Roman usurpers were individuals or groups of individuals who obtained or tried to obtain power by force and without legitimate legal authority. Usurpation was endemic during the Roman imperial era, especially from the crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became the rule.
82-622: P. C. Regalianus (died 260/261), also known as Regalian , was Roman usurper for a few months in 260 and/or 261, during the Crisis of the Third Century , a period of intense political instability in the Roman Empire . Regalianus was acclaimed emperor by the troops along the Danube river, a region of the empire that frequently experienced barbarian raids, probably in the hope that he might be able to secure
164-515: A certain number of legions, according to the degree of pacification that they required. Thus, the governors of, for instance, Moesia or Pannonia in the Danubian border had huge military contingents on their hands. The greater the number of legions a provincial governor had, the greater the temptation to make a bid to the throne. And indeed, most usurpation attempts came from the Asian province of Syria, and
246-453: A large army. The ensuing Battle of Mursa Major was one of the largest and bloodiest battles ever between two Roman armies. The result was a victory for Constantius, but a costly one. Magnentius survived the battle and, determined to fight on, withdrew into northern Italy. Rather than pursuing his opponent, however, Constantius turned his attention to securing the Danubian border, where he spent
328-462: A large grouping of Roman legions ; or prefects of the Praetorian Guard, which had control of Rome , where the imperial palace still lay. The danger of usurpation was greater after the death of an emperor when his successor was not accepted by all provinces. Usually, the legions acclaimed their own commander as emperor on news of the accession of a less popular man. The acclaimed emperor, usually
410-452: A letter from Constantius recalling 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. Constantius realised that too many threats still faced the Empire, however, and he could not possibly handle all of them by himself. So on 6 November 355, he elevated his last remaining male relative, Julian , to
492-536: A major refortification of the city, enhancing the city's circuit walls and constructing large towers. He also built a new stronghold in the hinterland nearby, naming it Antinopolis . In early 337, Constantius hurried to Constantinople after receiving news that his father was near death. After Constantine died, Constantius buried him with lavish ceremony in the Church of the Holy Apostles . Soon after his father's death,
574-456: A natural death (from the plague ). However, there were also 38 usurpers who raised revolts across the empire, a clear sign that the security of the frontiers was not the only problem within the Roman world. Usurpation attempts were a constant worry for the emperors in this period since it was a too-common method of acceding the throne. Successful usurpers were usually provincial governors; commanders of
656-421: A neighbouring region. This information cannot be regarded as reliable, especially given that it is anachronistic: the position of dux Illyrici did not yet exist at the time of Regalianus. Given his wife's high rank, it is more likely that Regalianus was a provincial governor, perhaps of Pannonia Superior . These provinces along the Danube suffered from frequent barbarian raids, which often left them at odds with
738-439: A posthumous daughter named Constantia , who later married Emperor Gratian . 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 According to DiMaio and Frakes, “...Constantius is hard for the modern historian to fully understand both due to his own actions and due to
820-523: A priest for Africa. Also, he remained pontifex maximus and was deified by the Roman Senate after his death. His relative moderation toward paganism is reflected by the fact that it was over twenty years after his death, during the reign of Gratian , that any pagan senator protested his treatment of their religion. Although often considered an Arian , Constantius ultimately preferred a third, compromise version that lay somewhere in between Arianism and
902-421: A provincial governor, would then march to Italy or where the opponent was stationed to contest for the purple. However, since legionaries disliked fighting against their brothers in arms, battles between legions rarely transpired. Two main factors decided the success of a usurpation attempt: the loyalty of the legionaries, which were heavily dependent on the amount of booty or monetary prizes promised on victory, and
