Julius Constantius

Flavius Julius Constantius (* after 289; † 337 in Constantinople ) was a son of the Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus and the father of Emperor Julian . He held the consulate in 335 and was murdered in 337 after the death of his half-brother Constantine .

Contemporary history background

The Roman Empire went through a profound change at the beginning of the 4th century. Julius Constantius' half-brother Constantine the Great prevailed in the succession struggles that broke out with the end of the tetrarchy founded by Emperor Diocletian , and thus founded the Constantinian dynasty , to which his younger brother Julius Constantius and his sons Constantius Gallus and Julian belonged.

Constantine's reign was significant for two main reasons: On the one hand, he relocated the central power with the new capital, Constantinople, to the eastern part of the empire, which had already become more and more important. The decision for the new capital was not least due to foreign policy considerations, because Constantinople was about the same distance from the threatened borders of the empire on the Danube and Euphrates . On the other hand, Constantine promoted Christianity and thus initiated the Christianization of the Roman Empire. Even if the traditional gods were not abolished, they lost their power and influence. Julius Constantius' son Julian later tried unsuccessfully to stop this development.

Life

Julius Constantius was born after 289 as the son of Emperor Constantius I and his wife Theodora , the stepdaughter of Emperor Maximian . Dalmatius and Hannibalianus were his brothers, Constantia , Anastasia and Eutropia his sisters. Emperor Constantine the Great came from his father's connection with Helena and was thus his half-brother. Despite this illustrious relationship, Julius Constantius was never himself emperor or co-emperor, although Constantine bestowed him the titles of patricius and nobilissimus .

Julius Constantius was married twice. With his first wife Galla , the sister of the later consuls Vulcacius Rufinus and Naeratius Cerealis , he had two sons and a daughter. His eldest son, whose name has not been passed down, was murdered with his father in 337. His second son was Constantius Gallus, who rose to Caesar under Constantius II . His daughter was Constantius' first wife.

After the death of his first wife, Julius married Constantius Basilina , daughter of the Egyptian Praetorian prefect Iulius Iulianus . This gave him another son, the future emperor Julian . She died before her husband around 332/33. Nothing is known of any other marriages of Julius Constantius. Since the sources about him are rather poor, further marriages cannot be ruled out.

Allegedly at the instigation of his stepmother Helena, Julius Constantius did not initially live at the court of his half-brother, but together with Dalmatius and Hannibalianus in Tolosa , in Etruria , where his son Gallus was born, and in Corinth . In the end he was called to Constantinople and was able to develop a good relationship with Emperor Constantine there.

In 335 Julius Constantius was consul with Ceionius Rufius Albinus . As early as 337 he and his eldest son fell victim to the wave of purges that followed the death of his half-brother . His property was also confiscated, but his two younger sons survived since they were still children in 337 and later rose to become co-emperor or emperor.

literature

Bruno Bleckmann : Constantius [4]. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 3, Metzler, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-476-01473-8 , column 146.
Arnold Hugh Martin Jones , John Robert Martindale, John Morris : Iulius Constantius 7. In: The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (PLRE). Volume 1, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1971, ISBN 0-521-07233-6 , p. 226.
Klaus Rosen : Julian. Emperor, God and haters of Christians . Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-608-94296-3 , p. 49–50, 71, 92 with annotations .
Otto Seeck : Constantius 3) . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume IV, 1, Stuttgart 1900, Col. 1043 f.

Web links

Michael DiMaio, Jr .: Short biography (English) at De Imperatoribus Romanis (with references).

Remarks

↑ ^a ^b Zonaras 12, 33.
↑ ^a ^b Libanios , Speeches 18, 9.
↑ ^a ^b ^c Athanasius , Two writings against the Arians 76.
↑ ^a ^b Zosimos 2:40 , 2; Libanios, speeches 18, 31.
↑ Eutropius 9:22 .
↑ Artemii Passio 7.
↑ ^a ^b Ammianus Marcellinus 14, 11, 27.
↑ Julian, Letter to the Athenians 270D.
↑ Libanios , Speeches 18:10.
↑ Eusebius of Caesarea , Das Leben Konstantins 4:49.
↑ Julian, Letters 60.
↑ Julian, Der Barthasser 352B.
↑ ^a ^b Libanios, Reden 1, 434.
^ Ausonius , Commemoratio professorum Burdigalensium 17, 11.
↑ Julian, Letters 20.
↑ Libanios, Speeches 1, 524.
^ Julian, Letter to the Athenians 273B.

personal data
SURNAME	Julius Constantius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Iulius Constantius, Flavius; Julius Constantius, Flavius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Half-brother of Constantine I.
DATE OF BIRTH	after 289
DATE OF DEATH	337
Place of death	Constantinople

[Zonaras_12-1] Zonaras 12, 33.

[Libanios_Julian-2] Libanios , Speeches 18, 9.

[Athanasius-3] Athanasius , Two writings against the Arians 76.

[Morde-4] Zosimos 2:40 , 2; Libanios, speeches 18, 31.

[5] Eutropius 9:22 .

[6] Artemii Passio 7.

[Ammian_14-7] Ammianus Marcellinus 14, 11, 27.

[8] Julian, Letter to the Athenians 270D.

[9] Libanios , Speeches 18:10.

[10] Eusebius of Caesarea , Das Leben Konstantins 4:49.

[11] Julian, Letters 60.

[12] Julian, Der Barthasser 352B.

[Libanios,_Reden_1,_434-13] Libanios, Reden 1, 434.

[14] Ausonius , Commemoratio professorum Burdigalensium 17, 11.

[15] Julian, Letters 20.

[16] Libanios, Speeches 1, 524.

[17] Julian, Letter to the Athenians 273B.