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Constantine II ( la, Flavius Claudius Constantinus; February 316 – 340) was Roman emperor from 337 to 340. Son of
Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...
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

The eldest son of Constantine the Great and Fausta, Constantine II was born in
Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...
in February 316 and raised as a Christian.


Caesar

On 1 March 317, he was made
Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
. In 323, at the age of seven, he took part in his father's campaign against the
Sarmatia The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th c ...
ns. At age ten, he became commander of
Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
, following the death of his half-brother Crispus. An inscription dating to 330 records the title of ''Alamannicus'', so it is probable that his generals won a victory over the Alamanni. His military career continued when Constantine I made him field commander during the 332 campaign against the
Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
.


Augustus

Following the death of his father in 337, Constantine II initially became emperor jointly with his brothers
Constantius II Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic ...
and
Constans Flavius Julius Constans ( 323 – 350), sometimes called Constans I, was Roman emperor from 337 to 350. He held the imperial rank of '' caesar'' from 333, and was the youngest son of Constantine the Great. After his father's death, he was mad ...
,Eutropius, 10:9 with the empire divided between them and their cousins, the ''caesars''
Dalmatius :''This article deals with the Caesar (335-337). For the censor Flavius Dalmatius, father of the caesar, see Flavius Dalmatius. For saints with this name, see Saint Dalmatius (disambiguation).'' Flavius Dalmatius Caesar (his name is often spell ...
and
Hannibalianus __NOTOC__ Flavius Hannibalianus (also Hanniballianus; died September 337) was a member of the Constantinian dynasty, which ruled over the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD. Hannibalianus was the son of Flavius Dalmatius, and thus nephew of Cons ...
. This arrangement barely survived Constantine I's death, as his sons arranged the slaughter of most of the rest of the family by the army.Gibbon, Ch. 18 As a result, the three brothers gathered together in Pannonia and there, on 9 September 337, divided the Roman world among themselves. Constantine, proclaimed ''
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
'' by the troops received Gaul,
Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...
and
Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hisp ...
. He was soon involved in the struggle between factions rupturing the unity of the Christian Church. The Western portion of the empire, under the influence of the Popes in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, favoured
Nicene Christianity The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is ...
over Arianism, and through their intercession they convinced Constantine to free
Athanasius Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...
, allowing him to return to
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
. This action aggravated Constantius II, who was a committed supporter of Arianism. Constantine was initially the guardian of his younger brother Constans, whose portion of the empire was
Italia Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the Italy (geographical region) ...
,
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and Illyricum. Constantine soon complained that he had not received the amount of territory that was his due as the eldest son. Annoyed that Constans had received
Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...
and Macedonia after the death of Dalmatius, Constantine demanded that Constans hand over the African provinces, to which he agreed in order to maintain a fragile peace.Victor, 41:21 Soon, however, they began quarreling over which parts of the African provinces belonged to
Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...
, and thus Constantine, and which belonged to
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, and therefore Constans.Zosimus, 2:41–42 Further complications arose when Constans came of age and Constantine, who had grown accustomed to dominating his younger brother, would not relinquish the guardianship. In 340 Constantine marched into Italy at the head of his troops to claim territory from Constans. Constans, at that time in
Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It ...
, detached and sent a select and disciplined body of his Illyrian troops, stating that he would follow them in person with the remainder of his forces. Constantine was engaged in military operations and was killed by Constans's generals in an ambush outside Aquileia. Constans then took control of his deceased brother's realm.


Family tree

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 2: Constantine's children


Gallery

File:INC-2046-a_Ауреус._Константин_II._Ок._337—340_гг._(аверс).png , Coin of Constantine II as ''caesar'', marked: ("''Our Lord Flavius Claudius Constantine, Noblest Caesar''") File:Solidus_Constantine_II-heraclea_RIC_vII_101.jpg , ''Solidus'' of Constantine II as ''caesar'', marked: on the obverse ("''Constantine Junior, Noblest Caesar''") and ("''the
Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...
of Our Caesars''") File:Constantineii90010167.jpg , ''Aureus'' of Constantine II as ''caesar'', marked: ("''Constantine Junior, Noblest Caesar''") on the obverse and ("''the Virtue of Our Caesar''") on the reverse File:Impero_Romano_da_maggio_a_settembre_337.png , Division of the Roman Empire among the Caesars appointed by Constantine I: from west to east, the territories of Constantine II, Constans I,
Dalmatius :''This article deals with the Caesar (335-337). For the censor Flavius Dalmatius, father of the caesar, see Flavius Dalmatius. For saints with this name, see Saint Dalmatius (disambiguation).'' Flavius Dalmatius Caesar (his name is often spell ...
and Constantius II.


References


Sources


Primary sources

* Zosimus, ''Historia Nova'', Book
Historia Nova
*
Aurelius Victor Sextus Aurelius Victor (c. 320 – c. 390) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire. Victor was the author of a short history of imperial Rome, entitled ''De Caesaribus'' and covering the period from Augustus to Constantius II. The work ...

Epitome de Caesaribus
* Eutropius
Breviarium ab urbe condita


Secondary sources



* * Gibbon, Edward. ''Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire'' (1888) * Lewis, William (2020), "Constantine II and His Brothers: The Civil War of AD 340", in Nicholas Baker-Brian and Shaun Tougher (eds.), ''The Sons of Constantine, AD 337–361: In the Shadows of Constantine and Julian''. Palgrave Macmillan. Cham. .


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Constantine 02 316 births 340 deaths 4th-century Roman emperors Imperial Roman consuls Constantinian dynasty Claudii Flavii Roman emperors killed in battle Tetrarchy Sons of Roman emperors