Constantius II
{{short description|Roman emperor from 337 to 361}}
{{distinguish|Constantine II (disambiguation){{!}}Constantine II|Julius Constantius|Constantius III}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Constantius II
| image = Bust of Constantius II (Mary Harrsch).jpg
| image_size =
| alt = Head portrait of Constantius II
| caption = Possible head portrait of Constantius II found in modern al-Bab, Syria (Penn Museum){{Cite book |last1=Koçak |first1=Mustafa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j7WbEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA213 |title=Sculptures from Roman Syria II: The Greek, Roman and Byzantine Marble Statuary |last2=Kreikenbom |first2=Detlev |date=2022|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-071152-3|pages=213–215}}[https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/106738 "Statue"]. Penn Museum
| succession = Roman emperor
| reign = 9 September 337 – {{no wrap|3 November 361}}
| reign-type = Augustus
| predecessor = Constantine I
| successor = Julian
| regent = {{Collapsible list|title=See list|{{ubl
|Constantine II (337–340){{efn|In the Praetorian prefecture of Gaul.}}
|Constans I (337–350){{efn|In the Praetorian prefecture of Italy, then the whole Western Roman Empire.}}
|Magnentius (350–353){{efn|In the West, unrecognized by Constantius II.}}
|Vetranio (350){{efn|In the West, against Magnentius.}}
|Nepotianus (350){{efn|In Rome for 27 days, against Magnentius.}}
|Julian (360–361){{efn|In rebellion against Constantius II.}}}} }}
| reg-type = {{nowrap|Co-rulers}}
| reign1 = 8 November 324 – {{nowrap|9 September 337}}
| reign-type1 = Caesar
| birth_date = 7 August 317
| birth_place = Sirmium, Pannonia Inferior
| death_date = 3 November 361 (aged 44)
| death_place = Mopsuestia, Cilicia
| burial_place = Church of the Holy Apostles
| spouse = Daughter of Julius Constantius
Eusebia
Faustina
| issue = Constantia (wife of Gratian)
| full name = Flavius Julius ConstantiusCIL 06, 40776 = AE 1934, 00158 = AE 1950, 00174 = AE 1951, 00102 = AE 1982, 00011
| regnal name = Imperator Caesar Flavius Julius Constantius Augustus
| dynasty = Constantinian
| father = Constantine the Great
| mother = Fausta
| religion = Semi-Arianism
}}
Constantius II ({{langx|la|Flavius Julius Constantius}}; {{langx|grc|Κωνστάντιος|Kōnstántios}}; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civil wars, court intrigues, and usurpations. His religious policies inflamed domestic conflicts that would continue after his death.
Constantius was a son of Constantine the Great, who elevated him to the imperial rank of Caesar on 8 November 324 and after whose death Constantius became Augustus together with his brothers, Constantine II and Constans on 9 September 337. He promptly oversaw the massacre of his father-in-law, an uncle, and several cousins, consolidating his hold on power. The brothers divided the empire among themselves, with Constantius receiving Greece, Thrace, the Asian provinces, and Egypt in the east. For the following decade a costly and inconclusive war against Persia 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 usurper Magnentius.
Unwilling to accept Magnentius as co-ruler, Constantius waged a civil war against the usurper, defeating him at the battles of Mursa Major in 351 and Mons Seleucus in 353. Magnentius died by suicide after the latter battle, leaving Constantius as sole ruler of the empire. In 351, Constantius elevated his cousin Constantius Gallus to the subordinate rank of Caesar 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-brother Julian, to the rank of Caesar.
As emperor, Constantius promoted Arianism, banned pagan sacrifices, and issued laws against Jews. His military campaigns against Germanic tribes were successful: he defeated the Alamanni in 354 and campaigned across the Danube against the Quadi and Sarmatians 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 of Augustus 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 in Mopsuestia, allegedly naming Julian as his rightful successor before his death.
Early life
File:Miliarensis of Constantius II, AD 327.jpg of Siscia , AD 327]]
File:Bust_of_Prince_Constantius_II_in_blue_glass,_Romisch-Germanisches_Museum,_Cologne_(8115676712).jpg, Cologne{{cite book|author-link=David Whitehouse|first=David |last=Whitehouse|title=Roman Glass in the Corning Museum of Glass|year=1940 |page=29|publisher=Hudson Hills|isbn=9780872901391 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tyg6KxKwLWYC&pg=PA29}}]]
Flavius Julius Constantius{{Efn|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" as Constantius I's mother.{{cite book |last=Barnes |year=1982 |first=Timothy D. |title=The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine |publisher=Harvard University Press |doi=10.4159/harvard.9780674280670 |place=Cambridge|page=36|isbn=0-674-28066-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/barnes-new-empire}} It was likely not in honour of Helena, mother of Constantine I, as she probably only adopted the name "Julia" just before her death.{{Cite book |title=Helena: empress and saint |last=Pohlsander |first=Hans A. |publisher=Ares Publishers |year=1995 |isbn=0-89005-562-9 |pages=17, 198}}}} was born in 317 at Sirmium, Pannonia, now Serbia. He was 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 8 November 324.{{sfn|Jones|Martindale|Morris|p=226}} In 336, religious unrest in Armenia and tense relations between Constantine and king Shapur II caused war to break out between Rome and Sassanid Persia.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Greatrex|Lieu|pp=152–153}} Though he made initial preparations for the war, Constantine fell ill and sent Constantius east to take command of the eastern frontier.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Greatrex|Lieu|pp=152–153}}Julian, Orationes I, 13B Before Constantius arrived, the Persian general Narses, who was possibly the king's brother, overran Mesopotamia and captured Amida. Constantius promptly attacked Narses, and after suffering minor setbacks defeated and killed Narses at the Battle of Narasara.Festus, breviarum 27, pp. 2–3, 67 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 it Antinopolis.Ammianus Marcellinus XVIII, 9, 1
Augustus in the east
File:Impero_Romano_da_maggio_a_settembre_337.png, before the death of Dalmatius]]
File:Colossal Portrait or Constantius II or Constans.jpg[https://www.museicapitolini.org/en/opera/testa-colossale-di-costanzo-ii-o-costante Constanzo II o Constante]. Musei Capitolini]]
File:Double Centenionalis Magnentius-XR-s4017.jpg]]
File:Solidus-Constantius Gallus-thessalonica RIC 149.jpg. A paternal cousin of Constantius, he was made Caesar by Constantius in 350 and was married to the emperor's sister, Constantina. However, his mismanagement of the eastern provinces led to his death in 354.]]
