Constantius II (Latin:Flavius Julius Constantius;Ancient Greek:Κωνστάντιος,romanized: Kōnstántios; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) wasRoman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against theSasanian Empire andGermanic peoples, while internally theRoman Empire went through repeated civil wars, court intrigues, andusurpations. His religious policies inflamed domestic conflicts that would continue after his death.
Constantius was a son ofConstantine the Great, who elevated him to the imperial rank ofCaesar on 8 November 324 and after whose death Constantius becameAugustus together with his brothers,Constantine II andConstans on 9 September 337. He promptly oversaw the massacre of hisfather-in-law, anuncle, and several cousins, consolidating his hold on power. The brothers divided the empire among themselves, with Constantius receivingGreece,Thrace, the Asian provinces, andEgypt in the east. For the following decade a costly and inconclusivewar againstPersia took most of Constantius's time and attention. In the meantime, his brothers Constantine and Constans warred over the western provinces of the empire, leaving the former dead in 340 and the latter as sole ruler of the west. The two remaining brothers maintained an uneasy peace with each other until, in 350, Constans was overthrown and assassinated by the usurperMagnentius.
Unwilling to accept Magnentius as co-ruler, Constantius waged acivil war against the usurper, defeating him at the battles ofMursa Major in 351 andMons Seleucus in 353. Magnentius died by suicide after the latter battle, leaving Constantius as sole ruler of the empire. In 351, Constantius elevated his cousinConstantius Gallus to the subordinate rank ofCaesar to rule in the east, but had him executed three years later after receiving scathing reports of his violent and corrupt nature. Shortly thereafter, in 355, Constantius promoted his last surviving cousin, Gallus's younger half-brotherJulian, to the rank ofCaesar.
As emperor, Constantius promotedArianism, banned pagan sacrifices, and issued laws againstJews. His military campaigns against Germanic tribes were successful: he defeated theAlamanni in 354 and campaigned across theDanube against theQuadi andSarmatians in 357. The war against the Sasanians, which had been in a lull since 350, erupted with renewed intensity in 359 and Constantius travelled to the east in 360 to restore stability after the loss of several border fortresses. However, Julian claimed the rank ofAugustus in 360, leading to war between the two after Constantius's attempts to persuade Julian to back down failed. No battle was fought, as Constantius became ill and died of fever on 3 November 361 inMopsuestia, allegedly naming Julian as his rightful successor before his death.
Flavius Julius Constantius[g] was born in 317 atSirmium,Pannonia, nowSerbia. He was the third son ofConstantine the Great, and second by his second wifeFausta, the daughter ofMaximian. Constantius was madecaesar by his father on 8 November 324, at the age of 7.[8] In 336, religious unrest inArmenia and tense relations between Constantine and kingShapur II caused war to break out between Rome andSassanid Persia.[9] Though he made initial preparations for the war, Constantine fell ill and sent Constantius east to take command of the eastern frontier.[9][10] Before Constantius arrived, the Persian general Narses, who was possibly the king's brother, overranMesopotamia and capturedAmida. Constantius promptly attacked Narses, and after suffering minor setbacks defeated and killed Narses at thebattle of Narasara (336).[11] Constantius captured Amida and initiated a major refortification of the city, enhancing the city's circuit walls and constructing large towers. He also built a new stronghold in the hinterland nearby, naming itAntinopolis.[12]
Division of the Roman Empire among thecaesares appointed byConstantine the Great, before the death ofDalmatiusBust of youthful Constantius II or Constans,Capitoline Museums[13][14]Bronze coin ofMagnentiusGold solidus ofConstantius Gallus. A paternal cousin of Constantius, he was madeCaesar by Constantius in 350 and was married to theemperor's sister,Constantina. However, his mismanagement of the eastern provinces led to his death in 354.
