CONSTANTIUS II 351AD Thessalonica Ancient Roman Silver Siliqua Coin i53451

Coin of:

Roman Emperor: 337-361 A.D. – 

Silver Siliqua 18mm (1.72 grams) 
Thessalonica mint: 
351-355 A.D.
Reference: RIC 163
D N 
CONSTAN-TIVS PF AVG, pearl-diademed head of 
Constantius right.
VOTIS XXX MVLTIS XXXX in four lines within wreath, 
TES in exergue.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured, 

Authenticity.

Constantius II –
Roman Emperor
: 
337-361 A.D.  |
Caesar, 324-337 A.D.

Son 
of 
Constantine the Great
and
Fausta
| Brother of 
Constantine II
,
Constans
, Constantina (wife of 
Hanniballianus
and 
Constantius Gallus
) and Helena 
the Younger (wife of 
Julian II
) | Half-brother of
Crispus
| Half-cousin of 
Delmatius
, 
Hanniballianus
, 
Constantius Gallus
, 
Julian II
,
Licinius II
and
Nepotian
| Grandson of 
Constantius I
, 
Helena
,
Maximian
and Eutropia | Father of Constantia (wife 
of 
Gratian
) |

Flavius Iulius Constantius, known in English as 
Constantius II (7 August 317 – November 3 361) was a

Roman 

Emperor
(337-361) of the

Constantinian dynasty
.

Constantius joins the lengthy list of emperors whose career 

was marked by a seemingly endless series of wars both domestic and foreign. He 

served as Caesar from 324 until his father’s death in 337 at which time he 

shared the title of Augustus with two other brothers, Constantine II and 

Constans. To make sure no more Johnny-come-latelies in his family would try 

their hand at being emperor too it is thought that he engineered a bloodbath 

that left nary a relative. Constantine II died in battle and Constans was 

murdered by the men of Magnentius, the first of several usurpers. This left 

Constantius finally as sole legitimate emperor and he moved quickly to suppress 

Magnentius, an endeavor he eventually accomplished. The strife didn’t end there, 

however, as he still had to deal with other revolts and wars on every corner of 

the empire. Caught in these never-ending battles he died while on his way to 

battle Julian II. 

Flavius Iulius Constantius was born at

Sirmium
(now

Sremska Mitrovica
in

Serbia
) in 

province of Pannonia
, the third son of

Constantine the Great
, and second by his second wife

Fausta
, the 

daughter of Maximian
. Constantius was made
Caesar
by his father on 13 November 324. 

When the elder

Constantine
died at

Constantinople
on 22 May 337, Constantius was nearest of his sons to that 

city, and despite being on campaign in the eastern provinces, immediately 

returned to the city to oversee his father’s funeral.

 The 

Massacre of 337

The role of Constantius in the massacre of his relatives 

(those descended from the second marriage of his paternal grandfather
Constantius Chlorus
and

Theodora
) is unclear.

Zosimus
, 

writing 498-518 claims that Constantius “caused” 

the soldiers to murder his relatives, as opposed to actually ordering the 

action. Eutropius
, writing between 350 and 370, writes that Constantius merely 

sanctioned “the act, rather than commanding it”. 

However, it must be noted that both of these sources are hostile to Constantius 

– Zosimus
 

being a pagan,

Eutropius
 

a friend of

Julian
, Constantius’ cousin and, ultimately, his enemy.

Whatever the case, Constantius himself, his older brother
Constantine II
, his younger brother

Constans
 

and three cousins,

Gallus
, his half-brother

Julian
and

Nepotianus
, 

son of

Eutropia
, were left as the only surviving males related to Constantine.

 Division 

of the Empire

Meeting at Sirmium not long after the massacre, the three 

brothers proceeded to divide the Roman Empire among them, according to their 

father’s will. Constantine II received
Britannia
, 
Gaul
 

and Hispania
; 

Constans (initially under the supervision of Constantine II)
Italia
,

Africa
, Illyricum,

Thrace
,

Macedon
and

Achaea
; and Constantius the East.

 Reign 

in the East

There are few details of the early years of Constantius’ sole 

reign in the East. He seems to have spent most of his time defending the eastern 

border against invasions by the aggressive
Sassanid Empire
under

Shapur II
. 

These conflicts seem to have been mainly limited to Sassanid sieges of the 

various fortresses (Nisibis,

Singara
, 

Constantia and

Amida
) of Roman

Mesopotamia
, which achieved little for either side. 

