One original ancient Roman bronze coin of:Constantius II, Caesar 337-347 AD, Augustus 347-355 AD.
STRUCK - 350AD.
AE 15mm. 1.49gm. Siscia mint. (Good VF) Original patina. Exactly as pictured.
OBV./ CONSTANTIVS P F AVG, rosette-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right .
Rev./ /
VICTORIAE DD AVGGQ N N, two victories facing each other holding wreaths
and palms.
Mintmark Epsilon SIS.
RIC VIII Siscia 188.
Coin is in good condition and very rare and nice inclusion to the finest collection.
Flavius Iulius Constantius, known in English as Constantius II
(7 August 317 – November 3 361) was aRoman Emperor (337-361) of
theConstantinian dynasty. Constantius joins the lengthy list of emperors
whose career was marked by a seemingly endless series of wars both
domestic and foreign. He served as Caesar from 324 until his father's
death in 337 at which time he shared the title of Augustus with two
other brothers, Constantine II and Constans. To make sure no more
Johnny-come-latelies in his family would try their hand at being emperor
too it is thought that he engineered a bloodbath that left nary a
relative. Constantine II died in battle and Constans was murdered by the
men of Magnentius, the first of several usurpers. This left Constantius
finally as sole legitimate emperor and he moved quickly to suppress
Magnentius, an endeavor he eventually accomplished. The strife didn't
end there, however, as he still had to deal with other revolts and wars
on every corner of the empire. Caught in these never-ending battles he
died while on his way to battle Julian II. Flavius Iulius Constantius
was born atSirmium (nowSremska Mitrovica inSerbia) in province of
Pannonia, the third son ofConstantine the Great, and second by his
second wifeFausta, the daughter of Maximian. Constantius was madeCaesar
by his father on 13 November 324. When the elderConstantine died
atConstantinople on 22 May 337, Constantius was nearest of his sons to
that city, and despite being on campaign in the eastern provinces,
immediately returned to the city to oversee his father's funeral. The
Massacre of 337 The role of Constantius in the massacre of his relatives
(those descended from the second marriage of his paternal
grandfatherConstantius Chlorus andTheodora) is unclear.Zosimus, writing
498-518 claims that Constantius “caused” the soldiers to murder his
relatives, as opposed to actually ordering the action. Eutropius,
writing between 350 and 370, writes that Constantius merely sanctioned
“the act, rather than commanding it”. However, it must be noted that
both of these sources are hostile to Constantius - Zosimus being a
pagan,Eutropius a friend ofJulian, Constantius’ cousin and, ultimately,
his enemy. Whatever the case, Constantius himself, his older
brotherConstantine II, his younger brother Constans and three
cousins,Gallus, his half-brotherJulian andNepotianus, son ofEutropia,
were left as the only surviving males related to Constantine. Division
of the Empire Meeting at Sirmium not long after the massacre, the three
brothers proceeded to divide the Roman Empire among them, according to
their father's will. Constantine II receivedBritannia, Gaul and
Hispania; Constans (initially under the supervision of Constantine
II)Italia,Africa, Illyricum,Thrace,Macedon andAchaea; and Constantius
the East. Reign in the East There are few details of the early years of
Constantius' sole reign in the East. He seems to have spent most of his
time defending the eastern border against invasions by the
aggressiveSassanid Empire underShapur II. These conflicts seem to have
been mainly limited to Sassanid sieges of the various fortresses
(Nisibis,Singara, Constantia andAmida) of RomanMesopotamia, which
achieved little for either side. Although Shapur II seems to have been
victorious in most of the confrontations - except the Battle of
Narasara, where one ofShapur II's brothers, Narses, was killed - the
overall result must be considered a victory for Constantius
becauseShapur failed to make any significant gains. In the
meantime,Constantine II's desire to retain control ofConstans' realm had
lead Constantius' two surviving brothers into open conflict; resulting
in the death of the elder in 340. As a result, Constans took control of
his deceased elder brother’s realms and became sole ruler of the Western
two-thirds of the Empire. This division lasted until 350, when Constans
was killed in battle by forces loyal to theusurper Magnentius. War
against Magnentius This new state of affairs proved unacceptable to
Constantius, who felt that, as the only surviving son ofConstantine the
Great, the position ofEmperor was his alone. As such, he determined to
march west to enforce his claims. However, feeling that the east still
required some sort of imperial control, he elevated his
cousinConstantius Gallus to Caesar of the East. As an extra measure to
ensure the loyalty of his cousin, he married the elder of his two
sisters,Constantina, toGallus. Before facingMagnentius, Constantius
first came to terms withVetranio, a loyal Constantian general, who had
previously accepted the position of Augustus in order to retain the
loyalty of his troops, and probably to stop Magnentius from gaining more
support. This action may have been carried out at the urging of
Constantius’ own sister,Constantina, who had since traveled east to
marryGallus. Constantius for his own part had previously sentVetranio
the imperial diadem and acknowledged the general‘s new position.