In early 337, Constantius hurried toConstantinople after receiving news that his father was near death. After Constantine died, Constantius buried him with lavish ceremony in theChurch of the Holy Apostles.[15] Soon after his father's death, the army massacred his relatives descended from the marriage of his paternal grandfatherConstantius Chlorus toFlavia Maximiana Theodora, though the details are unclear.[16][17] Two of Constantius's uncles (Julius Constantius andFlavius Dalmatius) and seven of his cousins were killed,[18] includingHannibalianus andDalmatius, rulers ofPontus andMoesia respectively, leaving Constantius, his two brothersConstantine II andConstans, and three cousinsGallus,Julian andNepotianus as the only surviving male relatives of Constantine the Great. While the “official version” was that Constantius's relatives were merely the victims of a mutinous army,[19][20][21]Ammianus Marcellinus,Zosimus,Libanius,Athanasius and Julian all blamed Constantius for the event.[22][18] Burgess considered the latter version to be “consistent with all the evidence”, pointing to multiple factors that he believed lined up with the massacre being a planned attack rather than a spontaneous mutiny:—the lack of high-profile punishments as a response; the sparing of all women; the attempteddamnatio memoriae on the deceased; and the exile of the survivors Gallus and Julian.[23][h]
Constantius then hurried east toAntioch to resume thewar with Persia.[26][27] While Constantius was away from the eastern frontier in early 337, KingShapur II assembled a large army, which included war elephants, and launched an attack on Roman territory, laying waste to Mesopotamia and putting the city of Nisibis under siege.[28] Despite initial success, Shapur lifted his siege after his army missed an opportunity to exploit a collapsed wall.[27] When Constantius learned of Shapur's withdrawal from Roman territory, he prepared his army for a counter-attack.
Constantius repeatedly defended the eastern border against invasions by theSassanid Empire under Shapur. These conflicts were mainly limited to Sassanid sieges of the major fortresses ofRoman Mesopotamia, includingNisibis (Nusaybin),Singara, andAmida (Diyarbakir).[29] Although Shapur seems to have been victorious in most of these confrontations, the Sassanids were able to achieve little.[30][31] However, the Romans won a decisive victory at thebattle of Narasara, killing Shapur's brother, Narses.[29] Ultimately, Constantius was able to push back the invasion, and Shapur failed to make any significant gains.[31]
Meanwhile, Constantine II desired to retain control of Constans's realm, leading the brothers into open conflict. Constantine was killed in 340 nearAquileia during an ambush.[32][33][34] As a result, Constans took control of his deceased brother's realms and became sole ruler of the Western two-thirds of the empire. This division lasted until January 350, when Constans was assassinated by forces loyal to theusurperMagnentius.[35][36][37]
Constantius was determined to march west to fight the usurper.[38] However, feeling that the east still required some sort of imperial presence, he elevated his cousinConstantius Gallus tocaesar of the eastern provinces.[39][40] As an extra measure to ensure the loyalty of his cousin, he married the elder of his two sisters,Constantina, to him.[41]
Before facing Magnentius, Constantius first came to terms withVetranio, a loyal general inIllyricum who had recently been acclaimed emperor by his soldiers.[42] Vetranio immediately sent letters to Constantius pledging his loyalty, which Constantius may have accepted simply in order to stop Magnentius from gaining more support. These events may have been spurred by the action of Constantina, who had since traveled east to marry Gallus. Constantius subsequently sent Vetranio the imperial diadem and acknowledged the general's new position asaugustus.[40] However, when Constantius arrived, Vetranio willingly resigned his position and accepted Constantius's offer of a comfortable retirement inBithynia.[43]
In 351, Constantius clashed with Magnentius inPannonia with a large army. The ensuingBattle of Mursa Major was one of the largest and bloodiest battles ever between two Roman armies.[44][45] The result was a victory for Constantius, but a costly one. Magnentius survived the battle and, determined to fight on, withdrew into northern Italy. Rather than pursuing his opponent, however, Constantius turned his attention to securing the Danubian border, where he spent the early months of 352 campaigning against theSarmatians along the middleDanube.[46] After achieving his aims, Constantius advanced on Magnentius in Italy. This action led the cities of Italy to switch their allegiance to him and eject the usurper's garrisons. Again, Magnentius withdrew, this time to southernGaul.[46][47]
In 353, Constantius and Magnentius met for the final time at theBattle of Mons Seleucus in southern Gaul, and again Constantius emerged the victor.[46] Magnentius, realizing the futility of continuing his position, committed suicide on 10 August 353.[48][49][47]
Solidus struck atMediolanum in 354–357. The reverse readsgloria rei publicae, "glory of the republic".
