Constantine II (Latin:Flavius Claudius Constantinus; 316–340) wasRoman emperor from 337 to 340. The son of the emperorConstantine I, he was proclaimedcaesar by his father shortly after his birth. He was associated with military victories over theSarmatians,Alamanni andGoths during his career, for which he was granted a number of victory titles.[4] He held theconsulship four times – in 320, 321, 324, and 329.
Constantine I had arranged for his sons to share power with their cousinsDalmatius andHannibalianus, but this was not accepted by Constantine II and his brothers. As a result, Constantine II's brotherConstantius II ordered the killings of numerous male relatives following Constantine I's death, including Dalmatius and Hannibalianus, thus eliminating any possible opponents to the succession of Constantine I's sons. Constantine II then ascended to the throne alongside his two younger brothers, rulingGaul,Hispania, andBritain. However, his belief in his rights ofprimogeniture and attempts to exert them over his youngest brotherConstans caused conflict, which ended with his death in a failed invasion of Italy in 340. Constans subsequently took control of Constantine's territories, with the latter being subjected todamnatio memoriae.
Born inArles in 316,[5][b] Constantine II was the second son of the Roman emperorConstantine I, and probably the eldest with his wifeFausta,[c] the daughter of the emperorMaximian.
On 1 March 317, he was madecaesar atSerdica.[12] After accompanying his father on his campaign against theSarmatians in 323,[13] he was commemorated on coinage produced to recognize the ensuing victory.[14] Constantine II usually resided with his father until 328, when his own court was installed atTrier.[15] An inscription dated to 328–330[d] records the title ofAlamannicus, indicating that his generals won a victory over theAlamanni.[17] His military career continued when Constantine I made him field commander during the 332 winter campaign against theGoths.[17] As a result of his leadership,[4] the military operation concluded with 100,000 Goths reportedly slain and the surrender of the rulerAriaric.[18] Festival games were initiated inRome to celebrate thecaesar's role in the successful military campaigns, in a public advertisement of his capability to rule.[4] He was married prior to 336, although his wife's identity remains unknown.[19] David Woods has theorized that she may have been a half-cousin, possibly a daughter ofJulius Constantius, as Constantine minted coins of his grandfather's second wifeFlavia Maximiana Theodora. Another suggestion by Barnes is that she could have been a daughter ofFlavius Optatus.[20]
While Constantine I had intended for his sons to rule together with their cousinsDalmatius andHannibalianus, soon after his death in May 337 the army murdered several of their male relatives, including Dalmatius and Hannibalianus,[21] on the orders of Constantine II's younger brotherConstantius II.[22] Although Constantine himself appears to not have been directly involved,[23][24] Burgess observed from numismatic evidence that he and his brothers "not only seem not to have fully accepted the legitimacy of Dalmatius and viewed him as an interloper, but also appear to have communicated with one another on this point and agreed on a common response."[25]
In what seemed to be an attempt to distance themselves from the massacre,[26][27] the three brothers proceeded to print coins of Theodora, whom their murdered relatives had been descended from.[21] Most of the coins were generated at Constantine II's capital,Trier, indicating that he was the one responsible for designing and producing the coinage at the start, as well as convincing his brothers to do the same.[28] Woods considered it to suggest that he was more sympathetic to Theodora's memory than his brothers,[29] possibly because his wife may have been a granddaughter of Theodora.[19]
In June 337, before he was named emperor, Constantine had already begun attempting to assert his seniority.[30] He issued an order allowing the exiled bishopAthanasius to return toAlexandria, which was under the control of Constantius II,[31] claiming to be carrying out the unfulfilled intentions of his father.[17][32] While Constantine's motives remain unclear, suggested explanations include him truly believing in the bishop's innocence, him wanting to get rid of a religious nuisance, or him wanting to cause trouble for Constantius,[17][33] who would oust Athanasius from Alexandria only two years later.[30]
The three brothers were not named asAugusti until 9 September 337,[2] when they gathered together inPannonia and divided the Roman territories among themselves.[23] Constantine receivedGaul,Britannia andHispania.[23][34] Unlike his younger brothers, he gained little from Dalmatius's removal.[35]