However, when Constantius arrived,Vetranio willingly and gladly resigned
his position and accepted Constantius’ offer of a comfortable
retirement inBithynia. The following year, Constantius finally
metMagnentius in theBattle of Mursa Major, one of the bloodiest battles
in Roman history. The result was a defeat for the usurper, who withdrew
back to his Gaulish domains. As a result, the cities ofItaly switched
their allegiance to Constantius and ejected all ofMagnentius’ garrisons.
Constantius spent the early months of 352 on a campaign against
theSarmatians, before moving on to invadeItaly. When Constantius and
Magnentius finally met again, at theBattle of Mons Seleucus in southern
Gaul, Constantius once again emerged the victor. Soon after, Magnentius,
realising the futility of continuing his revolt, committed suicide 10
August 353. Sole Ruler of the Roman Empire Constantius spent much of the
rest of 353 and early 354 on campaign against theAlemanni on the
Danubian borders. The exact details of this campaign are uncertain,
though it seems to have ended with victory for Constantius. The Downfall
of Gallus In the meantime, Constantius had been receiving some
disturbing reports regarding the actions of his cousin,Gallus. Possibly
as a result of these reports, Constantius concluded a peace with
theAlemanni, and withdrew to Milan. Once there, he decided to first
callUrsicinus, Gallus’ magister equitum, to Milan for reasons that
remain unclear. Constantius then requested the presence ofGallus
andConstantina. Although at firstGallus andConstantina complied with
this order, whenConstantina died inBithynia,Gallus begun to hesitate.
However, after some convincing by one of Constantius’ agents, Gallus
continued his journey west, passing throughConstantinople andThrace to
Petobio in the province ofNoricum. It was there thatGallus was arrested
by the soldiers of Constantius under the command ofBarbatio. He was then
moved to Pola, and interrogated. Once there,Gallus claimed that it
wasConstantina who was to blame for all the trouble that had been caused
while he was in charge of the east. Apparently, at first, this so
greatly angered Constantius that he immediately ordered the death
ofGallus. However, soon after, he changed his mind, and recanted his
execution order. Unfortunately for Gallus, this order was delayed
byEusebius, one of Constantius‘ eunuchs, and, as a result,Gallus was
executed. More Usurpers and Julian Caesar On 11 August 355, themagister
militumClaudius Silvanus revolted in Gaul. Silvanus had surrendered to
Constantius after thebattle of Mursa Major. Constantius had made him
magister militum in 353, with the purpose of blocking the German
threats, a feat that Silvanus achieved by bribing the German tribes with
the money he had collected. A plot organized by members of Constantius'
court led the emperor to recall Silvanus. After Silvanus revolted, he
received a letter by Constantius that recalled him to Milan, but which
made no reference to the revolt.Ursicinus, who was meant to replace
Silvanus, bribed some troops, and Silvanus was killed. However,
Constantius realised that too many threats still faced the Empire, and
he could not possibly handle all of them by himself, so on 6 November
355, he elevated his last remaining relative, Julian, to the rank
ofCaesar. A few days later,Julian was married toHelena, the last
surviving sister of Constantius. Not long after Constantius sentJulian
off to Gaul. Constantius in the West and Return to the East Constantius
spent the next few years overseeing affairs in the western part of the
Empire primarily from his base atMilan. However, he also visited Rome -
for the first and only time in his life - in 357, and, in that same
year, he forced Sarmatian and Quadi invaders out ofPannonia and Moesia
Inferior, then led a successful campaign across the Danube against
theSarmatians and the Germanic Quadi tribe. Around 357/8, Constantius
received ambassadors fromShapur II, who demanded that Constantius
restore the lands surrendered byNarseh. Despite rejecting these terms,
Constantius still tried to avert war with theSassanid Empire by sending
two embassies toShapur II. As a result of Constantius' rejection of his
terms,Shapur II launched another invasion of Roman Mesopotamia. When
news reached Constantius that Shapur II had not only invaded Roman
territory, but takenAmida[46], destroyed Singara and taken Bezabde he
decided to return to there to face this re-emergent threat in 360. The
usurpation of Julian and Problems in the East In the meantime,Julian had
won some victories against theAlemanni tribe, who had once again
invadedRoman Gaul. As such, Constantius requested reinforcements
fromJulian for his own campaign against Shapur II. However, when he
requested reinforcements fromJulian’s Gaulish army, the Gaulish legions
revolted and proclaimedJulian Augustus. However, on account of the
immediate Sassanid threat, Constantius was unable to directly respond to
his cousin’s usurpation other than by sending missives by which he
tried to convince Julian to resign the title of Augustus and be
satisfied with that of Caesar. By 361, Constantius saw no alternative
but to face the usurper with violent force; and yet the threat of
theSassanids remained. Constantius had already spent part of early 361
unsuccessfully attempting to take the fortress ofBezabde. After a time,
he had withdrawn toAntioch to regroup, and prepare for a confrontation
withShapur II. However, as it turned out, the campaigns of the previous
year had inflicted such heavy losses on theSassanids that they did not
attempt another round of engagements in 361. This allowed Constantius to
turn his full attention to facing the usurpation ofJulian[55]. Death As
such, Constantius immediately gathered his forces and set off west.