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#1732877180905984-776: A result of these reports, Constantius concluded a peace with the Alamanni and traveled to Mediolanum ( Milan ). In Mediolanum, Constantius first summoned Ursicinus , Gallus's magister equitum , for reasons that remain unclear. Constantius then summoned Gallus and Constantina. Although Gallus and Constantina complied with the order at first, when Constantina died in Bithynia , Gallus began to hesitate. However, after some convincing by one of Constantius's agents, Gallus continued his journey west, passing through Constantinople and Thrace to Poetovio ( Ptuj ) in Pannonia . In Poetovio, Gallus
1066-487: A second praenomen Gaius (which was traditionally shorted archaically as "C." for "Caius" as it was originally spelled). Charles Theodore Beauvais de Preau believed based on engravings of coins by Hendrick Goltzius that his named was "Quintus Nonius Regillianus" but Joseph Hilarius von Eckhel thought that they instead belonged to some other Princeps and that the coins were the result of ignorant moneyers who failed to make legible coins, John Yonge Akerman noted that
1148-707: A successful counter-attack across the Danube. In the winter of 357–58, Constantius received ambassadors from Shapur II who demanded that Rome restore the lands surrendered by Narseh . Despite rejecting these terms, Constantius tried to avert war with the Sassanid Empire by sending two embassies to Shapur II. Shapur II nevertheless launched another invasion of Roman Mesopotamia. In 360, when news reached Constantius that Shapur II had destroyed Singara ( Sinjar ), and taken Kiphas ( Hasankeyf ), Amida (Diyarbakır), and Ad Tigris ( Cizre ), he decided to travel east to face
1230-451: A usurper, is an example of that kind. Other usurpers, like Philip the Arab , became emperor by a planned murder directed at an established sovereign (in that case, Gordian III ). However successful, the usurpation procedure always left the new emperor in a somewhat fragile political position since the throne had been attained by violent means. The danger of another usurper was always present, and
1312-616: Is unlikely to be true, and it is more likely that Regalianus was a Roman of senatorial rank , given that he was married to Sulpicia Dryantilla , a woman of a prestigious senatorial family. The full name of Regalianus, P. C. Regalianus, only appears on his coinage, with literary sources referring to him only as Regalianus. Some ancient historians even got this name wrong: Eutropius (late fourth century) called him 'Trebellianus' and Aurelius Victor (also late fourth century) called him 'Regillianus', 'Religilianus' and 'Religianus'. Aurelius Victor's misspellings might reflect deliberate distortion or
1394-597: The magister militum Claudius Silvanus revolted in Gaul. Silvanus had surrendered to Constantius after the Battle 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's court led the emperor to recall Silvanus. After Silvanus revolted, he received
1476-575: The Nicene Creed , retrospectively called Semi-Arianism . During his reign he attempted to mold the Christian church to follow this compromise position, convening several Christian councils. "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 historian A. H. M. Jones . "The great councils of 359–60 are therefore not reckoned ecumenical in
1558-500: The Roman Empire went through repeated civil wars, court intrigues, and usurpations . His religious policies inflamed domestic conflicts that would continue after his death. Constantius was a son of Constantine the Great , who elevated him to the imperial rank of Caesar on 8 November 324 and after whose death Constantius became Augustus together with his brothers, Constantine II and Constans on 9 September 337. He promptly oversaw
1640-498: The Roxolani , possibly aided by a contingent of his men who had grown to oppose him. Very little of Regalianus' life and career is recorded in surviving literary sources. The often unreliable Historia Augusta , a late Roman collection of imperial biographies, records that Regalianus was of Dacian origin, and a descendant of Decebalus , the king of Dacia who had been defeated with great effort by emperor Trajan in 105–107. This story
1722-438: The apostate's property. However, Constantius's actions in this regard may not have been so much to do with Jewish religion as with Jewish business—apparently, privately owned Jewish businesses were often in competition with state-owned businesses. As a result, Constantius may have sought to provide an advantage to state-owned businesses by limiting the skilled workers and slaves available to Jewish businesses. On 11 August 355,