Although Shapur II
seems to have been victorious in most of the confrontations 

– except the Battle of Narasara, where one of
Shapur II
‘s 

brothers, Narses, was killed 

– the overall result must be considered a victory for Constantius because
Shapur
 

failed to make any significant gains^.

In the meantime,

Constantine II
‘s desire to retain control of
Constans
‘ 

realm had lead Constantius’ two surviving brothers into open conflict; resulting 

in the death of the elder in 340. 

As a result, Constans took control of his deceased elder brother’s realms and 

became sole ruler of the Western two-thirds of the Empire. This division lasted 

until 350, when Constans was killed in battle by forces loyal to the
usurper

Magnentius
.

 War 

against Magnentius

This new state of affairs proved unacceptable to Constantius, 

who felt that, as the only surviving son of
Constantine the Great
, the position of

Emperor
was his alone. 

As such, he determined to march west to enforce his claims. However, feeling 

that the east still required some sort of imperial control, he elevated his 

cousin

Constantius Gallus
to Caesar of the East. As an extra measure to ensure the 

loyalty of his cousin, he married the elder of his two sisters,

Constantina
, to

Gallus
.

Before facing

Magnentius
, 

Constantius first came to terms with
Vetranio
, a 

loyal Constantian general, who had previously accepted the position of Augustus 

in order to retain the loyalty of his troops, and probably to stop Magnentius 

from gaining more support. This action may have been carried out at the urging 

of Constantius’ own sister, Constantina
, who had since traveled east to marry

Gallus
. Constantius for his own part had previously sent
Vetranio
 

the imperial diadem and acknowledged the general‘s new position. However, when 

Constantius arrived, Vetranio
 

willingly and gladly resigned his position and accepted Constantius’ offer of a 

comfortable retirement in Bithynia
.

The following year, Constantius finally met
Magnentius
 

in the

Battle of Mursa Major
, 

one of the bloodiest battles in Roman history. The result was a defeat for the 

usurper, who withdrew back to his Gaulish domains. As a result, the cities of
Italy
switched their allegiance to Constantius and ejected all of
Magnentius
’ 

garrisons. Constantius spent the early months of 352 on a campaign against the
Sarmatians
, 

before moving on to invade

Italy
.

When Constantius and Magnentius finally met again, at the
Battle of Mons Seleucus
in southern Gaul, Constantius once again emerged the 

victor. 

Soon after, Magnentius
, realising the futility of continuing his revolt, committed 

suicide 10 August 353.

 Sole 

Ruler of the Roman Empire

Constantius spent much of the rest of 353 and early 354 on 

campaign against the Alemanni
on 

the Danubian borders. The exact details of this campaign are uncertain, though 

it seems to have ended with victory for Constantius.

 The 

Downfall of Gallus

In the meantime, Constantius had been receiving some 

disturbing reports regarding the actions of his cousin,
Gallus
. 

Possibly as a result of these reports, Constantius concluded a peace with the
Alemanni
, 

and withdrew to Milan
.

Once there, he decided to first call

Ursicinus
, Gallus’ 
magister equitum, to Milan for reasons that remain 

unclear. 

Constantius then requested the presence of
Gallus
and

Constantina
. 

Although at first

Gallus
and

Constantina
complied with this order, when

Constantina
died in

Bithynia
,

Gallus
begun to hesitate. However, after some convincing by one of 

Constantius’ agents, 

Gallus continued his journey west, passing through
Constantinople
and

Thrace
to Petobio in the province of
Noricum
.

It was there that

Gallus
was arrested by the soldiers of Constantius under the command of
Barbatio
. 

He was then moved to Pola
, and interrogated. Once there,

Gallus
claimed that it was

Constantina
who was to blame for all the trouble that had been caused while 

he was in charge of the east. 

Apparently, at first, this so greatly angered Constantius that he immediately 

ordered the death of Gallus
. 

However, soon after, he changed his mind, and recanted his execution order. 

Unfortunately for Gallus, this order was delayed by

Eusebius
, one of Constantius‘ eunuchs, and, as a result,
Gallus
was executed.