Constantius spent much of the rest of 353 and early 354 on campaign against theAlamanni on the Danube frontier. The campaign was successful and raiding by the Alamanni ceased temporarily. In the meantime, Constantius had been receiving disturbing reports regarding the actions of his cousin Gallus.[50] Possibly as a result of these reports, Constantius concluded a peace with the Alamanni and traveled toMediolanum (Milan).[51]
In Mediolanum, Constantius first summonedUrsicinus, Gallus'smagister equitum, for reasons that remain unclear.[52] Constantius then summoned Gallus and Constantina.[53] Although Gallus and Constantina complied with the order at first, when Constantina died inBithynia,[53] Gallus began to hesitate. However, after some convincing by one of Constantius's agents,[54] Gallus continued his journey west, passing throughConstantinople andThrace toPoetovio (Ptuj) inPannonia.[55][56]
In Poetovio, Gallus was arrested by the soldiers of Constantius under the command ofBarbatio.[57] Gallus was then moved toPola and interrogated. Gallus claimed that it was Constantina who was to blame for all the trouble while he was in charge of the eastern provinces.[58] This angered Constantius so greatly that he immediately ordered Gallus's execution.[59] He soon changed his mind, however, and recanted the order.[60][61][62] Unfortunately for Gallus, this second order was delayed byEusebius, one of Constantius's eunuchs, and Gallus was executed.[56]
Constantius II depicted in theChronography of 354 dispensing largesse (aRenaissance copy of aCarolingian copy)Section of a belt containing two gold medallions, the larger coin depicting the triumphant emperor in his chariot;[63] The Walters Art Museum
Laws dating from the 350s prescribed the death penalty for those who performed or attended pagansacrifices, and for the worshipping ofidols.[64][65][66] Pagan temples were shut down,[67][68] and theAltar of Victory was removed from the Senate meeting house.[69] There were also frequent episodes of ordinary Christians destroying, pillaging and desecrating many ancient pagan temples, tombs and monuments.[70][71][72][73]Paganism was still popular among the population at the time. The emperor's policies were passively resisted by many governors and magistrates.[68][74][75]
In spite of this, Constantius never made any attempt to disband the various Roman priestly colleges or theVestal Virgins. He never acted against the various pagan schools. At times, he actually made some effort to protect paganism. In fact, he even ordered the election of a priest for Africa.[76] Also, he remainedpontifex maximus and was deified by the Roman Senate after his death. His relative moderation toward paganism is reflected by the fact that it was over twenty years after his death, during the reign ofGratian, that any pagan senator protested his treatment of their religion.[77]
Although often considered anArian,[78] Constantius ultimately preferred a third, compromise version that lay somewhere in betweenArianism and theNicene Creed, retrospectively calledSemi-Arianism.[79][80] During his reign he attempted to mold the Christian church to follow this compromise position, convening several Christian councils. "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 historianA. H. M. Jones. "The great councils of 359–60 are therefore not reckonedecumenical 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."[78]
Judaism faced some severe restrictions under Constantius, who seems to have followed an anti-Jewish policy in line with that of his father.[82] This included edicts to limit the ownership of slaves by Jewish people[83] and banning marriages between Jews and Christian women.[83] Later edicts sought to discourage conversions from Christianity to Judaism by confiscating theapostate's property.[84] However, Constantius's actions in this regard may not have been so much to do with Jewish religion as with Jewish business—apparently, privately owned Jewish businesses were often in competition with state-owned businesses. As a result, Constantius may have sought to provide an advantage to state-owned businesses by limiting the skilled workers and slaves available to Jewish businesses.[85]
On 11 August 355, themagister militumClaudius Silvanus revolted in Gaul. Silvanus had surrendered to Constantius after theBattle of Mursa Major. Constantius had made himmagister 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's court led the emperor to recall Silvanus. After Silvanus revolted, he received a letter from Constantius recalling 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.[citation needed]