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#17328771809051804-473: The 3rd century had profound effects in the empire's bureaucratic and military organisation. Fear of potential rivals was to be the main driving force for the evolution of the Roman world from the early to the late Empire. One of the most striking changes was the division and multiplication of the Roman provinces . Provinces were ruled by a governor, whether a proconsul , propraetor or procurator , and were ascribed
1886-630: The East, the Persian Empire grew bolder in its attacks on the Roman communities. Moreover, since individual initiative was a common way to assume the imperial purple, the giving of important commands to competent generals was asking for trouble. Jealousy and fear often prevented the presence of the right man to deal with a specific threat, and so marginal provinces were often raided, sacked or conquered. The only usurpers whose early life and specific circumstances of rebellion are known with reasonable certainty are
1968-565: The Hungarian archaeologist Jenő Fitz in 1966, is that Regalianus was killed in a raid by the Roxolani, perhaps working together with some of his own men, after bravely having fought the rebelling tribe for some time. Other accounts include that Regalianus was murdered exclusively by his own troops as the Illyrian provincial population were afraid of retribution from Gallienus ( Historia Augusta ) or that he
2050-609: The Rhine and Danube provinces, frontier provinces with large military presence. Thus, provinces were slowly divided into smaller units to avoid concentration of power and military capacity in the hands of one man. Syria is a perfect example: a single province in AD 14, it was in the mid-3rd century divided into four different administrative regions: Tres Daciae, Cappadocia, Syria Coele and Syria Palestina. Similarly, Moesia and Pannonia were divided into Superior and Inferior (Upper and Lower) halves; Dardania
2132-408: The action of Constantina, who had since traveled east to marry Gallus. Constantius subsequently sent Vetranio the imperial diadem and acknowledged the general's new position as augustus . However, when Constantius arrived, Vetranio willingly resigned his position and accepted Constantius's offer of a comfortable retirement in Bithynia . In 351, Constantius clashed with Magnentius in Pannonia with
2214-507: The army massacred his relatives descended from the marriage of his paternal grandfather Constantius Chlorus to Flavia Maximiana Theodora , though the details are unclear. Two of Constantius's uncles ( Julius Constantius and Flavius Dalmatius ) and seven of his cousins were killed, including Hannibalianus and Dalmatius , rulers of Pontus and Moesia respectively, leaving Constantius, his two brothers Constantine II and Constans , and three cousins Gallus , Julian and Nepotianus as
2296-531: The assassination of his second son, Domitian . Throughout most of the 2nd century, the empire enjoyed relative stability under the rule of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty , but the next century would be characterised by endemic political instability, one of the factors that eventually contributed to the fall of the Western Roman Empire . Commodus , the last emperor of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty dynasty,
2378-453: The brothers into open conflict. Constantine was killed in 340 near Aquileia during an ambush. As a result, Constans took control of his deceased brother's realms and became sole ruler of the Western two-thirds of the empire. This division lasted until January 350, when Constans was assassinated by forces loyal to the usurper Magnentius . Constantius was determined to march west to fight
2460-448: The central imperial government. Shortly prior to Regalianus' own claim to imperial power, the usurper Ingenuus had been proclaimed in the region in 260, but he had quickly been defeated by the reigning emperor, Gallienus ( r. 253–268). It is not clear how much time transpired between the revolt of Ingenuus and Regalianus' own acclamation, or if Regalianus was involved in the preceding revolt, though most scholars agree that there
2542-430: The city of Nisibis under siege. Despite initial success, Shapur lifted his siege after his army missed an opportunity to exploit a collapsed wall. When Constantius learned of Shapur's withdrawal from Roman territory, he prepared his army for a counter-attack. Constantius repeatedly defended the eastern border against invasions by the Sassanid Empire under Shapur. These conflicts were mainly limited to Sassanid sieges of