In early 337, Constantius hurried to Constantinople after receiving news that his father was near death. After Constantine died, Constantius buried him with lavish ceremony in the Church of the Holy Apostles.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=1}} Soon after his father's death, the army massacred his relatives descended from the marriage of his paternal grandfather Constantius Chlorus to Flavia Maximiana Theodora, though the details are unclear.{{sfn|Burgess|2008|p=10}}{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=3}} Two of Constantius's uncles (Julius Constantius and Flavius Dalmatius) and seven of his cousins were killed,Julian, "Letter to the senate and people of Athens", 270. {{Wikisource-inline|Letter to the senate and people of Athens|single=true}} including Hannibalianus and Dalmatius, rulers of Pontus and Moesia respectively, leaving Constantius, his two brothers Constantine II and Constans, and three cousins Gallus, Julian and Nepotianus 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,{{sfn|Burgess|2008|p=25}}Eutropius, Historiae Romanae Breviarium X.9Julian, "Letter to the senate and people of Athens", 271. {{Wikisource-inline|Letter to the senate and people of Athens|single=true}} Ammianus Marcellinus, Zosimus, Libanius, Athanasius and Julian all blamed Constantius for the event.{{sfn|DiMaio|1992|p=165}} 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 attempted damnatio memoriae on the deceased, and the exile of the survivors Gallus and Julian.{{sfn|Burgess|2008|pp=26–27}}{{efn|By 351–354, Constantius’s courtiers stopped denying his involvement and instead claimed he was tormented with guilt over his role in the massacre.{{sfn|Burgess|2008|pp=16–17}}}}
Soon after, Constantius met his brothers in Pannonia at Sirmium to formalize the partition of the empire.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=4}} Constantius received the eastern provinces, including Constantinople, Thrace, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and Cyrenaica; Constantine received Britannia, Gaul, Hispania, and Mauretania; and Constans, initially under the supervision of Constantine II, received Italy, Africa, Illyricum, Pannonia, Macedonia, and Achaea.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=4}}
Constantius then hurried east to Antioch to resume the war with Persia.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|pp=11-12}}Theodoret, Historia Ecclesiastica II, 30, 1–14, GCS While Constantius was away from the eastern frontier in early 337, King Shapur 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.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=12}} Despite initial success, Shapur lifted his siege after his army missed an opportunity to exploit a collapsed wall. 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 the Sassanid Empire under Shapur. These conflicts were mainly limited to Sassanid sieges of the major fortresses of Roman Mesopotamia, including Nisibis (Nusaybin), Singara, and Amida (Diyarbakir).{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=13}} Although Shapur seems to have been victorious in most of these confrontations, the Sassanids were able to achieve little.Festus, Brevarium XXVII{{sfn|Dingas|Winter|2007|p=89}} However, the Romans won a decisive victory at the Battle of Narasara, killing Shapur's brother, Narses.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=13}} Ultimately, Constantius was able to push back the invasion, and Shapur failed to make any significant gains.{{sfn|Dingas|Winter|2007|p=89}}
Meanwhile, Constantine II desired to retain control of Constans's realm, leading the brothers into open conflict. Constantine was killed in 340 near Aquileia during an ambush.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=5}}{{sfn|Drinkwater|2007|p=199}}{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=64}} 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 the usurper Magnentius.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=11}}{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=471}}{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=72}}
=War against Magnentius=
{{main|Roman civil war of 350–353}}
Constantius was determined to march west to fight the usurper.{{sfn|Errington|2006|p=16}} However, feeling that the east still required some sort of imperial presence, he elevated his cousin Constantius Gallus to caesar of the eastern provinces.{{sfn|Barnes|1993|p=105}}{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=472}} As an extra measure to ensure the loyalty of his cousin, he married the elder of his two sisters, Constantina, to him.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=17}}
Before facing Magnentius, Constantius first came to terms with Vetranio, a loyal general in Illyricum who had recently been acclaimed emperor by his soldiers.{{sfn|Barnes|1993|p=101}} 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 as augustus.{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=472}} However, when Constantius arrived, Vetranio willingly resigned his position and accepted Constantius's offer of a comfortable retirement in Bithynia.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|pp=16–17}}
In 351, Constantius clashed with Magnentius in Pannonia with a large army. The ensuing Battle of Mursa Major was one of the largest and bloodiest battles ever between two Roman armies.{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=473}}{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=20}} 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 the Sarmatians along the middle Danube.{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=474}} 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 southern Gaul.{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=474}}{{sfn|Barnes|1993|p=106}}
In 353, Constantius and Magnentius met for the final time at the Battle of Mons Seleucus in southern Gaul, and again Constantius emerged the victor.{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=474}} Magnentius, realizing the futility of continuing his position, committed suicide on 10 August 353.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=22}}{{sfn|Drinkwater|2007|p=201}}{{sfn|Barnes|1993|p=106}}
Solo reign
File:Constantius2cng10400876.jpg struck at Mediolanum in 354–357. The reverse reads gloria rei publicae, "glory of the republic".]]