 More 

Usurpers and Julian Caesar

On 11 August 355, the

magister militum

Claudius Silvanus
revolted in Gaul. Silvanus had surrendered to Constantius 

after the battle of Mursa Major
. Constantius had made him magister militum in 353, 

with the purpose of blocking the German threats, a feat that Silvanus achieved 

by bribing the German tribes with the money he had collected. A plot organized 

by members of Constantius’ court led the emperor to recall Silvanus. After 

Silvanus revolted, he received a letter by Constantius that recalled him to 

Milan, but which made no reference to the revolt.
Ursicinus
, who was meant to replace Silvanus, bribed some troops, and 

Silvanus was killed.

However, Constantius realised that too many threats still 

faced the Empire, and he could not possibly handle all of them by himself, so on 

6 November 355, 

he elevated his last remaining relative, Julian, to the rank of
Caesar
. 

A few days later,

Julian
was married to

Helena
, the last surviving sister of Constantius. 

Not long after Constantius sent
Julian
off to Gaul.

 Constantius 

in the West and Return to the East

Constantius spent the next few years overseeing affairs in 

the western part of the Empire primarily from his base at
Milan
. However, 

he also visited Rome
 

– for the first and only time in his life – in 357, and, in that same year, he 

forced Sarmatian
and 
Quadi
invaders out of

Pannonia
 

and Moesia Inferior
, 

then led a successful campaign across the Danube against the

Sarmatians
 

and the Germanic Quadi
tribe.

Around 357/8, Constantius received ambassadors from
Shapur II
, 

who demanded that Constantius restore the lands surrendered by
Narseh
. 

Despite rejecting these terms, 

Constantius still tried to avert war with the
Sassanid Empire
by sending two embassies to

Shapur II
.

As a result of Constantius’ rejection of his terms,
Shapur II
 

launched another invasion of Roman Mesopotamia. When news reached Constantius 

that Shapur 

II
had not only invaded Roman territory, but taken

Amida
, 

destroyed Singara
 

and taken Bezabde
 

he decided to return to there to face this re-emergent threat in 360.

 The 

usurpation of Julian and Problems in the East

In the meantime,

Julian
had won some victories against the

Alemanni
 

tribe, who had once again invaded

Roman Gaul
. 

As such, Constantius requested reinforcements from
Julian
for his own campaign against Shapur II. However, when he requested 

reinforcements from Julian
’s Gaulish army, the Gaulish legions revolted and proclaimed
Julian
Augustus.

However, on account of the immediate Sassanid threat, 

Constantius was unable to directly respond to his cousin’s usurpation other than 

by sending missives by which he tried to convince Julian to resign the title of 

Augustus and be satisfied with that of Caesar.

By 361, Constantius saw no alternative but to face the 

usurper with violent force; and yet the threat of the
Sassanids
remained. Constantius had already spent part of early 361 

unsuccessfully attempting to take the fortress of
Bezabde
. 

After a time, he had withdrawn to

Antioch
to 

regroup, and prepare for a confrontation with

Shapur II
. 

However, as it turned out, the campaigns of the previous year had inflicted such 

heavy losses on the

Sassanids
that they did not attempt another round of engagements in 361. 

This allowed Constantius to turn his full attention to facing the usurpation of
Julian
.

 Death

As such, Constantius immediately gathered his forces and set 

off west. However, by the time he reached
Mopsuestia
 

in Cicilia, it was clear that he was fatally ill and would not survive to face
Julian
. Apparently, realising his death was near, Constantius had himself 

baptised by Euzoius
, the

Semi-Arian
bishop of

Antioch
, and 

then declared that Julian was his rightful successor. 

Constantius II died of fever on 3 November 361.

 Marriages 

and Children

Constantius II was married three times:

First to a

daughter
of his half-uncle

Julius Constantius
, whose name is unknown. She was a full-sister of Gallus 

and a half-sister of Julian. She died c. 352/3.

Second, to Eusebia, a woman of
Macedonian
origin from the city of

Thessaloniki
, whom he married before Constantius’ defeat of Magnentius in 

353. She died in 360.

Third and lastly, in 360, to

Faustina (empress)
, who gave birth to Constantius’ only child, a posthumous 

daughter named Flavia Maxima Constantia
, who later married Emperor

Gratian
.

 Religious 

Issues

Constantius seems to have had a particular interest in the 

religious state of the Roman 

Empire
. As a

Christian

Roman 

Emperor
, Constantius made a concerted effort to promote
Christianity
at the expense of

Roman polytheism
(‘paganism’). As such, over the course of his reign, he 

issued a number of different edicts designed specifically to carry out this 

agenda (see below). Constantius also took an active part in attempting to shape 

the Christian
church.

