Lucillianus

Lucillianus ( 350–363 AD) was a high-ranking Roman army officer and father-in-law of the emperor Jovian. He fought with success in the war against Persia, and played a part in the execution of the emperor Constantius II's cousin, Gallus. In 361, Lucillianus was kidnapped by the emperor Julian and forced into retirement. He was recalled to service after the accession of his son-in-law Jovian in 363, and given a senior military command, only to be murdered that same year by mutinous troops in Gaul. Biography Career under Constantius II Lucillianus was the father of Charito, wife of the Roman emperor Jovian. He probably, like Jovian, came from the province of Pannonia. His hometown may have been Sirmium, Moesia Superior, where he was once stationed and later resided during his retirement. In 350, the emperor Constantius II gave Lucillianus command of the war against the Sasanian Empire, and, in this capacity, he successfully defended the fortress of Nisibis against Persian attacks. In 354, Lucillianus was appointed (commander of the household troops) of Constantius's cousin, Gallus Caesar, with the secret purpose of keeping watch over Gallus as he was unknowingly escorted to his execution. In 358–359 he went alongside Procopius (the future imperial pretender) as an envoy to the Sasanian king Shapur II. Lucillianus stood loyal to Constantius when the emperor's other cousin, Julian, rebelled and proclaimed himself emperor in Gaul, 360. By 361 he had been appointed commander of Constantius's armies in Illyricum, with his headquarters at Sirmium, and intended to oppose Julian as he marched east. However, while lodged at the town of Bononia (Banoštor, Serbia) north of Sirmium, Lucillianus was surprised and captured in a night-time raid by Julian's troops; he was seized apparently while still asleep, and brought in a state of shock before the pretender. It was said Julian offered Lucillianus the opportunity to perform an act of submission and "adoration", to which the latter boldly responded by instead questioning the wisdom of the rebellion. When Constantius died that same year and Julian became undisputed Roman emperor, Lucillianus was stripped of his command and went into retirement at Sirmium.