Constantius spent much of the rest of 353 and early 354 on campaign against the Alamanni 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.Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae 14.1.10 Possibly as a result of these reports, Constantius concluded a peace with the Alamanni and traveled to Mediolanum (Milan).Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XIV.10.16
In Mediolanum, Constantius first summoned Ursicinus, Gallus's magister equitum, for reasons that remain unclear.Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XIV.11.3–5 Constantius then summoned Gallus and Constantina.Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XIV.11.6 Although Gallus and Constantina complied with the order at first, when Constantina died in Bithynia, Gallus began to hesitate. However, after some convincing by one of Constantius's agents,Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XIV.11.11–12 Gallus continued his journey west, passing through Constantinople and Thrace to Poetovio (Ptuj) in Pannonia.Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XIV.11.19{{cite web| url = http://www.roman-emperors.org/gallus.htm| title = Banchich, T. M., 'DIR-Gallus' from De Imperatoribus Romanis| access-date = 2 March 2009| archive-date = 10 December 2008| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081210150345/http://www.roman-emperors.org/gallus.htm| url-status = dead}}
In Poetovio, Gallus was arrested by the soldiers of Constantius under the command of Barbatio.Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XIV.11.20 Gallus was then moved to Pola 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.Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XIV.11.22 This angered Constantius so greatly that he immediately ordered Gallus's execution.Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XIV.11.23 He soon changed his mind, however, and recanted the order.Zonaras, Extracts of History XIII.9.20Libanius, Orations XVIII.152Philostorgius, Historia Ecclesiastica 4.1 Unfortunately for Gallus, this second order was delayed by Eusebius, one of Constantius's eunuchs, and Gallus was executed.
=Religious issues=
File:07 constantius2Chrono354.png dispensing largesse (a Renaissance copy of a Carolingian copy)]]
|url= http://art.thewalters.org/detail/# |title= Belt Section with Medallions of Constantius II and Faustina}} The Walters Art Museum]]
{{Main|Religious policies of Constantius II}}
==Paganism==
Laws dating from the 350s prescribed the death penalty for those who performed or attended pagan sacrifices, and for the worshipping of idols.Kirsch, J. (2004) God against the Gods, pp.200-1, Viking CompassThe Codex Theodosianus On Religion, 16.10.2Theodosian Code 16.10.6 Pagan temples were shut down,{{cite web| url = http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/codex-theod1.html| title = 'The Codex Theodosianus On Religion', XVI.x.4, 4 CE}} and the Altar of Victory was removed from the Senate meeting house.Sheridan, J.J. (1966) The Altar of Victor – Paganism's Last Battle. in L'Antiquite Classique 35 : 186–187. There were also frequent episodes of ordinary Christians destroying, pillaging and desecrating many ancient pagan temples, tombs and monuments.Ammianus Marcellinus Res Gestae 22.4.3Sozomen Ecclesiastical History [https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/26023.htm 3.18].Theodosian Code 16.10.3Theodosian Code 9.17.2
Paganism was still popular among the population at the time. The emperor's policies were passively resisted by many governors and magistrates."A History of the Church", Philip Hughes, Sheed & Ward, rev ed 1949, vol I chapter 6.[http://www.ewtn.com/library/CHISTORY/HUGHHIST.TXT] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223191523/http://www.ewtn.com/library/CHISTORY/HUGHHIST.TXT|date=23 December 2018}}Ammianus Marcellinus Res Gestae 9.10, 19.12. quote summary: Ammianus describes Pagan sacrifices and worship taking place openly in Alexandria and Rome. The Roman 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
In spite of this, Constantius never made any attempt to disband the various Roman priestly colleges or the Vestal 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.{{sfn|Vasiliev|1958|p=68}} Also, he remained pontifex 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 of Gratian, that any pagan senator protested his treatment of their religion.{{sfn|Salzman|2002|p=182}}
==Christianity==
Although often considered an Arian,{{sfn|Jones|1964|p=118}} Constantius ultimately preferred a third, compromise version that lay somewhere in between Arianism and the Nicene Creed, retrospectively called Semi-Arianism.Pelikan, J. J., The Christian Tradition (1989), pp. 209–210{{sfn|Gaddis|2005|p=92}} 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 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."{{sfn|Jones|1964|p=118}}
According to the Greek historian Philostorgius (d. 439) in his Ecclesiastical History, Constantius sent an Arian bishop known as Theophilus the Indian (also known as "Theophilus of Yemen") to Tharan Yuhanim, then the king of the South Arabian Himyarite Kingdom to convert the people to Christianity. According to the report, Theophilus succeeded in establishing three churches, one of them in the capital Zafar.{{Cite book |last=Fisher |first=Greg |title=Rome, Persia, and Arabia: shaping the Middle East from Pompey to Muhammad |date=2020 |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group |isbn=978-0-415-72880-5 |location=London & New York |page=90}}
==Judaism==
Judaism faced some severe restrictions under Constantius, who seems to have followed an anti-Jewish policy in line with that of his father.{{sfn|Schäfer|2003|p=180-181}} This included edicts to limit the ownership of slaves by Jewish peopleCodex Theodosianus 16.9.2 and banning marriages between Jews and Christian women. Later edicts sought to discourage conversions from Christianity to Judaism by confiscating the apostate's property.Codex Theodosianus 16.8.7 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.{{sfn|Schäfer|2003|pp=180–181}}
=Further crises=
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'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|date=September 2022}}
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,Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XV.8.17 he elevated his last remaining male relative, Julian, to the rank of caesar.Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XV.8.5–16 A few days later, Julian was married to Helena, the last surviving sister of Constantius.Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XV.8.18 Constantius soon sent Julian off to Gaul.
File:2009 Carnuntum Heidentor1.jpg, Pannonia]]
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 visited Rome for the only time in his life. The same year, he forced Sarmatian and Quadi invaders out of Pannonia and Moesia Inferior, then led a successful counter-attack across the Danube.Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XVI.12
In the winter of 357–58, Constantius received ambassadors from Shapur II who demanded that Rome restore the lands surrendered by Narseh.Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XVII.5.3–8Zonaras, Extracts of History XII.9.25–27 Despite rejecting these terms,Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XVII.5.9–14Zonaras, Extracts of History XII.9.28–29 Constantius tried to avert war with the Sassanid Empire by sending two embassies to Shapur II.Libanius, Epistle 331Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XVII.14.1–3 & XVIII.6.17–18Eunapius, Lives of the Sophists VI. 5.1–10 Shapur II nevertheless launched another invasion of Roman Mesopotamia. In 360, when news reached Constantius that Shapur II had destroyed Singara (Sinjar),Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XX.6 and taken Kiphas (Hasankeyf), Amida (Diyarbakır),Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XIX and Ad Tigris (Cizre),Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XX.7.1–16 he decided to travel east to face the re-emergent threat.