 Paganism 

under Constantius

In spite of the some of the edicts issued by Constantius, it 

should be recognised that he was not fanatically anti-pagan – he never made any 

attempt to disband the various Roman priestly colleges or the
Vestal Virgins
, 

he never acted against the various pagan schools, and, at times, he actually 

even made some effort to protect paganism. 

Also, most notably, he remained

pontifex maximus
until his death, and was actually deified by the Roman 

Senate after his death. The relative moderation of Constantius’ actions toward 

paganism is reflected by the fact that it was not until over 20 years after 

Constantius’ death, during the reign of
Gratian
, that 

any pagan senators protested their religion’s treatment.

 Christianity 

under Constantius

Although often considered an

Arian
, 

Constantius ultimately preferred a third, compromise version that lay somewhere 

in between Arianism
and the

Nicaean Creed
, retrospectively called

Semi-Arianism
. 

As such, during his reign, Constantius made a concerted attempt to mold the 

Christian church to follow this compromise position, and to this end, he 

convened several Christian councils during his reign, the most notable of which 

were one at Rimini
and its twin at

Seleuca
, 

which met in 359 and 360 respectively. “Unfortunately for his memory the 

theologians whose advice he took were ultimately discredited and the malcontents 

whom he pressed to conform emerged victorious,” writes the historian

A.H.M. Jones
. “The great councils of 359-60 are therefore not reckoned

ecumenical
in the tradition of the church, and Constantius II is not 

remembered as a restorer of unity, but as a
heretic
who 

arbitrarily imposed his will on the church.”

 Judaism 

under Constantius

Judaism faced some severe restrictions under Constantius, who 

seems to have followed an anti-Jewish policy in line with that of his father. 

Early in his reign, Constantius issued a double edict in concert with his 

brothers limiting the ownership of slaves by Jewish people 

and banning marriages between Jews and Christian women. 

A later edict (issued by Constantius after becoming sole

Emperor
) decreed that a person who was proven to have converted from 

Christianity to Judaism would have their entire property confiscated by the 

state. 

However, it should be noted that Constantius’ actions in this regard may not 

have been so much to do with Jewish religion as Jewish business; apparently, it 

was often the case that privately-owned Jewish businesses were in competition 

with state-owned businesses. As such, Constantius may have sought to provide as 

much of an advantage to the state-owned businesses as possible by limiting the 

skilled workers and the slaves available to the Jewish businesses.

 Religious 

Edicts Issued by Constantius

Pagan-related edicts issued by Constantius (by himself 

or with others) included:

• The banning of sacrifices;

• The closing of pagan temples;

• Edicts against soothsayers and magicians.

Christian-related edicts issued by Constantius (by 

himself or with others) included:

• Exemption from compulsory public service for the clergy; 

  * Exemption from compulsory public service for the sons of clergy;

• Tax exemptions for clergy and their servants, 

  also later for their family;

• Clergy and the issue of private property;

• Bishops exempted from being tried in secular courts;

• Christian prostitutes only able to be bought by 

  Christians.

Jew-related edicts issued by Constantius (by himself 

or with others) included:

• Weaving women who moved from working for the government 

  to working for Jews, must be restored to the government; Jews may not marry 

  Christian women; Jews may not attempt to convert Christian women;

• Any non-Jewish slave bought by a Jew will be confiscated 

  by the state; if a Jew attempts to circumcise a non-Jewish slave, the slave 

  will be freed and the Jew shall face capital punishment; any Christian 

  slaves owned by a Jew will be taken away and freed;

• A person who is proven to have converted from 

  Christianity to Judaism shall have their property confiscated by the state.

 Reputation

Constantius II is a particularly difficult figure to judge 

properly, mainly as a result of the hostility of most every source that mentions 

him.

A.H.M Jones writes that Constantius “appears in the pages of
Ammianus
as a conscientious emperor but a vain and stupid man, an easy prey 

to flatterers. He was timid and suspicious, and interested persons could easily 

play on his fears for their own advantage.”

However, Kent & M. and A. Hirmer suggest that Constantius 

“has suffered at the hands of unsympathetic authors, ecclesiastical and civil 

alike. To orthodox churchmen he was a bigoted supporter of the Arian heresy, to 

Julian the Apostate and the many who have subsequently taken his part he was a 

murderer, a tyrant and inept as a ruler”. 

They go on to add, “Most contemporaries seem in fact to have held him in high 

esteem, and he certainly inspired loyalty in a way his brother could not”.