CONSTANTIUS II son of Constantine the Great Roman Coin Wreath of success i40462

Item: i40462

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Constantius II
–
Roman Emperor
: 337-361 A.D. –

Bronze AE4 16mm (1.72 grams) Cyzicus mint: 347-348 A.D.
Reference: RIC 48 (VIII, Cyzicus), LRBC 1306
DNCONSTANTIVSPFAVG – Diademed (rosettes) head right.
VOT/XX/MVLT/XXX Exe: SMK –

wreath
 , legend
within. 

Authenticity.

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
^[46],

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

^[55].

 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

^[61][62].

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”.

The Principate

 Julio-Claudian
dynasty

 Year
of the Four Emperors (Civil War)

 Flavian
dynasty

 Nervan-Antonian
dynasty

Main article:
Five Good Emperors

 Year
of the Five Emperors &
Severan dynasty

 Rulers during the
Crisis of the Third Century

 Gallic
Empire
260
to 274

 Britannic
Empire
286
to 297

 Dominate

 Tetrarchy
and
Constantinian dynasty

 Valentinian
dynasty

 Theodosian
dynasty

 Western
Roman Empire

Further information:
Barbarian kings of Italy

 Eastern
Roman Empire

• For
  the rulers of the Eastern Roman Empire (also known as the
  Byzantine Empire
  ) after
  Theodosius II
  , see:
  List of Byzantine Emperors
  

Theodosian dynasty (395–457)

Name		Reign	Comments
	Theodosius I “the Great” (Θεοδόσιος Α’ ο Μέγας, Flavius Theodosius)Theodosius I Coins.htm	19 January 379 – 17 January 395	Born on 11 January 347. Aristocrat and military leader, brother-in-law of Gratian, who appointed him as emperor of the East. From 392 until his death sole Roman emperor
	Arcadius (Αρκάδιος, Flavius Arcadius)Arcadius Coins.htm	17 January 395 – 1 May 408	Born in 377/378, the eldest son of Theodosius I. Succeeded upon the death of his father
	Theodosius II (Θεοδόσιος Β’, Flavius Theodosius) Theodosius II Coins.htm	1 May 408 – 28 July 450	Born on 10 April 401, the only son of Arcadius. Succeeded upon the death of his father. As a minor, the praetorian prefect Anthemius was regent in 408–414. He died in a riding accident
	Marcian (Μαρκιανός, Flavius Valerius Marcianus) Marcian Coins.htm	450 – January 457	Born in 396. A soldier and politician, he became emperor after being wed by the Augusta Pulcheria , Theodosius II’s sister, following the latter’s death. Died of gangrene

Leonid
dynasty (457–518)

Name		Reign	Comments
	Leo I “the Thracian” (Λέων Α’ ο Θράξ, Flavius Valerius Leo) Leo I Coins.htm	7 February 457 – 18 January 474	Born in Dacia in 401. A common soldier, he was chosen by Aspar , commander-in-chief of the army. Died of dysentery
	Leo II (Λέων Β’, Flavius Leo) Leo II Coins.htm	18 January – 17 November 474	Born in 467, the grandson of Leo I. Succeeded upon the death of Leo I. Died of an unknown disease, possibly poisoned
	Zeno (Ζήνων, Flavius Zeno) Zeno Coins.htm	17 November 474 – 9 April 491	Born c.425 at Zenonopolis , Isauria , originally named Tarasicodissa. Son-in-law of Leo I, he was bypassed in the succession because of his barbarian origin. Named co-emperor by his son on 9 February 474, he succeeded upon the death of Leo II. Deposed by Basiliscus, brother-in-law of Leo, he fled to his native country and regained the throne in August 476.
	Basiliscus (Βασιλίσκος, Flavius Basiliscus) Basiliscus Coins.htm	9 January 475 – August 476	General and brother-in-law of Leo I, he seized power from Zeno but was again deposed by him. Died in 476/477
	Anastasius I (Αναστάσιος Α’, Flavius Anastasius) BYZANTINE – Anastasius Coins.htm	11 April 491 – 9 July 518	Born c. 430 at Dyrrhachium , Epirus nova . A palace official (silentiarius) and son-in-law of Leo I, he was chosen as emperor by empress-dowager Ariadne

Justinian Dynasty

Portrait	Name	Born	Reigned	Succession	Died
	Justin I FLAVIVS IVSTINVS AVGVSTVS	c. 450 AD, Naissus	July 9, 518 AD – August 1, 527 AD	Commander of the palace guard under Anastasius I) ; elected as emperor with support of army	August 1, 527 AD Natural causes
	Justinian I FLAVIVS PETRVS SABBATIVS IVSTINIANVS AVGVSTVS	c. 482 AD, Tauresium , Dardania	August 1, 527 AD – 13/14 November 565 AD	Nephew and nominated heir of Justin I	13/14 November 565 AD Natural causes
	Justin II FLAVIVS IVSTINIVS IVNIOR AVGVSTVS	c. 520 AD, ?	13/14 November 565 AD – 578 AD	Nephew of Justinian I	578 AD Became insane; Tiberius II Constantine ruled as regent from December 574 and became emperor on Justin’s death in 578

Roman Late Monogram Coins.htm

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