Constantius II

Constantius II

▪ Roman emperor
original name  Flavius Julius Constantius  
born Aug. 7, 317, Sirmium, Savia [now Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia]
died Nov. 3, 361, Mopsucrenae, Honorias [now in Turkey]

      Roman emperor from AD 337 to 361, who at first shared power with his two brothers, Constantine II (Constantine (II)) (d. 340) and Constans I (d. 350), but who was sole ruler from 353 to 361.

      The third son of Constantine I the Great (Constantine I) and Fausta, Constantius served under his father as caesar from Nov. 8, 324, to Sept. 9, 337. When Constantine died on May 22, 337, the troops massacred many of his relatives, including Constantine's half-brother, Constantius, consul in 335 and father of the future emperor Julian. In Julian's Letter to the Athenians (361) he openly accuses Constantius of murdering his father. The historian Eutropius felt the new emperor had “permitted but not ordered” the killings. Constantius then divided the empire with his brothers, taking the eastern provinces (Thrace, Macedonia, Greece, Asia, and Egypt) for himself. Between 338 and 350 he was engaged in inconclusive but extremely bloody warfare with the Persian king Shāpūr II.

      In 350 Constantius returned to Europe to confront two usurpers. Vetranio, commander of the Danube forces, had taken power in Illyricum (now located in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula); the rest of Europe was seized by the barbarian officer Magnentius, who in 350 executed Constans, the ruler in the West. At Naissus (modern Niš, Serbia), Constantius persuaded Vetranio to abdicate, and on Sept. 22, 351, he crushed Magnentius at Mursa (modern Osijek, Croatia). During this struggle Constantius appointed as caesar his cousin Gallus to be administrator of the East. But Gallus proved to be a despotic ruler, and in 354 Constantius recalled him and had him executed. After campaigning against the Sarmatian, Suebi, and Quadi tribes on the Danube in 357–358, Constantius returned east to fight Shāpūr, who had renewed his attacks on the eastern frontier (359). In 361 Constantius was recalled to the West by the revolt of Julian, his caesar in Gaul since 355, but became ill on the way and died.

      As sole ruler after 353, Constantius tried to create religious unity in the empire under Arian Christianity. He passed laws against paganism, and the historian Ammianus Marcellinus portrays him as deeply moved on a visit to Rome in 356. He twice (339, 356) exiled the influential orthodox bishop of Alexandria, but the religious unity he sought was short-lived.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Constantius II — Emperor of the Roman Empire Bust of Constantius II Reign 324 (November 13) – 337 …   Wikipedia

  • Constantius II. — Constantius II. Constantius II. (griechisch Kōnstantios Κωνστάντιος Β , mit vollständigem Namen Flavius Iulius Constantius; * 7. August 317 in Illyrien, wahrscheinlich in Sirmium; † 3. November 361 in M …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Constantius — may refer to: Constantius I, Roman emperor 305–306 Constantius II, Roman emperor 337–361 Constantius III, Roman co emperor in 421 Constantius (consul 327), consul in 327 Constantius Gallus (c.325–354), member of the Constantinian dynasty and… …   Wikipedia

  • Constantius — (griechisch Konstantios) war der Name mehrerer spätantiker Persönlichkeiten: Constantius I., römischer Kaiser 305–306; Constantius II., römischer Kaiser 337–361; Constantius III., weströmischer Mitkaiser 421; Constantius Gallus, römischer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • CONSTANTIUS II — CONSTANTIUS II. fil. Constantini M. ex Fausta, Caesar a Patre factus, A. C. 324. Eusebien, coetera erudiram, sed Arianisino infectam, uxorem duxit. Mortuô Patre Orientis Dominus. In consanguineos, et Orthodoxos, uxoris instinctu, saevus,… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • CONSTANTIUS I — CONSTANTIUS I. Chlorus, fil. Flavii Eutropii ex Claudia, filia Fratris Claudii II. et Quintillae, Princeps plane egregius. A Maximiano hercule, in consortium imperii ascitus, eâ lege, ut dimissâ Helenâ, ex qua iam Constantinum M. susceperat.… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Constantius — Constantius. I. Fürsten: 1) Flavius Valerius C. I. genannt Chlorus (d. i. der Saatgrüne, nach seiner Lieblingsfarbe, od. der Bleiche, nach seiner krankhaften Gesichtsfarbe in seiner Jugend), Sohn des Eutropius u. der Claudia, einer Tochter des… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Constantĭus — Constantĭus, 1) M. Flavius Valerius C. I. Chlorus, d. h. der Blasse, Vater Konstantins d. Gr., Sohn eines vornehmen Illyriers, geb. 250 n. Chr., machte sich durch Kriegstaten einen Namen und wurde von dem Kaiser Maximian 293 adoptiert und zum… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Constantius II. — Constantĭus II., röm. Kaiser, geb. 317 n. Chr. in Illyricum, als 2. Sohn Konstantins d. Gr. und der Fausta, nach seines Vaters Tode 337 Kaiser des Ostens, nach dem Tode seines Bruders Constans 350 Herrscher des gesamten Röm. Reichs, besiegte 351… …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Constantius I. — Auf der Rückseite dieses in Antiochia unter dem Caesar Constantius Chlorus geprägten Argenteus werden die Tetrarchen in einer Opferszene für den Sieg über die Sarmaten dargestellt. Flavius Valerius Constantius (* um 250; † 306; nicht… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Constantius I — ▪ Roman emperor original name  Flavius Valerius Constantius , or  Flavius Julius Constantius , byname  Chlorus   born c. 250, Dacia Ripensis died July 25, 306, Eboracum, Britain [now York, North Yorkshire, England]  Roman emperor and father of… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”