Constantius I-III
Constantius I-III were significant figures in the history of the Roman Empire, particularly during the late 3rd and early 4th centuries CE. Constantius I, of Illyrian origin, rose to prominence as a general and governor of Dalmatia before being appointed as Caesar of the Western Empire in 293 CE. He is known for his military achievements, including the defeat of usurpers in Britain, and became Augustus of the West upon the abdication of Diocletian in 305 CE. He was the father of Constantine the Great, whose legacy overshadowed much of his own.
Constantius II, born in 317 CE, succeeded as Augustus after the death of his father in 337 CE. His reign was marked by military conflicts with the Persians and internal challenges, including ecclesiastical strife due to his Arian policies. His attempt to unify Christian doctrine ultimately failed with his death in 361 CE.
Constantius III emerged later, serving as magister militum and playing a key role in stabilizing the West under Emperor Honorius. His actions included quelling usurpations and negotiating with the Visigoths. He became co-emperor in 421 CE but ruled for only a short time before his death. Collectively, these rulers navigated complex political and military landscapes, shaping the trajectory of the Roman Empire during a transformative period.
Constantius I-III
Related civilization: Imperial Rome
Major role/position: Roman emperors
Life
Of Illyrian origin, Constantius I (kahn-STAN-chee-uhs) was a general and the governor of Dalmatia when Diocletian became emperor. In 293 c.e., as part of the new tetrarchy, Constantius I was appointed Caesar for the Western Empire. Based in Gaul, in 296 c.e., he defeated Allectus, the usurper in Britain, and ended the usurper Carausius’s control of the English Channel. His part in the Great Persecution of Christians apparently consisted only of destruction of church buildings. In 305 c.e., upon the abdication of Diocletian and Maximian, Constantius I became Augustus of the West. He died in 306 c.e. in York, and his troops proclaimed his son Constantine as Augustus. He was a competent leader, whose Christianity and relation to the previous emperor Claudius II were fictions created by Constantinian panegyrists. His nickname “Chlorus” was assigned even later.
Constantius II (also known as Flavius Julius Constantius) was born in 317 c.e., the son of Constantine the Great and Fausta (and grandson of Constantius I). He was made Caesar in 324 c.e. In 337 c.e., upon the death of Constantine the Great, Constantius became Augustus (along with his brothers Constantine II and Constans I). His domain was the Eastern Empire, where he spent much of the 340’s c.e. warring with the Persians on the eastern frontier. In 351 c.e., he came west to defeat the usurper Magnentius at Mursa, becoming sole emperor in 353 c.e. (Constantine II having died in 340 c.e. and Constans I in 350 c.e.). He oversaw military affairs in the West for several years, celebrating a triumph in Rome in 357 c.e. He then returned to campaigning in the East. Julian the Apostate, who had been appointed Caesar in Gaul in 355 c.e., was proclaimed Augustus by his troops in 360 c.e. Constantius was on his way to confront Julian in 361 c.e. when he died in Cilicia. Although an effective ruler over a long period of time, his military and political difficulties were compounded by ecclesiastical conflict. As sole emperor, Constantius attempted to impose doctrinal uniformity on the church by means of an Arianizing formulation. A small but vehement and growing episcopal group opposed his efforts, and his religious policy died with him.
Constantius III, after the demise of Flavius Stilicho in 408 c.e., was the next dominant power at the court of Honorius, the ineffectual emperor of the West. As magister militum (master of the soldiers), he quashed the usurpation of Constantine III, recovered Honorius’s sister Galla Placidia from the Visigothic king Ataulphus (to whom she had been married), married her himself in 417 c.e., and settled the Visigoths in Aquitania on Roman territory in 418 c.e. In 419 c.e. his son Valentinian III, the future emperor, was born. In 421 c.e., Honorius made Constantius III his fellow Augustus. He died seven months later.
Influence
Of these three, the most important was undoubtedly Constantius II, who skillfully worked within the structure left by Constantine and whose antipagan efforts set the stage for Julian’s pagan revival.
Bibliography
Barnes, Timothy D. Athanasius and Constantius: Theology and Politics in the Constantinian Empire. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1993.
Barnes, Timothy D. Constantine and Eusebius. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1981.