Constantius realised that too many threats still faced the Empire, however, and he could not possibly handle all of them by himself. So on 6 November 355,[87] he elevated his last remaining male relative,Julian, to the rank ofcaesar.[88] A few days later, Julian was married toHelena, the last surviving sister of Constantius.[89] Constantius soon sent Julian off to Gaul.[89]
Constantius spent the next few years overseeing affairs in the western part of the empire primarily from his base at Mediolanum. In April–May 357 he visitedRome for the only time in his life. The same year, he forcedSarmatian andQuadi invaders out of Pannonia andMoesia Inferior, then led a successful counter-attack across the Danube.[90]
In the winter of 357–58, Constantius received ambassadors fromShapur II who demanded that Rome restore the lands surrendered byNarseh.[91][92] Despite rejecting these terms,[93][94] Constantius tried to avert war with theSassanid Empire by sending two embassies to Shapur II.[95][96][97] Shapur II nevertheless launched another invasion of Roman Mesopotamia. In 360, when news reached Constantius that Shapur II had destroyedSingara (Sinjar),[98] and takenKiphas (Hasankeyf), Amida (Diyarbakır),[99] and Ad Tigris (Cizre),[100] he decided to travel east to face the re-emergent threat.
Missorium of Kerch depicting Constantius II on horseback with a spear. He is preceded by victory and accompanied by a guardsman (Hermitage Museum).
In the meantime, Julian had won some victories against theAlamanni, who had once again invadedRoman Gaul. However, when Constantius requested reinforcements from Julian's army for the eastern campaign, the Gallic legions revolted and proclaimed Julianaugustus.[101][102][103][i]
On account of the immediate Sassanid threat, Constantius was unable to directly respond to his cousin's usurpation, other than by sending missives in which he tried to convince Julian to resign the title ofaugustus and be satisfied with that ofcaesar. By 361, Constantius saw no alternative but to face the usurper with force, and yet the threat of theSassanids remained. Constantius had already spent part of early 361 unsuccessfully attempting to re-take the fortress of Ad Tigris.[106] After a time he had withdrawn toAntioch to regroup and prepare for a confrontation withShapur II.[107] The campaigns of the previous year had inflicted heavy losses on the Sassanids, however, and they did not attempt another round of campaigns that year. This temporary respite in hostilities allowed Constantius to turn his full attention to facing Julian.[108]
Constantius immediately gathered his forces and set off west. However, by the time he reachedMopsuestia in Cilicia, it was clear that he was fatally ill and would not survive to face Julian. The sources claim that realising his death was near, Constantius had himself baptised by Euzoius, theSemi-Arian bishop ofAntioch, and then declared that Julian was his rightful successor.[108][j]Constantius II died of fever on 3 November 361.[114]
Presumed bust of Constantius II (orValens), from an exhibition at theColosseum, 2013[116]
Constantius II was married three times:
First to adaughter of his half-uncleJulius Constantius, whose name is unknown. She was a full-sister of Gallus and a half-sister of Julian. She died c. 352/3.[117]
Second, toEusebia, a woman ofMacedonian origin, originally from the city ofThessalonica, whom Constantius married before his defeat of Magnentius in 353. She died before 361.[118]
Third and lastly, in 361, toFaustina, who gave birth to Constantius's only child, a posthumous daughter namedConstantia, who later married EmperorGratian.[119]
According to DiMaio and Frakes, “...Constantius is hard for the modern historian to fully understand both due to his own actions and due to the interests of the authors of primary sources for his reign.”[121] A. H. M. Jones writes that he "appears in the pages ofAmmianus 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."[122] However, Kent and M. and A. Hirmer suggest that the emperor "has suffered at the hands of unsympathetic authors, ecclesiastical and civil alike. To orthodox churchmen he was a bigoted supporter of the Arian heresy, toJulian 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".[123]
He was a man of a remarkably tranquil disposition, good-natured, trusting too much to his friends and courtiers, and at last too much in the power of his wives. He conducted himself with great moderation in the commencement of his reign; he enriched his friends, and suffered none, whose active services he had experienced, to go unrewarded. He was however somewhat inclined to severity, whenever any suspicion of an attempt on the government was excited in him; otherwise he was gentle. His fortune is more to be praised in civil than in foreign wars.