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2624-463: The defenses along the Danube, but had to return to Italy to deal with an invasion by the Alemanni , a Germanic tribe. Shortly after he departed, the Roxolani , a Sarmatian tribe that Gallienus had re-settled within the imperial borders in the Danube region, rebelled and attacked Regalianus' forces, whereafter Regalianus retreated to the city of Carnuntum . It was only after these events that Regalianus
2706-619: The early months of 352 campaigning against the Sarmatians along the middle Danube . After achieving his aims, Constantius advanced on Magnentius in Italy. This action led the cities of Italy to switch their allegiance to him and eject the usurper's garrisons. Again, Magnentius withdrew, this time to southern Gaul . In 353, Constantius and Magnentius met for the final time at the Battle of Mons Seleucus in southern Gaul, and again Constantius emerged
2788-486: The east in 360 to restore stability after the loss of several border fortresses. However, Julian claimed the rank of Augustus in 360, leading to war between the two after Constantius's attempts to persuade Julian to back down failed. No battle was fought, as Constantius became ill and died of fever on 3 November 361 in Mopsuestia , allegedly naming Julian as his rightful successor before his death. Flavius Julius Constantius
2870-530: The empire. Legio II Parthica , which was garrisoned in the Alban mountains outside Rome from the time of Septimius Severus, was among the first comitatenses created. Men had to be removed from the frontier garrisons to create the internal legions. A smaller number of border legions meant less-secure borders and eventually, raids from the Germanic and Gothic tribes against the Rhine and the Danube became more frequent. In
2952-475: The first measures taken were inevitably to put trusted men into important commands. Frequently, the emperor embellished his ancestry and early life to enhance his credibility or the right to the throne. Mentions of obscure genealogical relations with previous popular emperors were common and certainly confused historians. However, most of all, the usurper maneuvered to keep his legions happy since he owed his power to their continued loyalty. The usurpation mania of
3034-565: The frontier. Accounts by surviving literary sources concerning Regalianus are brief and few in number, and are mostly considered unreliable. The Historia Augusta relates that he was of Dacian descent, and a descendant of the Dacian king Decebalus , but this is mostly rejected in modern scholarship. Regalianus was married to Sulpicia Dryantilla , a woman from a prestigious senatorial family, which instead points to Regalianus also being of high-ranking Roman descent. Regalianus' acclamation as emperor
3116-548: The hands of unsympathetic authors, ecclesiastical and civil alike. To orthodox churchmen he was a bigoted supporter of the Arian heresy, to Julian the Apostate and the many who have subsequently taken his part he was a murderer, a tyrant and inept as a ruler". They go on to add, "Most contemporaries seem in fact to have held him in high esteem, and he certainly inspired loyalty in a way his brother could not". Eutropius wrote of him, He
3198-399: The interests of the authors of primary sources for his reign.” A. H. M. Jones writes that he "appears in the pages of Ammianus as a conscientious emperor but a vain and stupid man, an easy prey to flatterers. He was timid and suspicious, and interested persons could easily play on his fears for their own advantage." However, Kent and M. and A. Hirmer suggest that the emperor "has suffered at
3280-490: The invincibility of the emperor or added by later writers to embellish their own prose. Constantius II Constantius II ( Latin : Flavius Julius Constantius ; Ancient Greek : Κωνστάντιος , romanized : Kōnstántios ; 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 peoples , while internally
3362-471: The latter battle, leaving Constantius as sole ruler of the empire. In 351, Constantius elevated his cousin Constantius Gallus to the subordinate rank of Caesar to rule in the east, but had him executed three years later after receiving scathing reports of his violent and corrupt nature. Shortly thereafter, in 355, Constantius promoted his last surviving cousin, Gallus's younger half-brother Julian , to
