Constantine II (emperor)

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Constantine II
Large statue of Constantine II
Statue of Caesar Constantine II on top of the Cordonata (the monumental staircase climbing up to Piazza del Campidoglio), in Rome
Roman emperor
Augustus9 September 337 – 340 (Gaul, Hispania, and Britain)
PredecessorConstantine I
SuccessorConstans
Co-emperorsConstantius II (East)
Constans (Italy and Africa)
Caesar1 March 317 – 9 September 337
Born316
Arelate, Viennensis
Died340 (aged 24)
Aquileia, Italy
Names
Flavius Claudius Constantinus[1]
Regnal name
Imperator Caesar Flavius Claudius Constantinus Augustus
DynastyConstantinian
FatherConstantine the Great
MotherFausta
ReligionChristianity

Constantine II (Latin: Flavius Claudius Constantinus; 316 – 340) was Roman emperor from 337 to 340. Son of Constantine the Great and co-emperor alongside his brothers, his attempt to exert his perceived rights of primogeniture led to his death in a failed invasion of Italy in 340.

Career[edit]

The eldest son of Constantine the Great and Fausta,[a] Constantine II was born in Arles in 316 and raised as a Christian.[3]

Caesar[edit]

On 1 March 317, he was made caesar.[3][1] In 323, at the age of seven, he took part in his father's campaign against the Sarmatians.[3] Constantine II usually resided with his father until 328,[4] when his own court was installed at Trier.[5] An inscription dated to 328-330[b] records the title of Alamannicus, indicating that his generals won a victory over the Alamanni.[3] His military career continued when Constantine I made him field commander during the 332 winter campaign against the Goths.[3][7] The military operation was successful and decisive, with 100,000 Goths reportedly slain and the surrender of the ruler Ariaric.[8] Constantine II was not only credited with this victory, but also victories against the Sarmatians,[9] as he was given the titles Sarmaticus and Germanicus Maximus.[10] He was married prior to 336, although his wife’s identity remains unknown.[11]

While Constantine I had intended for his sons to rule together with their cousins Dalmatius and Hannibalianus, soon after his death in May 337 the army slaughtered almost all of their male relatives, including Dalmatius and Hannibalianus.[12] Burgess observed from numismatic evidence that Constantine II 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.”[13]

In what seemed to be an attempt to distance themselves from the massacre,[14] the three brothers proceeded to print coins of Theodora, whom their murdered relatives had been descended from.[12] The evidence indicates that Constantine II was the one responsible for designing and producing the coinage at the start, as well as convincing his brothers to do the same.[15] Woods considered it to suggest that he was more sympathetic to Theodora’s memory than his brothers,[16] possibly because his wife may have been a granddaughter of Theodora.[11]

In June 337, before he was named emperor, Constantine had already begun attempting to assert his seniority.[17] He issued an order allowing the exiled bishop Athanasius to return to Alexandria, claiming to be carrying out the unfulfilled intentions of his father.[3][18]

Augustus[edit]

The three brothers were not named as Augusti until 9 September 337,[1] when they gathered together in Pannonia[3] and divided the Roman territories among themselves. Constantine received Gaul, Britannia and Hispania.[19][20] Unlike his younger brothers, he gained little from Dalmatius’ removal.[21]

Constantine was evidently left unsatisfied with the results of their meeting,[22][10] seemingly believing that his age granted him some sort of seniority in the imperial college[7] and, by extension, control over the dominion of his youngest brother Constans, who was still a teenager in 337.[18][23] Even after campaigning successfully against the Alamanni in 338, he continued to maintain his position.[18][23][9] The Codex Theodosianus recorded Constantine’s legislative intervention in Constans’ territory through issuing an edict to the proconsul of Africa in 339.[18][23]

In 340, Constantine launched an invasion into Italy to claim territory from Constans.[18][3] Constans, at that time in Naissus,[22] sent a number of troops to confront him, and Constantine was killed in an ambush near Aquileia.[18][24][c] Constans then took control of his deceased brother's realm, who seem to have been largely unaffected by their change in ruler.[26] After his death, Constantine was subjected to damnatio memoriae,[18] which his other brother Constantius II also followed.[23]

Family tree[edit]

See also: Constantinian dynasty


Family of Constantine II (emperor)

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

Helena
Flavia Maximiana Theodora
  • Constantine I
  • 306–337
Flavius DalmatiusHannibalianusFlavia Julia Constantia
AnastasiaBassianus
GallaJulius ConstantiusBasilinaLicinius IIEutropiaVirius Nepotianus
HannibalianusConstantinaConstantius Gallus
HelenaNepotianus