=Usurpation of Julian and crises in the east=
File:The triumph of Constantius II.jpg).]]
In the meantime, Julian had won some victories against the Alamanni, who had once again invaded Roman Gaul. However, when Constantius requested reinforcements from Julian's army for the eastern campaign, the Gallic legions revolted and proclaimed Julian augustus.{{sfn|Drinkwater|2007|p=253}}{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=505}}{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=57}}{{efn|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.Walter E. Roberts and Michael DiMaio Jr., [http://www.roman-emperors.sites.luc.edu/julian.htm Julian (361–363 A.D.)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924080550/http://roman-emperors.sites.luc.edu/julian.htm |date=24 September 2023 }} 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,{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=212}} while Potter dismissed the idea, believing that the necessity of Constantius's act for his plan was sufficient explanation.{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=505}}}}
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 of augustus and be satisfied with that of caesar. By 361, Constantius saw no alternative but to face the usurper with force, and yet the threat of the Sassanids remained. Constantius had already spent part of early 361 unsuccessfully attempting to re-take the fortress of Ad Tigris.Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XX.11.6–25 After a time he had withdrawn to Antioch to regroup and prepare for a confrontation with Shapur II.Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae XXI.7.7 & 13.1–5 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.{{sfn|Vagi|2001|p=508}}
=Death=
Constantius immediately gathered his forces and set off west. However, by the time he reached Mopsuestia 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, the Semi-Arian bishop of Antioch, and then declared that Julian was his rightful successor.{{sfn|Vagi|2001|p=508}}{{efn|Ammianus only recorded Constantius's legitimization of Julian as a rumor. While Hunt and Matthews treated the report with caution,{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=60}}{{sfn|Matthews|1989|p=101}}
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.Kelly, Gavin (2013). "The Political Crisis of AD 375–376" (PDF). Chiron p. 357 Errington and Crawford also accepted it as true, viewing it as a display of pragmatism and dynastic solidarity.{{sfn|Errington|2006|p=18}}{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=239}}}}
Constantius II died of fever on 3 November 361.The manuscript of Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae 21.15.2 reads tertium nonarum Octobrium, which is the equivalent of 5 October. The latest editor of the Res Gestae accepts Otto Seeck's emendation tertium 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.
Like Constantine the Great, he was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles, in a porphyry sarcophagus that was described in the 10th century by Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in the De Ceremoniis.{{cite journal|author=Vasiliev|first=A. A.|year=1948|title=Imperial Porphyry Sarcophagi in Constantinople|url=https://lucazavagno.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/vasiliev.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231151500/https://lucazavagno.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/vasiliev.pdf |archive-date=2019-12-31 |url-status=live|journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers|volume=4|pages=1+3–26|doi=10.2307/1291047|jstor=1291047}}
Marriages and children
File:Constantius II bust crop.png), from an exhibition at the Colosseum, 2013http://laststatues.classics.ox.ac.uk, LSA-1065 (J. Lenaghan)]]
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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/gallus.htm |title=Gallus Caesar (15 March 351 – 354 A.D.) |last=Banchich |first=Thomas M. |website=De Imperatoribus Romanis |access-date=7 September 2018 |archive-date=10 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210150345/http://www.roman-emperors.org/gallus.htm |url-status=dead }}
Second, to Eusebia, a woman of Macedonian origin, originally from the city of Thessalonica, whom Constantius married before his defeat of Magnentius in 353. She died before 361.{{sfn|Jones|Martindale|Morris|pp=300–301}}
Third and lastly, in 361, to Faustina, who gave birth to Constantius's only child, a posthumous daughter named Constantia, who later married Emperor Gratian.{{cite book |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Ammian/21*.html |first=Ammianus |last=Marcellinus |author-link=Ammianus Marcellinus |title=The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus |volume=2, Book 21, chapter 15 |year=1940 |translator-first=J. C. |translator-last=Rolfe |publisher=Harvard University Press |series=Loeb Classical Library |access-date=11 April 2011 }}
Family tree
{{see also|Constantinian dynasty}}
{{Constantinian dynasty family tree}}
{{Chart top|width=100%|collapsed=auto}}
Emperors are shown with a rounded-corner border with their dates as Augusti, names with a thicker border appear in both sections
1: Constantine's parents and half-siblings
{{Tree chart/start|align=center}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | |CGOTH|CGOTH={{ubl|Claudius Gothicus|268–270|fabricated ancestry}}|boxstyle_CGOTH=border:2px solid; border-radius:1em}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | |Q|}}
{{tree chart| | |HELEN|y|CCHLO|y|THEO1|HELEN=Helena|boxstyle_HELEN=border:2px solid|CCHLO={{ubl|Constantius I|305–306}}|boxstyle_CCHLO=border:2px solid; border-radius:1em|THEO1=Flavia Maximiana Theodora}}
{{tree chart| | | | | |!| | | |)|-|v|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|.| | | | | }}
