Constantius II, Roman Emperor
Constantius II or as he was known by his full name, Flavius Iulius Constantius was a Roman emperor, who was one in the line of emperors belonging to the Constantinian dynasty. This dynasty counts among its most renowned members Constantine I, Constantine II, Constantius Chlorus and Constans. Constantius II remained in power from the year 337 AD until his death from complications arising from a fever in the year 361 AD.
Constantius was born on August 7th,317 AD as the second in a brood of three sons to the then Roman emperor Constantine I and Fausta who was his second wife. His birth place has been recorded in various reputable historical documents that date from that time period as Sirmium which was in Illyricum. He was given the name Caesar by his father when he was still of a very young age.
Throughout the course of his life, Constantius would be married a total of three times. The first of these marriages was to a daughter of Julius Constantius. He would later be married to another woman who was named Eusebia and later still to yet another woman who was named Faustina.
This last marriage would bless the couple with a daughter (who was in fact born after Constantius had died). This daughter, who was subsequently named Faustina Constantia, would herself later wed the emperor Gratian.
Constantius would prove to be quite an ambitious man and he clearly intended to have sole control over the entire Roman Empire. Numerous actions attributed to him have since born testament to this ambition but the most telling sign of his intent was the actions that he took upon the death of his father in 337 AD.
This was the date that he ordered the widespread massacre of his own relatives who were born out of the second marriage of his grandfather Constantius Chlorus to a woman who was named Theodora. The end goal of these brutal actions were of course to ensure that he along with his elder brother Constantine II, his younger brother Constans and their two cousins Gallus and his half-brother Julian would be the only remaining adult males who could directly trace their lineage to Constantine.
This would mean that only they would be the legal heirs to the throne of emperor. The will left by their father after his death gave the brothers instructions as to how the Roman Empire would be divided among them. Constantius would be given command of all the territories in the East, Constantine II received jurisdiction over all the territories of Britannia, Gaul and Hispania, while Constans would rule over all of Italia, Africa, and Illyricum.
The death of Constantine II which was in fact occasioned by his attempts to overthrow Constans would bring an end to this arrangement, However, Constans would prevail over this encounter and as a result he would become the sole leader of the Western portion of the Roman Empire.
Constantius died from the effects of a fever near Tarsus on November 3rd 361 AD.
Original Authors: Doods Pangburn
Edit Update Authors: M.A.Harris
Updated On: 22/07/2008