^The origin of the name "Julius" is not known. It may have been added to his name in honour of one of Constantine's relatives, as one view identifies a "Julia Constantia" asConstantius I's mother.[6] It was likely not in honour ofHelena, mother of Constantine I, as she probably only adopted the name "Julia" just before her death.[7]
^By 351–354, Constantius’s courtiers stopped denying his involvement and instead claimed he was tormented with guilt over his role in the massacre.[18][24]
^Ammianus and Julian both portrayed Constantius's order as fueled by envy of the Caesar’s growing popularity, with the additional intent of weakening his military position, as he had previously done with Gallus.[104] Crawford was skeptical of such a portrayal, believing that Julian would’ve needed far less troops than Constantius if he was really as successful as he portrayed himself,[105] while Potter dismissed the idea, believing that the necessity of Constantius's act for his plan was sufficient explanation.[102]
^Ammianus only recorded Constantius's legitimization of Julian as a rumor. While Hunt and Matthews treated the report with caution,[109][110] Kelly considered it to be true, observing that the act prevented civil war and protected his posthumous reputation, as well as his wife’s unborn child.[111] Errington and Crawford also accepted it as true, viewing it as a display of pragmatism and dynastic solidarity.[112][113]
^Ammianus MarcellinusRes Gestae 9.10, 19.12. quote summary: Ammianus describes Pagan sacrifices and worship taking place openly inAlexandria andRome. TheRoman Calendar of 354 cites many Pagan festivals as though they were still being openly observed. See also the descriptions of Pagan worship in the following works: Firmicius Maternus De Errore Profanorum Religionum; Vetus Orbis Descriptio Graeci Scriptoris sub Constantio.
^Bowder, D. (1978)The Age of Constantine and Julian
^Fisher, Greg (2020).Rome, Persia, and Arabia: shaping the Middle East from Pompey to Muhammad. London & New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. p. 90.ISBN978-0-415-72880-5.
^The manuscript of Ammianus Marcellinus,Res Gestae 21.15.2 readstertium nonarum Octobrium, which is the equivalent of 5 October. The latest editor of theRes Gestae accepts Otto Seeck's emendationtertium nonarum Novembrium which is the equivalent of 3 November. T.D. Barnes (Classical Philology, 88 [1993], pp. 64f) provides indirect evidence showing 3 November is a better fit.
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Theodoret.Historia Ecclesiastica (History of the Church).
Jackson, Blomfield, trans.Ecclesiastical History. FromNicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 3. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online atNew Advent. Accessed 15 August 2009.
Unknown trans.The History of Count Zosimus. London: Green and Champlin, 1814. Online atTertullian. Accessed 15 August 2009. [An unsatisfactory edition.]
Unknown trans.Histoire Nouvelle andΖΩΣΙΜΟΥ ΚΟΜΙΤΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΠΟΦΙΣΚΟΣΥΝΗΓΟΡΟΥ (in French and Greek). Online at theCatholic University of LouvainArchived 1 December 2009 at theWayback Machine. Accessed 16 November 2009.
Burgess, R.W. (2008). "The Summer of Blood: The 'Great Massacre' of 337 and the Promotion of the Sons of Constantine".Dumbarton Oaks Papers.62:5–51.JSTOR20788042.
DiMaio, Michael (23 January 1992). "Per Vim, per Caedem, per Bellum : A Study of Murder and Ecclesiastical Politics in the Year 337 A.D.".Byzantion.62:158–211.JSTOR44171626.
Gaddis, Michael.There Is No Crime for Those Who Have Christ. Religious violence in the Christian Roman Empire. University of California Press, 2005.ISBN978-0-520-24104-6.
Jones, A. H. M.The Later Roman Empire, 284–602: A Social, Economic, and Administrative Survey [Paperback, vol. 1]ISBN0-8018-3353-1 Basil Blackwell Ltd. 1964.
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