2: Constantine's children

Minervina
  • Constantine I
  • 306–337
Fausta
Crispus
  • Constantine II
  • 337–340
HannibalianusConstantinaConstantius Gallus
Faustina
Helena
Constantia

Gallery[edit]

  • Coin of Constantine II as caesar, marked: d·n· fl· cl· constantinus nob· c· ("Our Lord Flavius Claudius Constantine, Noblest Caesar")
    Coin of Constantine II as caesar, marked: d·n· fl· cl· constantinus nob· c· ("Our Lord Flavius Claudius Constantine, Noblest Caesar")
  • Solidus of Constantine II as caesar, marked: constantinus iun· nob· caes· on the obverse ("Constantine Junior, Noblest Caesar") and victoria caesar· n·n· ("the Victory of Our Caesars")
    Solidus of Constantine II as caesar, marked: constantinus iun· nob· caes· on the obverse ("Constantine Junior, Noblest Caesar") and victoria caesar· n·n· ("the Victory of Our Caesars")
  • Aureus of Constantine II as caesar, marked: constantinus iun· nob· c· ("Constantine Junior, Noblest Caesar") on the obverse and virtus caesar n· ("the Virtue of Our Caesar") on the reverse
    Aureus of Constantine II as caesar, marked: constantinus iun· nob· c· ("Constantine Junior, Noblest Caesar") on the obverse and virtus caesar n· ("the Virtue of Our Caesar") on the reverse
  • Coin of Constantine II as augustus.
    Coin of Constantine II as augustus.
  • Division of the Roman Empire among the Caesars appointed by Constantine I: from west to east, the territories of Constantine II, Constans, Dalmatius and Constantius II.
    Division of the Roman Empire among the Caesars appointed by Constantine I: from west to east, the territories of Constantine II, Constans, Dalmatius and Constantius II.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The PLRE’s statement that Constantine II was not Fausta’s son[1] is wrong.[2]
  2. ^ Barnes favors the date 330,[4] while Drinkwater prefers an earlier date of 328-9.[6]
  3. ^ 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 in the Persian war, but in reality to assassinate him by surprise. Constans’ troops would’ve been marching away from the Persians if they were heading to Constantine’s territory.[10][25] Modern historians, trying to make sense of Zosimus’ confusion, have suggested that instead it was Constantine who claimed to be assisting Constantius II.[18][23][10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Jones, Martindale & Morris, p. 223.
  2. ^ Barnes 1973, pp. 36–37.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h DiMaio Jr, Michael; Frakes, Robert (2 May 1998). "Constantine II (337–340 A.D.)". De Imperatoribus Romanis - Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors.
  4. ^ a b Barnes 1982, p. 84.
  5. ^ Barnes 1981, p. 221.
  6. ^ Drinkwater 2007, pp. 198–199.
  7. ^ a b Crawford 2016, “Preparation for the Purple: Constantius’ Upbringing and Accession”.
  8. ^ Barnes 1981, p. 250.
  9. ^ a b Drinkwater 2007, p. 199.
  10. ^ a b c d Baker-Brian 2022, “Making and Shaping a Dynasty”.
  11. ^ a b Woods 2011, p. 195.
  12. ^ a b Hunt 1998, p. 3.
  13. ^ Burgess 2008, pp. 21–22.
  14. ^ Woods 2011, pp. 194–195.
  15. ^ Burgess 2008, p. 23.
  16. ^ Woods 2011, p. 194.
  17. ^ Lewis 2020, p. 69.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h Hunt 1998, p. 5.
  19. ^ "Constantine II – Roman Emperor". Encyclopedia Britannica. 2021.
  20. ^ Hunt 1998, p. 4.
  21. ^ Lewis 2020, p. 59.
  22. ^ a b DiMaio 1988, p. 240.
  23. ^ a b c d e Crawford 2016, “Fraternal Civil War and the Usurpation of Magnentius”.
  24. ^ DiMaio 1988, p. 241.
  25. ^ Lewis 2020, p. 78.
  26. ^ Hunt 1998, pp. 5–6.

Sources[edit]

Primary sources[edit]

Secondary sources[edit]

External links[edit]

Constantine II (emperor)
Born: 316 Died: 340
Regnal titles
Preceded by Roman emperor
337–340
With: Constantius II and Constans 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Roman consul
320–321
with Constantine I ,
Crispus 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Roman consul
324
with Crispus 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Roman consul
329
with Constantine I 		Succeeded by
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