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3444-690: The major fortresses of Roman Mesopotamia , including Nisibis ( Nusaybin ), Singara , and Amida ( Diyarbakir ). Although Shapur seems to have been victorious in most of these confrontations, the Sassanids were able to achieve little. However, the Romans won a decisive victory at the Battle of Narasara, killing Shapur's brother, Narses. Ultimately, Constantius was able to push back the invasion, and Shapur failed to make any significant gains. Meanwhile, Constantine II desired to retain control of Constans's realm, leading
3526-595: The massacre being a planned attack rather than a spontaneous mutiny - the lack of high-profile punishments as a response, the sparing of all women, the attempted damnatio memoriae on the deceased, and the exile of the survivors Gallus and Julian. Soon after, Constantius met his brothers in Pannonia at Sirmium to formalize the partition of the empire. Constantius received the eastern provinces, including Constantinople, Thrace , Asia Minor , Syria , Egypt , and Cyrenaica ; Constantine received Britannia , Gaul , Hispania , and Mauretania ; and Constans, initially under
3608-433: The massacre of his father-in-law , an uncle , and several cousins, consolidating his hold on power. The brothers divided the empire among themselves, with Constantius receiving Greece , Thrace , the Asian provinces, and Egypt in the east. For the following decade a costly and inconclusive war against Persia took most of Constantius's time and attention. In the meantime, his brothers Constantine and Constans warred over
3690-402: The new minting failed to give the coin a visible legend at all. Owing to his brief rule, only a small number of coins (just over 130) minted by Regalianus have been found. Most of them are today in private coin collections. How Regalianus was defeated and died is unclear, given that different sources give different answers. The generally accepted theory concerning Regalianus' demise, forwarded by
3772-413: The ones who would become emperors. The unsuccessful usurpation attempts inevitably ended with the rebel's execution, murder or suicide and the subsequent erasure of his life from all records. That often causes confusion in the contemporaneous sources that are contradictory in the details of a certain rebellion. For instance, the usurper Uranius is placed by some in the reign of Elagabalus and by others in
3854-420: The only surviving male relatives of Constantine the Great. While the “official version” was that Constantius's relatives were merely the victims of a mutinous army, Ammianus Marcellinus , Zosimus , Libanius , Athanasius and Julian all blamed Constantius for the event. Burgess considered the latter version to be “consistent with all the evidence,” pointing to multiple factors that he believed lined up with
3936-582: The other hand, a man capable of sustaining a rebellion for a couple of months in a remote area might fail to produce his own coins by lack of access to the instruments of minting technology. Later assessment of usurpations demonstrated that some are questionable or even fictitious. Gallienus was the emperor who suffered greatest number of usurpations, with a record of 14 attempts (excluding the Gallic Empire secession) in 15 years of rule. However, three of these are clear fabrications, either contemporaneous to show
4018-508: The people to Christianity . According to the report, Theophilus succeeded in establishing three churches, one of them in the capital Zafar . Judaism faced some severe restrictions under Constantius, who seems to have followed an anti-Jewish policy in line with that of his father. This included edicts to limit the ownership of slaves by Jewish people and banning marriages between Jews and Christian women. Later edicts sought to discourage conversions from Christianity to Judaism by confiscating
4100-527: The previous year had inflicted heavy losses on the Sassanids, however, and they did not attempt another round of campaigns that year. This temporary respite in hostilities allowed Constantius to turn his full attention to facing Julian. Constantius immediately gathered his forces and set off west. However, by the time he reached Mopsuestia in Cilicia, it was clear that he was fatally ill and would not survive to face Julian. The sources claim that realising his death
4182-502: The pronunciation of his name in Vulgar Latin . Given the scarcity of the source material, Regalianus' full name cannot be ascertained beyond the abbreviated two first names. It is possible that the P stands for the praenomen Publius . The C might stand for the nomen Cassius, given that Regalianus could be related to the earlier suffect consul C. Cassius Regallianus , Cornelius or Claudius, but it has also been suggested to stand for
