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| Background | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born in Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia), to Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (Constantine the Great). He was the second of the three sons of Constantine I and his second wife Fausta. | |||||||||||||||||||||
When his father (Constantine) died in 337, Constantius II led the massacre of his relatives descended from the second marriage of his grandfather Constantius Chlorus and Theodora, leaving himself, his older brother Constantine II, his younger brother Constans and two cousins (Gallus and his half-brother Julian) as the only surviving males related to Constantine. |
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| The three brothers then divided the Roman Empire amongst themselves. Constantine II received Britannia, Gaul and Hispania; Constans ruled Italia, Africa, and Illyricum; and Constantius ruled the East. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| But the arrangement of convenience soon fell apart with Constantine II killed in 340 while trying to overthrow his brother Constans in Italy. Constans then became the sole ruler in the Western half of the Empire. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Constans himself was assassinated by the commander of his own imperial guard (Flavius Magnus Magnentius) in 350 near the Pyranees Mountains and for a short time Magnentius claimed himself Emperor. In 351, Constantius crushed the rebel soldiers at the Battle of Mursa Major which was fought over several months and at which over 50,000 soldiers were killed with Constantius lost over half his men. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| With fewer relatives to contest is authority, in 353, Constantius then had his cousin Gallus murdered. But still facing multiple threats, Constantius was forced to raise his last remaining relative Julian to the rank of Caesar. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| In 361, the main western legions in Gaul proclaimed Julian as Augustus and Constantius met him in battle near Tarsus in Turkey. However, Constantius died from a fever during battle and Julian was proclaimed Emperor throughout the Roman Empire. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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