{{tree chart| | | | |CONST| |FLAVD|!|HANN1| |CONS2|y|LICI1|!|ANAST|~|BASSI|CONST={{ubl|Constantine I|306–337}}|boxstyle_CONST=border:3px solid; border-radius:1em|FLAVD=Flavius Dalmatius|HANN1=Hannibalianus|CONS2=Flavia Julia Constantia|LICI1={{ubl|Licinius|308–324}}|boxstyle_LICI1=border:2px solid; border-radius:1em|ANAST=Anastasia|BASSI=Bassianus}}
{{tree chart| |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|'| |!| | | | | | | |!| | | |!}}
{{tree chart| |!| | | | |GALL1|y|JULIC|y|BASIL| |LICI2| |EUTR2|y|NEPO1|GALL1=Galla|JULIC=Julius Constantius|BASIL=Basilina|LICI2=Licinius II|EUTR2=Eutropia|NEPO1=Virius Nepotianus}}
{{tree chart| |!| | | | | | | |!| | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | |!}}
{{tree chart|HANN2|~|CONS6|~|GALLU| |JULIA|~|HELE2| | | | | |NEPO2|HANN2=Hannibalianus|boxstyle_HANN2=border:3px solid|CONS6=Constantina|boxstyle_CONS6=border:3px solid|GALLU=Constantius Gallus|boxstyle_GALLU=border:3px solid|JULIA={{ubl|Julian|360–363}}|boxstyle_JULIA=border:3px solid; border-radius:1em|HELE2=Helena|boxstyle_HELE2=border:3px solid|NEPO2=Nepotianus}}
{{tree chart/end}}
{{break}}
2: Constantine's children
{{Tree chart/start|align=center}}
{{tree chart|MINER|y|CONST|y|FAUS1|MINER=Minervina|CONST={{ubl|Constantine I|306–337}}|boxstyle_CONST=border:3px solid; border-radius:1em|FAUS1=Fausta}}
{{tree chart| | | |!| | | |)|-|v|-|v|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|.|}}
{{tree chart| | |CRISP| |CONS3|!|CONS5|!|HANN2|~|CONS6|~|GALLU|CRISP=Crispus|CONS3={{ubl|Constantine II|337–340}}|boxstyle_CONS3=border:2px solid; border-radius:1em|CONS5={{ubl|Constans|337–350}}|boxstyle_CONS5=border:2px solid; border-radius:1em|HANN2=Hannibalianus|boxstyle_HANN2=border:3px solid|CONS6=Constantina|boxstyle_CONS6=border:3px solid|GALLU=Constantius Gallus|boxstyle_GALLU=border:3px solid}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | |!| | | |!}}
{{tree chart| | | | |FAUS2|y|CONS4| |HELE2|~|JULIA|FAUS2=Faustina|CONS4={{ubl|Constantius II|337–361}}|boxstyle_CONS4=border:2px solid; border-radius:1em|JULIA={{ubl|Julian|360–363}}|boxstyle_JULIA=border:3px solid; border-radius:1em|HELE2=Helena|boxstyle_HELE2=border:3px solid}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | |!}}
{{tree chart| | |GRATI|~|CONS7|GRATI={{ubl|Gratian|367–383}}|boxstyle_GRATI=border:2px solid; border-radius:1em|CONS7=Constantia}}
{{Tree chart/end}}
{{Chart bottom}}
Reputation
File:Constantius II, RIC VIII 170 (obverse).jpg later served as the model for most Byzantine coinage after 395.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sdCjnwoQLR0C&pg=PA74 |title=Catalogue of Late Roman Coins: From Arcadius and Honorius to the Accession of Anastasius |last1=Grierson |first1=Philip |author-link=Philip Grierson|date=1992 |publisher=Dumbarton Oaks |isbn=978-0-88402-193-3 |page=74}}]]
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.”Michael DiMaio Jr. and Robert Frakes, [http://www.roman-emperors.sites.luc.edu/constaii.htm Constantius II (337–361 A.D.)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308141930/http://roman-emperors.sites.luc.edu/constaii.htm |date=8 March 2023 }} A. H. M. Jones writes that he "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."{{sfn|Jones|1964|p=116}} 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, 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".Kent, J.P.C., Hirmer, M. & Hirmer, A. Roman Coins (1978), p. 54
Eutropius wrote of him,Eutropius, Historiae Romanae Breviarium X.15
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.
See also
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
Sources
=Ancient sources=
{{refbegin|35em}}
- Ammianus Marcellinus. Res Gestae.
- Yonge, Charles Duke, trans. Roman History. London: Bohn, 1862. Online at [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/ammianus_00_eintro.htm Tertullian]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Rolfe, J.C., trans. History. 3 vols. Loeb ed. London: Heinemann, 1939–52. Online at [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Ammian/home.html LacusCurtius]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Hamilton, Walter, trans. The Later Roman Empire (A.D. 354–378). Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1986. [Abridged edition]
- Athanasius of Alexandria.
- Festal Index.
- Atkinson, M., and Archibald Robertson, trans. Festal Letters. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf204.xxv.iii.iii.html Christian Classics Ethereal Library]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Epistula encyclica (Encyclical letter). Summer 339.
- Atkinson, M., and Archibald Robertson, trans. Encyclical letter. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2807.htm New Advent] and [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf204.xii.ii.i.html Christian Classics Ethereal Library]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Apologia Contra Arianos (Defense against the Arians). 349.
- Atkinson, M., and Archibald Robertson, trans. Apologia Contra Arianos. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2808.htm New Advent]. Accessed 14 August 2009.
- Apologia ad Constantium (Defense before Constantius). 353.
- Atkinson, M., and Archibald Robertson, trans. Apologia ad Constantium. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2813.htm New Advent]. Accessed 14 August 2009.
- Historia Arianorum (History of the Arians). 357.
- Atkinson, M., and Archibald Robertson, trans. Historia Arianorum. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2815.htm New Advent]. Accessed 14 August 2009.
- De Synodis (On the Councils of Arminium and Seleucia). Autumn 359.
- Newman, John Henry and Archibald Robertson, trans. De Synodis. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2817.htm New Advent]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Historia acephala. 368 – c. 420.
- Robertson, Archibald, trans. Historia Acephala. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2820.htm New Advent] and [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf204.xxv.ii.ii.html Christian Classics Ethereal Library]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Chronica minora 1, 2.