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#17328771809054264-492: The rank of Augusta to bolster his position. Most, but not all, of Regalianus' coins have the formula AUGG . (implying two rulers, rather than AUG ., which implies one) as part of their reverse legend. The plural AUGG . was likely intentional, but the intended meaning is not clear. It is more likely that it refers to the partnership between Regalianus and his wife Dryantilla, rather than to some partnership between Regalianus and Gallienus. Paul Pearson has speculated instead that
4346-586: The rank of Caesar . As emperor, Constantius promoted Arianism , banned pagan sacrifices, and issued laws against Jews . His military campaigns against Germanic tribes were successful: he defeated the Alamanni in 354 and campaigned across the Danube against the Quadi and Sarmatians in 357. The war against the Sasanians, which had been in a lull since 350, erupted with renewed intensity in 359 and Constantius travelled to
4428-461: The rank of caesar . A few days later, Julian was married to Helena , the last surviving sister of Constantius. Constantius soon sent Julian off to Gaul. Constantius spent the next few years overseeing affairs in the western part of the empire primarily from his base at Mediolanum. In April–May 357 he visited Rome for the only time in his life. The same year, he forced Sarmatian and Quadi invaders out of Pannonia and Moesia Inferior , then led
4510-544: The re-emergent threat. In the meantime, Julian had won some victories against the Alamanni , who had once again invaded Roman Gaul . However, when Constantius requested reinforcements from Julian's army for the eastern campaign, the Gallic legions revolted and proclaimed Julian augustus . On account of the immediate Sassanid threat, Constantius was unable to directly respond to his cousin's usurpation, other than by sending missives in which he tried to convince Julian to resign
4592-530: The standard of the cross described to be on the mint makes dates them to a later period, his opinion was that this supposed "Nonius" would have been a usurper during the reign of Constantius II . The Historia Augusta states that Regalianus was a military commander, dux , in Illyricum , promoted to this post by emperor Valerian ( r. 253–260) but also that he was proclaimed emperor by his troops in Moesia ,
4674-416: The supervision of Constantine II, received Italy , Africa , Illyricum , Pannonia , Macedonia , and Achaea . Constantius then hurried east to Antioch to resume the war with Persia . While Constantius was away from the eastern frontier in early 337, King Shapur II assembled a large army, which included war elephants, and launched an attack on Roman territory, laying waste to Mesopotamia and putting
4756-454: The third century, such as Septimius Severus and Maximinus Thrax . Stylistically, Regalianus' coins imitate the coins of the Licinian emperors (Valerian and Gallienus), though they are of lower quality, often in a very rough style and with spelling errors. Some of the coins were so hastily made that the legends of the prior emperor who originally minted the coin is still partially visible, or that
4838-552: The throne. Although initially a usurper, Severus managed to remain in power for the next 18 years and died a natural death while he was campaigning in northern Britain . The 235 death of Severus Alexander , the last emperor of the Severan dynasty , triggered what historians call the Crisis of the Third Century . From 235 to the accession of Diocletian and the establishment of the Tetrarchy in 286, Rome saw 28 emperors, only two of whom had
4920-517: The time of Gallienus . Every new emperor, either legal or illegal, marked the beginning of his rule by minting new coins, both to have the prestige of declaring oneself as Augustus and to pay the loyal soldiers their share. Thus, coinage is often the only evidence of a determined usurpation, but the number of coin types with the effigy of a usurper might not be equal to the total number of usurpations. The presence of minting facilities certainly allowed short-term usurpers to release their coinage, but on
5002-472: The title of augustus and be satisfied with that of caesar . By 361, Constantius saw no alternative but to face the usurper with force, and yet the threat of the Sassanids remained. Constantius had already spent part of early 361 unsuccessfully attempting to re-take the fortress of Ad Tigris. After a time he had withdrawn to Antioch to regroup and prepare for a confrontation with Shapur II . The campaigns of