However, by the time he reachedMopsuestia in Cicilia, it was clear that
he was fatally ill and would not survive to faceJulian. Apparently,
realising his death was near, Constantius had himself baptised by
Euzoius, theSemi-Arian bishop ofAntioch, and then declared that Julian
was his rightful successor. Constantius II died of fever on 3 November
361. Marriages and Children Constantius II was married three times:
First to adaughter of his half-uncleJulius Constantius, whose name is
unknown. She was a full-sister of Gallus and a half-sister of Julian.
She died c. 352/3. Second, to Eusebia, a woman ofMacedonian origin from
the city ofThessaloniki, whom he married before Constantius' defeat of
Magnentius in 353. She died in 360. Third and lastly, in 360, toFaustina
(empress), who gave birth to Constantius' only child, a posthumous
daughter namedFlavia Maxima Constantia, who later married
EmperorGratian. Religious Issues Constantius seems to have had a
particular interest in the religious state of theRoman Empire. As
aChristianRoman Emperor, Constantius made a concerted effort to
promoteChristianity at the expense ofRoman polytheism (‘paganism’). As
such, over the course of his reign, he issued a number of different
edicts designed specifically to carry out this agenda (see below).
Constantius also took an active part in attempting to shape the
Christian church. Paganism under Constantius In spite of the some of the
edicts issued by Constantius, it should be recognised that he was not
fanatically anti-pagan - he never made any attempt to disband the
various Roman priestly colleges or theVestal Virgins, he never acted
against the various pagan schools, and, at times, he actually even made
some effort to protect paganism. Also, most notably, he remainedpontifex
maximus until his death, and was actually deified by the Roman Senate
after his death. The relative moderation of Constantius' actions toward
paganism is reflected by the fact that it was not until over 20 years
after Constantius' death, during the reign ofGratian, that any pagan
senators protested their religion's treatment. Christianity under
Constantius Although often considered anArian, Constantius ultimately
preferred a third, compromise version that lay somewhere in between
Arianism and theNicaean Creed, retrospectively
calledSemi-Arianism[61][62]. As such, during his reign, Constantius made
a concerted attempt to mold the Christian church to follow this
compromise position, and to this end, he convened several Christian
councils during his reign, the most notable of which were one atRimini
and its twin atSeleuca, which met in 359 and 360 respectively.
"Unfortunately for his memory the theologians whose advice he took were
ultimately discredited and the malcontents whom he pressed to conform
emerged victorious," writes the historianA.H.M. Jones. "The great
councils of 359-60 are therefore not reckonedecumenical in the tradition
of the church, and Constantius II is not remembered as a restorer of
unity, but as aheretic who arbitrarily imposed his will on the church."
Judaism under Constantius Judaism faced some severe restrictions under
Constantius, who seems to have followed an anti-Jewish policy in line
with that of his father. Early in his reign, Constantius issued a double
edict in concert with his brothers limiting the ownership of slaves by
Jewish people and banning marriages between Jews and Christian women. A
later edict (issued by Constantius after becoming soleEmperor) decreed
that a person who was proven to have converted from Christianity to
Judaism would have their entire property confiscated by the state.
Authenticity guaranteed.