Constantius III.

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Solidus of Constantius from 421. On the reverse the emperor is depicted as a general with the subjugated enemy at his feet, a Victoria in one hand and a standard in the other. The three Gs in VICTORIA AVGGG indicate that Constantius recognized two other Augusti , Honorius and Theodosius II, as co-rulers.

Constantius III. (* in Naissus (today Niš in Serbia); † September 2, 421 in Ravenna ), actually Flavius ​​Constantius , was a (co-) emperor in the Western Roman Empire . He was a successful military man and gained power and attention as magister utriusque militiae from 411 onwards through successful campaigns against internal and external enemies. Although he may have primarily pursued his own interests, it was largely thanks to him that the shaken position of the Western Roman government stabilized again.

Life

Flavius ​​Constantius originally came from the east of the Roman Empire , but remained in the west in 395 together with the magister militum (army master) Stilicho after the death of Emperor Theodosius I , who had last ruled over the entire empire. The Western Roman Empire was severely weakened during this time by internal unrest and Germanic advances: Between 401 and 403 there was a first confrontation with the Gothic army master Alaric , who devastated northern Italy in order to force a foedus with Westrom. After several defeats against Stilicho, however, he had to withdraw for the time being. In 405 the Goth Radagaisus invaded Italy with a large army. Only in August of the following year could it be stopped with difficulty in the battle of Faesulae . 406 were in Britain with Marcus and Gratian two proclaimed emperor by the local soldiers. At the turn of the year 406/07, several Germanic warrior groups (Vandals, Suebi, Saxons) and Alans crossed the Rhine ( Rhine crossing from 406 ) after most of the troops that had previously secured the border had been withdrawn to defend Italy. The invaders were able to devastate Gaul and Hispania almost unhindered . The remaining regular units were also bound by the usurpation of Constantine III . After the assassination of the usurpers Marcus and Gratian in Britain in 407, he himself rose to the rank of emperor, crossed his troops to Gaul and was able to quickly expand his sphere of influence to Hispania.

The overpowering Stilicho was overthrown and killed in August 408, which was intended as a liberation for the court, but weakened the empire militarily. The Western Roman Emperor Honorius was not up to the situation and had to come to terms with Constantine for the time being in 409. From August 24 to 26, 410 the mutinous Visigoth foederati under Alaric sacked the city of Rome.

Soon after this catastrophe, Flavius ​​Constantius was entrusted with the high command of the imperial infantry at the end of 410. Little is known about his previous career, but he was a follower of Stilichos and immediately avenged him by cutting off the ears of the magister officiorum Olympius, who was believed to be responsible for the fall of Stilichos, and then having him beaten to death. At the beginning of 411 Constantius then moved with an army to Gaul, where he succeeded in suppressing the usurpation of Constantine III. Constantine had to surrender in Arles and was executed a short time later after Constantius' colleague Ulfilas had defeated the relief army under Constantine General Edobich , who had recruited Germanic warriors.

Consular diptych of Flavius ​​Constantius from 420 (?). The two seated figures in the upper section represent the western emperor Honorius (left) and the eastern emperor Theodosius II . Since Honorius was the senior Augustus , he is shown larger. Next to the two Augusti are personifications of Rome and Constantinople.

This made Constantius a strong man in the empire and to a certain extent inherited the position that Stilicho had held until 408. The following year he was the West goten under its new leader Athaulf from Italy distribute and made quickly because of his success career. In 413 he was able to eliminate his last Roman rival, the comes Africae Heraclianus . He had tried to attack Constantius in Italy, but was defeated and was killed. Constantius can also be presumed to be the mastermind behind the murder of Athaulf, who married Galla Placidia , Honorius' half-sister, and who had made claims to the empire for their son. From that time on, it was actually not Honorius and the imperial court, but the military, led by Constantius, who ruled the western empire.

In 414 he held the consulate for the first time , was then awarded the honorary title of patricius and finally married in 417 against her will to the widowed Galla Placidia, with whom he had two children. After all rivals had been eliminated, he was now recognizable as the real ruler in the west of the Roman Empire . In 417 he was also consul a second time. In 418 he was able to settle the Visigoths, who were now in Roman service again and who had fought against Vandals , Alans and Suebi on Constantius's behalf , as foederati in southern Gaul. When, in 418, after the death of the Roman bishop Zosimus, there was a double election and subsequent street fights, it was not Honorius but Constantius who decided the dispute in the spring of 419 and declared Boniface I his rightful successor. In 420 he held the consulate for the third time, and on February 8, 421 Honorius finally elevated Constantius (probably not entirely voluntarily) to Augustus and co-emperor. With this, his outstanding factual position of power found an official expression after years and was thus legitimized. However, Constantius died surprisingly only a few months later on September 2, 421 of dropsy (heart failure) or pleurisy, according to Olympiodorus of Thebes during the preparations for a campaign against the eastern emperor Theodosius II , the nephew of Honorius, who refused to acknowledge Constantius and considered him a usurper.

Nevertheless, Theodosius supported Constantius' son Valentinian four years later in the fight against the alien usurper Johannes by sending an army against Ravenna, the western imperial residence, where the court official Johannes had proclaimed himself emperor after the death of Honorius in 423. In the end, therefore, the son from the marriage of Constantius III. with Galla Placidia as Valentinian III . 425 with the help of his cousin Theodosius II new Augustus of the West.

meaning

With Constantius, the role of patricius et magister militum as the actual head of government of Italy was finally established : since Constantius, the title of patricius in connection with the position of first army master in the western Roman area (unlike in the east) was reserved exclusively for the next most powerful man to the emperor; even after the end of the western empire in 476/80, men like Odoacer or Theodoric the Great should strive for this title in order to legitimize their position. Even Charlemagne still called himself Patricius Romanorum .

Constantius' rise from commander-in-chief of the western Roman army to de facto ruler, brother-in-law of the emperor and finally even to Augustus had a lasting influence on the later patricii et magistri militum , especially Aëtius and Ricimer ; but Constantius' patron and role model Stilicho had already achieved a very strong position as imperial general and father-in-law of Honorius. However, Constantius differed from Stilicho and Ricimer in his genuinely Roman origins, which gave him the opportunity to become emperor himself, following the example of Theodosius I, while Ricimer was content with the role of emperor-maker and killer. Remarkably, however, according to Olympiodorus, Constantius is said to have regretted his ascension to the emperor soon, since he recognized the restrictions with which the role as Augustus was connected. Perhaps this is the reason why after 421 even Roman military masters like Aëtius or Flavius ​​Orestes no longer reached for the purple.

Many researchers are of the opinion that only the early death of Constantius prevented a permanent stabilization of West Rome, which his indirect successor as comes et magister militum et patricius , Aëtius, could no longer achieve. Others, however, rate Constantius more negatively and regard him as a power-hungry man who primarily pursued his own interests, ruthlessly brought the imperial court and the Roman West under his control and would not have shrunk from a civil war against the East.

literature

Web links

Commons : Constantius III.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Constantius III.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Flavius ​​Constantius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Emperor in the Western Roman Empire
BIRTH DATE 4th century
PLACE OF BIRTH Niš
DATE OF DEATH September 2, 421
PLACE OF DEATH Ravenna