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#17328771809055084-615: The tradition of the church, and Constantius II is not remembered as a restorer of unity, but as a heretic who arbitrarily imposed his will on the church." According to the Greek historian Philostorgius (d. 439) in his Ecclesiastical History , Constantius sent an Arian bishop known as Theophilus the Indian (also known as "Theophilus of Yemen") to Tharan Yuhanim , then the king of the South Arabian Himyarite Kingdom to convert
5166-441: The trust of the military abilities of the commander upon which depended morale. Failure of either part to fulfill one or two of the criteria normally resulted in a mutiny and the death at the hands of their own soldiers. Since the emperors had the status quo and political credibility behind them, the usurper had to be a charismatic man to avoid doubts in his ranks and an untimely death. Valerian I , who defeated Aemilianus , himself
5248-537: The two might have had a son whom they promoted to co-Augustus. Regalianus' acclamation as emperor and later governance in the Danube region was actually beneficial to Gallienus, as it provided the invading Roxolani with a new focus for opposition and allowed Gallienus time to deal with the immediate threat presented by the Alemanni invasion in Italy. All of Regalianus' coins were minted at Carnuntum, and they are all overstruck issues, struck on coins minted by earlier emperors of
5330-670: The usurper. However, feeling that the east still required some sort of imperial presence, he elevated his cousin Constantius Gallus to caesar of the eastern provinces. As an extra measure to ensure the loyalty of his cousin, he married the elder of his two sisters, Constantina , to him. Before facing Magnentius, Constantius first came to terms with Vetranio , a loyal general in Illyricum who had recently been acclaimed emperor by his soldiers. Vetranio immediately sent letters to Constantius pledging his loyalty, which Constantius may have accepted simply in order to stop Magnentius from gaining more support. These events may have been spurred by
5412-480: The victor. Magnentius, realizing the futility of continuing his position, committed suicide on 10 August 353. Constantius spent much of the rest of 353 and early 354 on campaign against the Alamanni on the Danube frontier. The campaign was successful and raiding by the Alamanni ceased temporarily. In the meantime, Constantius had been receiving disturbing reports regarding the actions of his cousin Gallus. Possibly as
5494-454: The war, Constantine fell ill and sent Constantius east to take command of the eastern frontier. Before Constantius arrived, the Persian general Narses, who was possibly the king's brother, overran Mesopotamia and captured Amida . Constantius promptly attacked Narses, and after suffering minor setbacks defeated and killed Narses at the Battle of Narasara. Constantius captured Amida and initiated
5576-477: The western provinces of the empire, leaving the former dead in 340 and the latter as sole ruler of the west. The two remaining brothers maintained an uneasy peace with each other until, in 350, Constans was overthrown and assassinated by the usurper Magnentius . Unwilling to accept Magnentius as co-ruler, Constantius waged a civil war against the usurper, defeating him at the battles of Mursa Major in 351 and Mons Seleucus in 353. Magnentius died by suicide after
5658-424: Was a man of a remarkably tranquil disposition, good-natured, trusting too much to his friends and courtiers, and at last too much in the power of his wives. He conducted himself with great moderation in the commencement of his reign; he enriched his friends, and suffered none, whose active services he had experienced, to go unrewarded. He was however somewhat inclined to severity, whenever any suspicion of an attempt on
5740-466: Was acclaimed emperor by his troops. It is likely that the legionaries of Legio XIV Gemina , which was stationed at Carnuntum, supported the accession of Regalianus as they hoped he could help secure the Danube border. Unlike Ingenuus before him, Regalianus minted his own coins at a mint he himself established at Carnuntum, a revolutionary move for an imperial claimant. In addition to his own portrait, Regalianus' coins also depict his wife, whom he raised to
5822-406: Was an extended hiatus between them. This makes it unclear when exactly Regalianus was acclaimed emperor and also, given that he held out for several months, when he died. He was proclaimed emperor either late in 260 or in 261, and his claim to imperial power ended with his defeat and death after several months, either in 260 or 261. After defeating Ingenuus, Gallienus had spent some time reorganising
