Constantius 351AD soldiers spearing fallen enemy Siscia Rare Ancient Roman coin

Description

One original ancient Roman bronze coin of:
Constantius II, Caesar 337-347 AD, Augustus 347-355 AD.
AE 3 18-19mm. 2.61gm. Struck
351-355 AD.
Siscia
mint. (VF) Original green-brown patina. Exactly as pictured.
Obv./
D N CONSTAN-TIVS P F AVG, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right
.
Rev./
/ FEL TEMP REPARATIO, soldier spearing falling horseman. Mintmark ASISD.
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.
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