- Mommsen, T., ed. Chronica Minora saec. IV, V, VI, VII 1, 2 (in Latin). Monumenta Germaniae Historia, Auctores Antiquissimi 9, 11. Berlin, 1892, 1894. Online at {{cite web |url=http://bsbdmgh.bsb.lrz-muenchen.de/dmgh_new/ |title=Bayerische StaatsBibliothek |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708060352/http://bsbdmgh.bsb.lrz-muenchen.de/dmgh_new/ |archive-date=8 July 2012 }}. Accessed 25 August 2009.
- Codex Theodosianus.
- Mommsen, T. and Paul M. Meyer, eds. Theodosiani libri XVI cum Constitutionibus Sirmondianis et Leges novellae ad Theodosianum pertinentes2 (in Latin). Berlin: Weidmann, [1905] 1954. Complied by Nicholas Palmer, revised by Tony Honoré for Oxford Text Archive, 1984. Prepared for online use by R.W.B. Salway, 1999. Preface, books 1–8. Online at [https://web.archive.org/web/20090826174516/http://www.ucl.ac.uk/history2/volterra/texts/cthinfo.htm University College London] and the [http://web.upmf-grenoble.fr/Haiti/Cours/Ak/Constitutiones/codtheod.html University of Grenoble] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618051844/http://web.upmf-grenoble.fr/Haiti/Cours/Ak/Constitutiones/codtheod.html |date=18 June 2010 }}. Accessed 25 August 2009.
- Unknown edition (in Latin). Online at [http://ancientrome.ru/ius/library/codex/theod/ AncientRome.ru]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Codex Justinianus.
- Scott, Samuel P., trans. The Code of Justinian, in The Civil Law. 17 vols. 1932. Online at the [http://www.constitution.org/sps/sps.htm Constitution Society]. Accessed 14 August 2009.
- Ephraem the Syrian. Carmina Nisibena (Songs of Nisibis).
- Stopford, J.T. Sarsfield, trans. The Nisibene Hymns. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 13. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3702.htm New Advent]. Accessed 16 August 2009.
- Bickell, Gustav, trans. S. Ephraemi Syri Carmina Nisibena: additis prolegomenis et supplemento lexicorum Syriacorum (in Latin). Lipetsk: Brockhaus, 1866. Online at [https://books.google.com/books†id=FNECZJZEUVUC Google Books]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Epitome de Caesaribus.
- Banchich, Thomas M., trans. A Booklet About the Style of Life and the Manners of the Imperatores. Canisius College Translated Texts 1. Buffalo, NY: Canisius College, 2009. Online at [http://www.roman-emperors.org/epitome.htm De Imperatoribus Romanis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108100827/http://www.roman-emperors.org/epitome.htm |date=8 November 2020 }}. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Eunapius. Lives of the Sophists.
- Eusebius of Caesarea.
- Oratio de Laudibus Constantini (Oration in Praise of Constantine, sometimes the Tricennial Oration).
- Richardson, Ernest Cushing, trans. Oration in Praise of Constantine. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 1. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2504.htm New Advent]. Accessed 16 August 2009.
- Vita Constantini (Life of Constantine).
- Richardson, Ernest Cushing, trans. Life of Constantine. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 1. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2502.htm New Advent]. Accessed 25 August 2009.
- Eutropius. Historiae Romanae Breviarium.
- Watson, John Selby, trans. Abridgment of Roman History. London: George Bell & Sons, 1886. Revised and edited for Tertullian by Roger Pearse, 2003. Online at [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/eutropius_breviarium_2_text.htm Tertullian]. Accessed 11 June 2010.
- Festus. Breviarium.
- Banchich, Thomas M., and Jennifer A. Meka, trans. Breviarium of the Accomplishments of the Roman People. Canisius College Translated Texts 2. Buffalo, NY: Canisius College, 2001. Online at [http://www.roman-emperors.org/festus.htm De Imperatoribus Romanis](). Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Firmicus Maternus. De errore profanarum religionum (On the error of profane religions).
- Baluzii and Rigaltii, eds. Divi Cæcilii Cypriani, Carthaginensis Episcopi, Opera Omnia; accessit J. Firmici Materni, Viri Clarissimi, De Errore Profanarum Religionum (in Latin). Paris: Gauthier Brothers and the Society of Booksellers, 1836. Online at [https://books.google.com/books†id=Zow7AAAAcAAJ Google Books]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Hilary of Poitiers. Ad Constantium (To Constantius).
- Feder, Alfred Leonhard, ed. S. Hilarii episcopi Pictaviensis Tractatus mysteriorum. Collectanea Antiariana Parisina (fragmenta historica) cum appendice (liber I Ad Constantium). Liber ad Constantium imperatorem (Liber II ad Constantium). Hymni. Fragmenta minora. Spuria (in Latin). In the Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, Vol. 65. Vienna: Tempsky, 1916.
- Itinerarium Alexandri (Itinerary of Alexander).
- Mai, Angelo, ed. Itinerarium Alexandri ad Constantium Augustum, Constantini M. Filium (in Latin). Regiis Typis, 1818. Online at [https://books.google.com/books†id=LaB9JC1Fm6kC Google Books]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Davies, Iolo, trans. Itinerary of Alexander. 2009. Online at [http://papyri.info/idp_static/current/ddb-citations-p+abinn.html DocStoc]{{dead link|date=March 2015 }}. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Jerome.
- Chronicon (Chronicle).
- Pearse, Roger, et al., trans. The Chronicle of St. Jerome, in Early Church Fathers: Additional Texts. Tertullian, 2005. Online at [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/jerome_chronicle_00_eintro.htm Tertullian]. Accessed 14 August 2009.
- de Viris Illustribus (On Illustrious Men).
- Richardson, Ernest Cushing, trans. De Viris Illustribus (On Illustrious Men). From Nicene 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 at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2708.htm New Advent]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Julian.
- Wright, Wilmer Cave, trans. Works of the Emperor Julian. 3 vols. Loeb ed. London: Heinemann, 1913. Online at the Internet Archive: [https://archive.org/details/workswithenglish01juliuoft Vol. 1], [https://archive.org/details/workswithenglish02juliuoft 2], [https://archive.org/details/workswithenglish03juliuoft 3].
