Constantine and the succession. Like Diocletian, Constantine realized the necessity of having more than a single ruler for the empire, but he determined to choose his associates from the members of his own household. Accordingly, following Crispus and Constantine, his younger sons, Constantius and Constans, were given the title of Caesar, while Licinianus, the son of Licinius, was gotten rid of in 326. In the same year Crispus was also put to death. The cause of his fall is uncertain. It involved the death of his stepmother, Fausta, the mother of Constantine’s other sons. Ultimately, the three surviving Caesars were set over approximately equal portions of the empire. In 335 Constantine the younger governed Britain, Gaul and Illyricum; Constans ruled Italy, Africa and Pannonia; and Constantius was in control of Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt. In that year Constantine appointed as a fourth Caesar his nephew, Delmatius, to whom he intended to entrust the government of Thrace, Macedonia and Achaea. At the same time, Annabalianus, a brother of Delmatius, was designated as the future ruler of Pontus and Armenia, with the title of King of Kings.
Constantine’s Christianity. Constantine died in May, 337 A. D. shortly after having been baptized into the Christian church. Although his mother, Helena, was a Christian, it seems improbable that Constantine himself was from the first an adherent of that faith. On the whole, one may say that his attitude towards Christianity was determined largely by political rather than religious convictions. However, his mother’s influence and his father’s toleration of Christianity doubtless predisposed him to consider the Christians with favor. He soon sought the support of the Christians on political grounds, and his successes over his rivals seem to have confirmed him in this policy. Finally, he appears to have seen in Christianity the religion best suited to a universal faith for the empire. However, Constantine himself did not raise Christianity to that position, although he prepared the way to this end. Although he forbade the performance of private sacrifices and magical rites, in other respects he adhered faithfully to his policy of religious toleration. He took the title of pontifex maximus, maintained the imperial cult, and until [pg 325]330 issued coins with the image of the Sun-god, with whom the emperor was often identified. His designation of Sunday as a general holiday in 321 was in full accord with this policy of toleration, for although this was the day celebrated by the Christians as “the Lord’s day,” as the “day of the Sun” it could be celebrated by pagans also. Nevertheless, he exhibited an ever-increasing personal leaning towards Christianity, and granted special privileges to the Christian clergy. He caused his sons to be brought up as Christians, and really established a special relation between the emperor and the church. For his services to the cause of Christianity he well merited the title of “the Great,” bestowed upon him by Christian historians.
III. The Dynasty of Constantine: 337–363 a. d.
Constantine II, Constans and Constantius, 337–340 A. D. Constantine’s plans for the succession were thwarted by the troops at Constantinople, who, instigated, as was said, by Constantius, refused to acknowledge any other rulers than the sons of Constantine and put to death the rest of his relatives, with the exception of his two youthful nephews, Gallus and Julian. Constantius and his two brothers then declared themselves Augusti and divided the empire. Constantine II received Spain, Gaul and Britain, Constantius Thrace, Egypt and the Orient, while the youngest, Constans, took the central dioceses, Africa, Italy and Illyricum. However, this arrangement endured only for a brief time. The peace was broken by Constantine, who encroached upon the territory of Constans, and affected to play the rôle of the senior Augustus. However, he was defeated and killed at Aquileia by the troops of Constans, who annexed his dominions.
Constantius and Constans, 340–350 A. D. The joint rule of Constantius and Constans lasted for ten years. The latter showed himself an energetic sovereign and maintained peace in the western part of the empire. At length, however, his harshness and personal vices cost him the loyalty of his own officers, who caused him to be deposed in favor of Magnentius, an officer of Frankish origin (350 A. D.). And while Magnentius secured recognition in Italy and the West, the army in Illyricum raised its commander, Vetranio, to the purple.
Constantius sole emperor, 350–360 A. D. From 338 A. D. Constantius had been engaged in an almost perpetual but indecisive [pg 326]struggle with Sapor II, king of Persia, over the possession of Mesopotamia and Armenia. It was not until late in 350 that he was able to leave the eastern frontier to attempt to reëstablish the authority of his house in the West. He soon came to an agreement with Vetranio, who seems to have accepted the title of Augustus solely to save Illyricum from Magnentius. Vetranio passed into honorable retirement, but when Constantius refused to recognize Magnentius as Augustus the latter marched eastwards to enforce his claims. He was defeated in a desperate battle at Mursa in Pannonia (351 A. D.), where the victory was won by the mailed horsemen of Constantius, who from this time onwards formed the most effective arm in the Roman service. In the next year Constantius recovered Italy, and in 353 invaded Gaul, whereupon Magnentius took his own life.
Gallus, Caesar, 351–4 A. D. Constantius had no son, and so to strengthen his position, he made his cousin, Gallus, Caesar and placed him in charge of the Orient when he set out to meet Magnentius in 351 A. D. But Gallus soon showed himself unworthy of his office. His mistreatment of the representatives of the emperor sent to investigate his conduct caused him to be suspected of treasonable ambitions, and he was recalled and put to death in 354 A. D.
Julian, Caesar, 335 A. D. However, Constantius still found himself in need of an associate in the imperium. In addition to the danger of invasion on both northern and eastern frontiers, came the revolt of Silvanus at Cologne in 355, which, although quickly suppressed, was a reminder that every successful general was potentially a candidate for the throne. Accordingly, at the advice of the empress Eudoxia, he called from the enforced seclusion of a scholar’s life Julian, the younger brother of Gallus, whom he made Caesar and dispatched to Gaul (355 A. D.). Since the fall of Magnentius the Gallic provinces had been exposed to the devastating incursions of Franks and Alemanni, and the first task of the young Caesar was to deal with these barbarians. In a battle near Strassburg in 357 he broke the power of the Alemanni, and drove them over the Rhine. The Franks were forced to acknowledge Roman overlordship, but the Salian branch of that people were allowed to settle to the south of the Rhine (358 A. D.). In addition to displaying unexpected capacities as a general, Julian showed himself a forceful and upright administrator, whose chief aim was to revive the prosperity of his sorely-tried provincials.
Julian, Augustus, 360 A. D. In 359 A. D. a fresh invasion of Mesopotamia by Sapor II called Constantius to the East. The seriousness of the situation there caused him to demand considerable reinforcements from the army in Gaul. This was resented both by the soldiers themselves and by Julian, who saw in the order a prelude to his own undoing, for he knew the suspicious nature of his cousin, and was aware that his own successes and the restraint he imposed upon the rapacity of his officials had aroused the enmity of those who had the emperor’s confidence. However, after a vain protest, he yielded; but the troops took matters into their own hands, mutinied and hailed Julian as Augustus. His ambitions, which had been awakened by the taste of power, and the precariousness of his present situation led him to accept the title (360 A. D.). He then sought to obtain from Constantius recognition of his position and the cession of the western provinces. The latter rejected his demand, although he did not deem it advisable to leave the East unprotected at that moment and attempt to reassert his authority. Julian then took the offensive to enforce his claims, and, upon the retirement of the Persian army, Constantius hastened to meet him. But on the march he fell ill and died in Cilicia, having designated Julian as his successor.