Division of the Empire among the Caesars appointed by Constantine I: from west to east, the territories of Constantine II, Constans, Dalmatius and Constantius II[36]Solidus of Constantine II asaugustus
Constantine was evidently left unsatisfied with the results of their meeting,[37][38] seemingly believing that his age granted him some sort of seniority in the imperial college[39] and, by extension, control over the dominion of his youngest brotherConstans, who was still a teenager in 337.[32][40] Even after campaigning successfully against the Alamanni in 338, Constantine continued to maintain his position.[32][41][42] TheTheodosian Code recorded his legislative intervention in Constans's territory through issuing an edict to the proconsul of Africa in 339.[32][43]
In April 340,[44] Constantine launched an invasion into Italy to claim territory from Constans.[17][32] Constans, at that time inNaissus,[37] sent a number of troops to confront him, and Constantine was killed in an ambush nearAquileia.[32][45][e] Constans then took control of his brother's realm, whose inhabitants seem to have been largely unaffected by their change in ruler.[49]
After his death, Constantine was subjected todamnatio memoriae.[32] Constans issued legislation repealing Constantine's acts shortly after his death, where the deceased emperor was branded as "the public enemy and our own enemy."[50] Years later, whenLibanius delivered apanegyric for both Constans and Constantius, Constantine was completely omitted from the narrative, as if he had never existed.[32]
Coin of Constantine II ascaesar (aged 1–7), marked:d·n·fl·cl· constantinusnob·c· (Our Lord Flavius Claudius Constantine, Noblest Caesar)
Aureus of Constantine II ascaesar (aged 8), marked:constantinusiun·nob·c· ("Constantine Junior, Noblest Caesar") on the obverse
Solidus of Constantine II ascaesar (aged 19), marked:constantinusiun·nob·caes· on the obverse ("Constantine Junior, Noblest Caesar") andprincipi iuventutis (Princeps of youth) on the reverse
^One belief is that the "Claudius" was added to his name to further strengthen his connection toClaudius Gothicus, his alleged ancestor.[3]
^The only extant outright attestation of Constantine II's birth date states he was born on August 7. This has sometimes been dismissed as a confusion with Constantius II, who was certainly born on the same date, but Barnes commented that the coincidence is possible. He additionally cited Constantine I's documented presence in Constantine II's birthplace in August 316 as support for accepting August 7.[6] Burgess is more skeptical, arguing that evidence of public celebration of Constantine II's birthday would not have survived due to his condemnation of memory.[7]
^Based on the report that Constantine II was proclaimed Caesar only a few days after he was born,[8]The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire assumed his birth date was in February 317 and, therefore, that he was not Fausta's son, as Constantius II was born less than 9 months later.[2] However, Constantine had already been styled as Caesar on his father's coinage prior to his formal proclamation on 1 March 317, so he cannot have been born as late as February 317.[9][10] Evidence for Constantine II being Fausta's son includes an inscription outright describing him as such, andJulian calling Fausta the mother of "many emperors."[11]
^Barnes favors the date 330,[13] while Drinkwater prefers an earlier date of 328–9.[16]
^In a confused account,Zosimus does not say Constantine II invaded his youngest brother's territory. He instead reported that Constans sent troops to Constantine on the pretext of assisting Constantius II in the Persian war, but in reality to assassinate him by surprise.[46] Constans's troops would've been marching away from the Persians if they were heading to Constantine’s territory.[47][48] Some modern historians, trying to make sense of Zosimus's confusion, have suggested that instead it was Constantine who claimed to be assisting Constantius II.[32][40][47]
Baker-Brian, Nicholas; Tougher, Shaun (2020).The Sons of Constantine, AD 337-361: In the Shadows of Constantine and Julian. Springer International Publishing.ISBN9783030398989.
Barnes, T. D.; J. Vanderspoel (1984). "Julian on the Sons of Fausta".Phoenix.38 (2):175–176.doi:10.2307/1088901.JSTOR1088901.
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 1988). "Smoke in the Wind : Zonaras' Use of Philostorgius, Zosimus, John of Antioch, and John of Rhodes in His Narrative on the Neo-Flavian Emperors".Byzantion.58 (1):230–255.JSTOR44171050.
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