- Libanius. Oratio 59 (Oration 59).
- M.H. Dodgeon, trans. The Sons of Constantine: Libanius Or. LIX. In From Constantine to Julian: Pagan and Byzantine Views, A Source History, edited by S.N.C. Lieu and Dominic Montserrat, 164–205. London: Routledge, 1996. {{ISBN|0-415-09336-8}}
- Origo Constantini Imperatoris.
- Rolfe, J.C., trans. Excerpta Valesiana, in vol. 3 of Rolfe's translation of Ammianus Marcellinus's History. Loeb ed. London: Heinemann, 1952. Online at [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Excerpta_Valesiana/1*.html LacusCurtius]. Accessed 16 August 2009.
- Papyri Abinnaeus.
- The Abinnaeus Archive: Papers of a Roman Officer in the Reign of Constantius II (in Greek). Duke Data Bank of Documentary Papyri. Online at [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.05.0052&query=document%3D%231 Perseus] and the [http://papyri.info/idp_static/current/ddb-citations-p+abinn.html Duke Data Bank]{{dead link|date=March 2015 }}. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Papyri Laurentius.
- Dai Papiri della Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana (in Greek). Duke Data Bank of Documentary Papyri. Online at [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text;jsessionid=AC847D304432C05A3A6019E311003F54?doc=Perseus:text:1999.05.0147 Perseus] and the [http://papyri.info/idp_static/current/ddb-citations-p+laur.html Duke Data Bank]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Philostorgius. Historia Ecclesiastica.
- Walford, Edward, trans. Epitome of the Ecclesiastical History of Philostorgius, Compiled by Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1855. Online at [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/philostorgius.htm Tertullian]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Socrates. Historia Ecclesiastica (History of the Church).
- Zenos, A.C., trans. Ecclesiastical History. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 2. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2601.htm New Advent]. Accessed 14 August 2009.
- Sozomen. Historia Ecclesiastica (History of the Church).
- Hartranft, Chester D. Ecclesiastical History. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 2. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2602.htm New Advent]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Sulpicius Severus. Sacred History.
- Roberts, Alexander, trans. Sacred History. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 11. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1894. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3505.htm New Advent]. Accessed 14 August 2009.
- Theodoret. Historia Ecclesiastica (History of the Church).
- Jackson, Blomfield, trans. Ecclesiastical History. From Nicene 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 at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2702.htm New Advent]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
- Themistius. Orationes (Orations).
- Theophanes. Chronicle.
- Zonaras. Extracts of History.
- Zosimus. Historia Nova (New History).
- Unknown trans. The History of Count Zosimus. London: Green and Champlin, 1814. Online at [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/zosimus00_intro.htm Tertullian]. Accessed 15 August 2009. [An unsatisfactory edition.]
- Unknown trans. Histoire Nouvelle and ΖΩΣΙΜΟΥ ΚΟΜΙΤΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΠΟΦΙΣΚΟΣΥΝΗΓΟΡΟΥ (in French and Greek). Online at the [http://pot-pourri.fltr.ucl.ac.be/files/aclassftp/TEXTES/Zosimus/ Catholic University of Louvain] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091201133558/http://pot-pourri.fltr.ucl.ac.be/files/AClassftp/Textes/Zosimus/ |date=1 December 2009 }}. Accessed 16 November 2009.
{{refend}}
=Modern sources=
{{refbegin|2|indent=y}}
- Baker-Brian, N. and Tougher, S., The Sons of Constantine, AD 337–361: In the Shadows of Constantine and Julian (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020)
- {{cite book |last=Baker-Brian |first=Nicholas |title=The Reign of Constantius II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LzZwEAAAQBAJ|publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2022|isbn=978-1-0006-1991-1}}
- Banchich, T. M., 'DIR-Gallus' from De Imperatoribus Romanis [http://www.roman-emperors.org/gallus.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210150345/http://www.roman-emperors.org/gallus.htm |date=10 December 2008 }}
- {{Cite book|last=Barnes|first=Timothy David|title=Athanasius and Constantius: theology and politics in the Constantinian empire|url= https://archive.org/details/athanasiusconsta0000barn/page/n9/mode/1up |publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1993|isbn=0-674-05067-3|location=Cambridge, Mass}}
- {{cite journal |last=Burgess |year=2008 |first=R.W. |title= The Summer of Blood: The 'Great Massacre' of 337 and the Promotion of the Sons of Constantine |journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |volume=62|pages=5–51 |jstor=20788042}}
- {{cite book |last=Crawford |first=Peter |title=Constantius II: Usurpers, Eunuchs, and the Antichrist |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_aJBDQAAQBAJ|publisher=Pen & Sword |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-78340-055-3}}
- {{cite book|last1=Dingas |first1=Beate |last2=Winter |first2=Engelbert |title=Rome and Persia in Late Antiquity |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2007}}
- DiMaio, M., and Frakes, R., [http://www.roman-emperors.org/constaii.htm "Constantius II,"] from De Imperatoribus Romanis
- {{cite journal |last=DiMaio |first=Michael |title=Per Vim, per Caedem, per Bellum : A Study of Murder and Ecclesiastical Politics in the Year 337 A.D.|journal=Byzantion|date=23 January 1992 |volume=62|pages=158–211 |jstor=44171626}}
- {{cite book |last=Dodgeon |first=Michael H. |author2=Greatrex, Geoffrey |author3=Lieu, Samuel N. C. |title=The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (Part I, 226–363 AD) |year=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-00342-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zoZIxpQ8A2IC |ref={{sfnref|Dodgeon|Greatrex|Lieu}} }}
