Table Of ContentSTUDIES IN THE LIVES OF
THE SONS OF CONSTANTINE
by
EDWARD GEORGE WILSON
B.A., University of V i c t o r i a , 1965
M.A., University of B r i t i s h Columbia, 1968
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
i n
THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES
(Department of Clas s i c s )
We accept this thesis as conforming
to the required standard
THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
A p r i l 1 9 7 7
Edward George Wilson, 1 9 7 7
In presenting th i s thesis i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t of the requirements for
an advanced degree at the University of B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that
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further agree that permission for extensive copying of t h i s thesis for
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his representatives. It i s understood that copying or pu b l i c a t i o n of
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Department of Cl a s s i c s
The University of B r i t i s h Columbia
2075 Wesbrook Place
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Research Supervisors: J . A. S. Evans and
M. F. McGregor
ABSTRACT
The reigns of the emperor Constantine the Great and of h i s
nephew J u l i a n the Apostate have fascinated scholars from the fourth
century to the present day. Some have seen i n Constantine the founder
of the Middle Ages and i n J u l i a n the l a s t flowering of the pagan world.
However, the eighteen years that passed between the death of Constantine
in 337 and the proclamation of J u l i a n as Caesar i n 355 have received
very l i t t l e attention because of the paucity of the sources for t h i s
period. Only 0. Seeck, i n h is monumental Gesckichte des Untevgang dev
antiken Welt (Stuttgart 1922), and G. G i g l i , i n h i s notes e n t i t l e d La
dinastia dei seeondi Flavii: Costantino II, Costante, Costanzo II
(337-361) (Rome 1959), have attempted a de t a i l e d analysis of t h i s
period, but Seeck's volume, though s t i l l e s s e n t i a l , has been rendered
somewhat dated by recent numismatic and prosopographical studies while
G i g l i ' s , which i s f ar l e s s thorough, emphasizes the r e l i g i o u s problems
of the age at the expense of the p o l i t i c a l . The task undertaken i n t h i s
study i s to determine the workings of the court during the period f or
which source-material i s poorest (i.e., 337-353) and to show how the
government ruled with an iro n hand by Constantine I degenerated into the
weak administration of Constantius II as revealed i n the f i r s t surviving
books of Ammianus Marcellinus.
Because the period under consideration i s poorly documented i n
i v
the l i t e r a r y sources, thorough use has been made of the epigraphical,
numismatic, and l e g a l sources. The study of the p o l i c i e s and pract i c e s
of the sons of Constantine i s aided to a great extent by an examination
of the careers of both th e i r appointees and th e i r opponents. At times
the p o l i t i c s of the period are r e f l e c t e d i n the contemporary r e l i g i o u s
disputes, e s p e c i a l l y i n the struggle of Athanasius to overcome the Arian
heresy. In other cases the workings of the government can be discerned
i n the careers of prominent bureaucrats, e s p e c i a l l y the grand chamber-
l a i n Eusebius and the praetorian prefects Ablabius, Fla v i u s Philippus,
and Fabius Ti t i a n u s . These chapters encompass the t r a i n i n g of the sons
(including Crispus, Constantine I I , Constantius I I , and Constans), the
massacre of t h e i r r e l a t i v e s upon the death of th e i r father, the dispute
between Constantine II and Constans, the j o i n t reign of Constantius II
and Constans, the overthrow of Constans by Magnentius, and the recovery
of the West by Constantius I I .