5904-444: Was arrested by the soldiers of Constantius under the command of Barbatio . Gallus was then moved to Pola and interrogated. Gallus claimed that it was Constantina who was to blame for all the trouble while he was in charge of the eastern provinces. This angered Constantius so greatly that he immediately ordered Gallus's execution. He soon changed his mind, however, and recanted the order. Unfortunately for Gallus, this second order
5986-459: Was beneficial for Gallienus, as it allowed the emperor to focus his attention on defending Italy from an invasion by the Alemanni while Regalianus was occupied fighting the barbarians in Illyria . After a brief "rule" of several months at Carnuntum, Regalianus was killed. How exactly he met his end is not entirely clear, but the most commonly accepted theory is that he died during a raid of Carnuntum by
6068-485: Was born in 317 at Sirmium , Pannonia , now Serbia . He was the third son of Constantine the Great , and second by his second wife Fausta , the daughter of Maximian . Constantius was made caesar by his father on 8 November 324. In 336, religious unrest in Armenia and tense relations between Constantine and king Shapur II caused war to break out between Rome and Sassanid Persia . Though he made initial preparations for
6150-569: Was defeated and killed by Gallienus (Eutropius). Roman usurper The first dynasty of the Roman Empire, the Julio-Claudian dynasty (27 BC – 68 AD), justified the imperial throne with familial ties through adoption . However, conflicts within the family led to the demise of the line. Nero committed suicide in 68 as an enemy of the people , resulting in a brief civil war . The Flavian dynasty started with Vespasian , only to end with
6232-590: Was delayed by Eusebius , one of Constantius's eunuchs, and Gallus was executed. Laws dating from the 350s prescribed the death penalty for those who performed or attended pagan sacrifices , and for the worshipping of idols . Pagan temples were shut down, and the Altar of Victory was removed from the Senate meeting house. There were also frequent episodes of ordinary Christians destroying, pillaging and desecrating many ancient pagan temples, tombs and monuments. Paganism
6314-425: Was in the wake of a previous usurpation attempt by Ingenuus , also proclaimed by the Danube troops, that had been defeated by emperor Gallienus ( r. 253–268). Unlike Ingenuus, and revolutionary for an imperial claimant, Regalianus founded his own mint at Carnuntum , his seat of power. He minted coins of himself and his wife, though they were typically of poor quality. Regalianus' local usurpation of power
6396-427: Was later separated from Moesia and Pannonia was further divided into Prima, Valeria, Savia and Secunda. As the fear of civil war increased, the emperor felt the need of legions permanently in his reach to be deployed against possible internal threats. That caused the geographic division of the army into limitanei legions, which remained in the borders, and comitatenses , which were stationed in strategic points within
6478-466: Was married three times: First to a daughter of his half-uncle Julius 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 of Macedonian origin, originally from the city of Thessalonica , whom Constantius married before his defeat of Magnentius in 353. She died before 361. Third and lastly, in 361, to Faustina , who gave birth to Constantius's only child,
6560-537: Was near, Constantius had himself baptised by Euzoius, the Semi-Arian bishop of Antioch , and then declared that Julian was his rightful successor. Constantius II died of fever on 3 November 361. Like Constantine the Great, he was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles , in a porphyry sarcophagus that was described in the 10th century by Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in the De Ceremoniis . Constantius II
6642-454: Was remembered by contemporaneous chronicles as an unpopular ruler notorious for his extravagance and cruelty, and he was assassinated in 192. Without sons to be his heir, a struggle for power immediately broke out among the governors of the most important provinces. Pertinax was elevated to the purple and recognized by his peers, but after his murder by a restive Praetorian Guard , Septimius Severus decided to make his bid for power and usurped
6724-470: Was still popular among the population at the time. The emperor's policies were passively resisted by many governors and magistrates. In spite of this, Constantius never made any attempt to disband the various Roman priestly colleges or the Vestal Virgins . He never acted against the various pagan schools. At times, he actually made some effort to protect paganism. In fact, he even ordered the election of
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