- {{Cite book|last=Drinkwater|first=John F.|title= The Alamanni and Rome 213–496. Caracalla to Clovis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wBJREAAAQBAJ|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-19-929568-5|location=Oxford}}
- {{cite book |last=Errington |year=2006 |first=R. Malcolm |title=Roman Imperial Policy from Julian to Theodosius |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |place=Chapel Hill |isbn=0-8078-3038-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/romanimperialpol0000erri }}
- {{wikicite |ref={{sfnref|Gaddis|2005}} |reference=Gaddis, Michael. There Is No Crime for Those Who Have Christ. Religious violence in the Christian Roman Empire. University of California Press, 2005. {{ISBN|978-0-520-24104-6}}.}}
- {{cite book |last=Hunt |year=1998 |first=David |section= The successors of Constantine + Julian|title=The Cambridge Ancient History XIII: The Late Empire, A.D. 337–425|editor=Averil Cameron |editor2=Peter Garnsey |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-30200-5 |title-link= iarchive:the-cambridge-ancient-history-volume-13/mode/1up|name-list-style=amp |editor-link=Averil Cameron |editor2-link=Peter Garnsey |authorlink=}}
- {{wikicite |ref={{sfnref|Jones|1964}} |reference=Jones, A. H. M. The Later Roman Empire, 284–602: A Social, Economic, and Administrative Survey [Paperback, vol. 1] {{ISBN|0-8018-3353-1}} Basil Blackwell Ltd. 1964.}}
- {{cite book |last=Jones |year=1971 |first=A.H.M. |author2=J.R. Martindale |author3=J. Morris |title=The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire Volume 1: A.D. 260–395 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-07233-6 |url={{googlebooks|uOHw4idqAeYC|plainurl=y}} |name-list-style=amp |author-link=A. H. M. Jones |author-link2=John Robert Martindale |author-link3=John Morris (historian) |ref={{sfnref|Jones|Martindale|Morris}} }}
- Kent, J.P.C., Hirmer, M. & Hirmer, A. Roman Coins (Thames and Hudson, 1978)
- {{cite book|last = Matthews | first = John|title = The Roman Empire of Ammianus|url= https://archive.org/details/romanempireofamm0000matt_n9f6|year = 1989
|publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-0-9799-7132-7|location=Baltimore
}}
- Moser, Muriel. 2018. Emperor and Senators in the Reign of Constantius II. Cambridge University Press.
- Pelikan, J.J., The Christian Tradition (University of Chicago, 1989)
- {{cite book |last=Potter |first=David S. |title=The Roman Empire at Bay: AD 180–395 |location=New York |publisher=Routledge |year=2004 |isbn=0-415-10057-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/romanempireatbay0000pott }}
- {{cite book |last=Salzman |first=Michele Renee |author-link=Michele R. Salzman |year=2002 |title=The Making of a Christian Aristocracy: Social and Religious Change in the Western Roman Empire |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-674-00641-6 |url={{googlebooks|9JGzYaUQyt4C|plainurl=y}} }}
- {{cite book
| last=Schäfer
| first=Peter
| title=The History of the Jews in the Greco-Roman World
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YBarWAR2qVkC
| year=2003
| publisher=Psychology Press
| isbn=978-0-415-30585-3
}}
- {{wikicite |reference=Seeck, Otto, "Constantius 4", Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, volume IV.1, Stuttgart, 1900, columns 1044–1094.|ref={{sfnref|Seeck}} }}
- {{cite book |last1=Vagi |first1=David L. |title=Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, c. 82 B.C. – A.D. 480 |date=2001 |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn |isbn=978-1-57958-316-3}}
- {{Cite book |last=Vasiliev |first=Alexander |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EXiWAwAAQBAJ |title=History of the Byzantine Empire 324–1453 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |year=1958 |isbn=0299809250 |author-link=Alexander Kazhdan}}
{{refend}}
External links
{{Commons}}
{{Wikiquote}}
- This [https://web.archive.org/web/20081025063840/http://www.fourthcentury.com/index.php/imperial-laws-chart-364 list of Roman laws of the fourth century] shows laws passed by Constantius II relating to Christianity.
{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|Constantinian dynasty|7 August|317|3 November|361}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef| before=Constantine I}}
{{s-ttl| title=Roman emperor
| years=337–361
| with=Constantine II and Constans in the West}}
{{s-aft| after=Julian}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef | before= Sex. Anicius Paulinus |before2=Julius Julianus}}
{{s-ttl | title=Roman consul | years=326 |regent1= Constantine Augustus}}
{{s-aft | after= Flavius Constantius |after2=Valerius Maximus}}
{{s-bef | before= Ursus |before2=Polemius}}
{{s-ttl | title=Roman consul II| years=339 |regent1= Constans Augustus}}
{{s-aft | after= Septimius Acindynus |after2=L. Aradius Valerius Proculus}}
{{s-bef | before= Petronius Probinus |before2=Antonius Marcellinus}}
{{s-ttl | title=Roman consul III| years=342 |regent1= Constans Augustus II}}
{{s-aft | after= M. Furius Placidus|after2=Romulus}}
{{s-bef | before= Amantius|before2=M. Nummius Albinus}}
{{s-ttl | title=Roman consul IV| years=346 |regent1= Constans Augustus III}}
{{s-aft | after= Vulcacius Rufinus|after2=Eusebius}}
{{s-bef | before= Magnentius|before2=Gaiso}}
{{s-ttl | title=Roman consul V–VII| years=352–354 |regent1= Constantius Caesar}}
{{s-aft | after= Arbitio|after2=Lollianus Mavortius}}
{{s-bef | before= Arbitio|before2=Lollianus Mavortius}}
{{s-ttl | title=Roman consul VIII–IX| years=356–357 |regent1= Julian Caesar}}
{{s-aft | after= Censorius Datianus|after2=Neratius Cerealis}}
{{s-bef | before= Eusebius|before2=Hypatius}}
{{s-ttl | title=Roman consul X | years=360 |regent1= Julian Caesar}}
{{s-aft | after= Taurus|after2=Florentius}}
{{s-end}}
{{Roman emperors}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constantius 2}}
Category:4th-century Christians
Category:4th-century Roman emperors
Category:4th-century Roman consuls
Category:Constantinian dynasty
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Category:Sons of Roman emperors