The main conclusion reached i s that the characters and reigns
of the sons of Constantine were determined for the most part not by
heredity, nor by the ins t r u c t i o n s of t h e i r father, but by th e i r
teachers during t h e i r youth and by t h e i r advisers at court a f t e r the
death of th e i r father. Constantine the Great both reigned and ruled,
since he had the t r a i n i n g of a s o l d i e r and achieved supremacy by ca r e f u l
strategy against considerable odds. His sons, however, succeeded to the
throne before they were old enough to shake off the influence of t h e i r
cou r t i e r s and can be said only to have reigned, not to have ruled. The
executions of t h e i r half-brother Crispus and the i r mother Fausta
rendered them suspicious and insecure, to the end that they trusted only
the bureaucrats at court and feared the prefects and generals i n the
provinces and even one another. A great b a r r i e r arose between the thr
sons and the problems of th e i r subjects. This b a r r i e r , the ce n t r a l
bureaucracy, grew more corrupt while the i n i t i a t i v e of the armies and
pr o v i n c i a l s was sapped. The weakness of the three sons foreshadows
that of Arcadius and Honorius i n the t w i l i g h t of the Roman Empire.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ABSTRACT i i i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix
DEDICATIO x
ABREVIATIONS xi
CHAPTER ONE: THE SONS AS CAESARS
(1) Problem of the Imperial Sucesion 1
(2) Crispus, L i c i n i u s I I , and Constantine II
Made Caesars 7
1
(3) The Training of the New Caesars 13
(4) The War Against L i c i n i u s 19
(5) Constantius I Made Caesar 21
(6) The Death of Crispus 27
(7) Constantine I and Constantius I 327-3 3
(8) Constans Made Caesar 34
(9) Dalmatius Made Caesar' and Hannibalianus Made
King of Kings 38
(10) The Training of the Caesars 43
(1) The Death of Constantine 46
Notes to Chapter One 48
CHAPTER TWO: THE DEATH OF CONSTANTINE I AND THE
MURDER OF CONSTANTINE II
(1) Eusebius and the Masacre of 37 64
(2) Traditions Surounding the Masacre of 37 6
vi
v i i
Page
(3) The Victims of the Masacre of 37 78
(4) Summary of Events Surrounding the Death of
Constantine the Great 92
(5) The Meting of the Thre Sons i n 37 97
(6) The D i v i s i o n of Authority i n 37 10
(7) The Problem of the I n i t i a t i o n of L e g i s l a t i o n 105
(8) The Nomination of the Consuls 38-340 106
(9) The Authority of Constantine II and Constantius II . . . . 108
(10) The Honours Paid to Constantine 1 10
(1) The Praetorian Prefects 37-340 14
(12) Urban Prefects and Other O f f i c i a l s 37-340 120
(13) The Return of Athanasius and His Second E x i l e 12
(14) Constantius I i n the East 37-340 124
(15) Constantine I and Constans 37-38 125
(16) The Revolt of Constans 128
(17) The Death of Constantine I 136
Notes to Chapter Two ( 141
CHAPTER THREE: THE JOINT RULE OF CONSTANTIUS II AND CONSTANS
(1) Constantius I i n the East 340-349 163
(2) Constans i n the West 340-349 170
(3) The Relationship between Constantius II
and Constans 181
(4) The Fate of the Survivors of the Masacre of 37 184
(5) The Struggle of Athanasius and the Triumph of
To l e r a t i o n 18
(6) The Consuls 340-350 198
v i i i
Page
(7) The Praetorian Prefects 340-350. 21
(8) The Urban Prefects 340-350 218
(9) Other O f f i c i a l s 340-350 23
(10) Libanius and the Aniversary of 348 27
Notes to Chapter Thre 230
CHAPTER FOUR: THE DEATH OF CONSTANS AND THE
CAMPAIGN AGAINST MAGNENTIUS
(1) The Revolt of Magnentius 250
(2) The Revolt of Vetranio 261
(3) The O f f i c i a l s of Magnentius 264
(4) Preparations and Negotiations before Mursa 270
(5) The Campaign of 351 279
(6) The Last Months of Magnentius 284
Notes to Chapter Four 293
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION 31
Notes to Chapter Five 30
BIBLIOGRAPHY . 31
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT S
I should l i k e to express my gratitude and indebtedness to
Professors J . A. S. Evans and Malcolm F. McGregor, the d i r e c t o r s of th i s
study. Professor Evans shed considerable l i g h t upon the coinage of the
fourth century and, i n h i s absence, Professor McGregor turned from the
study of the age of P e r i c l e s and devoted himself to t h i s l a t e r , and more
decadent, period. I also thank Professors W. J. Dusing and K. A. Dusing
for a s s i s t i n g i n t h i s study and for i n s t r u c t i n g me i n the p o l i t i c s of
the Late Republic and the chaos of the t h i r d century. My colleagues i n
the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of B r i t i s h Columbia
were frequently h e l p f u l , most of a l l Gary B. Ferngren by the example he
set and David G. 0. Smith by his penetrating analysis of Roman hi s t o r y .
I am indebted also to the l a t e P. C. F. Guthrie of t h i s u n i v e r s i t y , who
instructed me i n Ammianus Marcellinus and L a t i n epigraphy and also
suggested the t i t l e of t h i s work. I appreciate the advice of J. P. C.
Kent, of the B r i t i s h Museum, who provided valuable assistance i n
evaluating the rare coins of th i s period, and also the incitement given
by Professor Geoffrey Archbold, of the Univ e r s i t y of V i c t o r i a , who was
the f i r s t to acquaint me, then an undergraduate, with the h i s t o r y of the
Roman Empire. F i n a l l y , I express my thanks to my parents and my great
aunt, Audrey M. Ginn, without whose kindness and support th i s t r e a t i s e
would never have been completed.
E. G. W.
ix
DEDICATIO
In Memoriam
P. C. F. Guthrie
V i r i Docti atque Amicissimi
x
