placidia.jpgAelia Galla Placidia was the Empress consort of Constantius III, Western Roman Empire....
, Honorius' half-sister. Then Ataulf attacked and killed Sarus
Sarus

In legend and history, the following people are named Sarus:*Sarus , a son of the Norse mythological king, Jonakr's sons. The story of this Sarus is based on:...
, who had also come to support Jovinus. Jovinus, offended at this act, then failed to consult Ataulf when he elevated his brother Sebastianus
Sebastianus

Sebastianus , a brother of Jovinus, was an aristocrat of southern Gaul. After Jovinus usurped in Gaul the throne of the western Roman Empire Honorius in 411, he named Sebastianus as Augustus in 412....
 as co-emperor. Insulted, Ataulf allied his Visigoths with Honorius
Honorius (emperor)

Flavius Honorius was Roman Emperor and then Western Roman Empire from 395 until his death. He was the younger son of Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the Eastern Emperor Arcadius....
, and they defeated Jovinus' troops. Sebastianus was executed. Jovinus fled for his life, but was besieged and captured in Valentia (Valence, Drôme
Valence, Drôme

Valence is a communes of France in southeastern France, the capital of the Departments of France of Dr?me, situated on the left bank of the Rh?ne River, 65 miles south of Lyon on the railway to Marseille....
) and taken to Narbo (Narbonne
Narbonne

Narbonne is a commune in France in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon r?gion in France. It lies from Paris in the Aude d?partement in France, of which it is a sous-pr?fecture....
), where Postumus Dardanus, the praetorian prefect (governor) in Gaul, who had remained loyal to Honorius, had him executed. Jovinus' and Sebastianus' heads were afterwards sent to Honorius and mounted on the walls of Ravenna
Ravenna

Ravenna is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The city is inland, but is connected to the Adriatic Sea by a canal. Ravenna once served as the seat of the Western Roman Empire and later the Ostrogoths and the Exarchate of Ravenna....
 (before being passed on to Carthage
Carthage

Carthage refers both to an ancient city in present-day Tunisia, and a modern-day suburb of Tunis. The civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic or Carthaginian....
, were they were put on permanent display with the heads of four other usurpers).