View source for Constantius II

{{short description|Roman emperor from 337 to 361}}
{{distinguish|Constantine II (disambiguation){{!}}Constantine II|Julius Constantius|Constantius III}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Constantius II
| image        = Bust of Constantius II (Mary Harrsch).jpg
| image_size   =
| alt          = Head portrait of Constantius II
| caption      = Possible head portrait of Constantius II found in modern [[al-Bab]], [[Syria]] ([[Penn Museum]])<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Koçak |first1=Mustafa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j7WbEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA213 |title=Sculptures from Roman Syria II: The Greek, Roman and Byzantine Marble Statuary |last2=Kreikenbom |first2=Detlev |date=2022|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-071152-3|pages=213–215}}</ref><ref>[https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/106738 "Statue"]. ''[[Penn Museum]]''</ref>
| succession   = [[Roman emperor]]
| reign        = 9 September 337 – {{no wrap|3 November 361}}
| reign-type   = [[Augustus (title)|''Augustus'']]
| predecessor  = [[Constantine the Great|Constantine I]]
| successor    = [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]]
| regent       = {{Collapsible list|title=''See list''|{{ubl
 |[[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine II]] (337–340){{efn|In the [[Praetorian prefecture of Gaul]].}}
 |[[Constans|Constans I]] (337–350){{efn|In the [[Praetorian prefecture of Italy]], then the whole [[Western Roman Empire]].}}
 |[[Magnentius]] (350–353){{efn|In the West, unrecognized by Constantius II.}}
 |[[Vetranio]] (350){{efn|In the West, against Magnentius.}}
 |[[Nepotianus]] (350){{efn|In Rome for 27 days, against Magnentius.}}
 |Julian (360–361){{efn|In rebellion against Constantius II.}}}} }}
| reg-type     = {{nowrap|Co-rulers}}
| reign1       = 8 November 324 – {{nowrap|9 September 337}}
| reign-type1  = [[Caesar (title)|''Caesar'']]
| birth_date   = 7 August 317
| birth_place  = [[Sirmium]], [[Pannonia Inferior]]
| death_date   = 3 November 361 (aged 44)
| death_place  = [[Mopsuestia]], [[Cilicia]]
| burial_place = [[Church of the Holy Apostles]]
| spouse       = [[Daughter of Julius Constantius]]<br/>[[Eusebia (empress)|Eusebia]]<br/>[[Faustina (wife of Constantius II)|Faustina]]
| issue        = [[Constantia (wife of Gratian)]]
| full name    = Flavius Julius Constantius<ref>CIL 06, 40776 = AE 1934, 00158 = AE 1950, 00174 = AE 1951, 00102 = AE 1982, 00011</ref>
| regnal name  = Imperator Caesar Flavius Julius Constantius Augustus
| dynasty      = [[Constantinian dynasty|Constantinian]]
| father       = [[Constantine the Great]]
| mother       = [[Fausta]]
| religion     = [[Semi-Arianism]]
}}

'''Constantius II''' ({{langx|la|Flavius Julius Constantius}}; {{langx|grc|Κωνστάντιος|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 the [[Roman Empire]] went through repeated civil wars, court intrigues, and [[List of Roman usurpers|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 (title)|Caesar]]'' on 8 November 324 and after whose death Constantius became ''[[Augustus (title)|Augustus]]'' together with his brothers, [[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine II]] and [[Constans]] on 9 September 337. He promptly oversaw the massacre of his [[Julius Constantius|father-in-law]], an [[Flavius Dalmatius|uncle]], and several cousins, consolidating his hold on power. The brothers divided the empire among themselves, with Constantius receiving [[Greece in the Roman era|Greece]], [[Thrace]], the Asian provinces, and [[History of Roman Egypt|Egypt]] in the east. For the following decade a costly and inconclusive [[Persian wars of Constantius II|war]] against [[Sasanian Persia|Persia]] took most of Constantius's time and attention. In the meantime, his brothers Constantine and Constans warred over 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 [[Roman civil war of 350–353|civil war]] against the usurper, defeating him at the battles of [[Battle of Mursa Major|Mursa Major]] in 351 and [[Battle of Mons Seleucus|Mons Seleucus]] in 353. Magnentius died by suicide after 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 (emperor)|Julian]], to 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 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.

==Early life==
[[File:Miliarensis of Constantius II, AD 327.jpg|thumb|left|alt=|200x200px|''Caesar'' Constantius II on a [[miliarense]] of [[Siscia ]], AD 327]]
[[File:Bust_of_Prince_Constantius_II_in_blue_glass,_Romisch-Germanisches_Museum,_Cologne_(8115676712).jpg|thumb|left|alt=|218x218px|Bust of Constantius II while he was a prince, [[Romano-Germanic Museum]], [[Cologne]]<ref>{{cite book|author-link=David Whitehouse|first=David |last=Whitehouse|title=Roman Glass in the Corning Museum of Glass|year=1940 |page=29|publisher=Hudson Hills|isbn=9780872901391 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tyg6KxKwLWYC&pg=PA29}}</ref>]]
Flavius Julius Constantius{{Efn|The origin of the name "Julius" is not known. It may have been added to his name in honour of one of Constantine's relatives, as one view identifies a "Julia Constantia" as [[Constantius I]]'s mother.<ref>{{cite book |last=Barnes |year=1982 |first=Timothy D. |title=The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine |publisher=Harvard University Press |doi=10.4159/harvard.9780674280670 |place=Cambridge|page=36|isbn=0-674-28066-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/barnes-new-empire}}</ref> It was likely not in honour of [[Helena, mother of Constantine I]], as she probably only adopted the name "Julia" just before her death.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Helena: empress and saint |last=Pohlsander |first=Hans A. |publisher=Ares Publishers |year=1995 |isbn=0-89005-562-9 |pages=17, 198}}</ref>}} 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.{{sfn|Jones|Martindale|Morris|p=226}} In 336, religious unrest in [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]] and tense relations between Constantine and king [[Shapur II]] caused war to break out between Rome and [[Sassanid Persia]].{{sfn|Dodgeon|Greatrex|Lieu|pp=152–153}} Though he made initial preparations for the war, Constantine fell ill and sent Constantius east to take command of the eastern frontier.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Greatrex|Lieu|pp=152–153}}<ref>Julian, ''Orationes'' I, 13B</ref> Before Constantius arrived, the Persian general Narses, who was possibly the king's brother, overran [[Mesopotamia (Roman province)|Mesopotamia]] and captured [[Diyarbakir|Amida]]. Constantius promptly attacked Narses, and after suffering minor setbacks defeated and killed Narses at the Battle of Narasara.<ref>Festus, ''breviarum'' 27, pp. 2–3, 67</ref> Constantius captured Amida and initiated 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''.<ref>Ammianus Marcellinus XVIII, 9, 1</ref>

== Augustus in the east ==
[[File:Impero_Romano_da_maggio_a_settembre_337.png|thumb|alt=|200x200px|Division of the Roman Empire among the ''caesares'' appointed by [[Constantine the Great]], before the death of [[Dalmatius]]]]
[[File:Colossal Portrait or Constantius II or Constans.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=|Bust of youthful Constantius II or Constans, [[Capitoline Museums]]<ref>[https://www.museicapitolini.org/en/opera/testa-colossale-di-costanzo-ii-o-costante Constanzo II o Constante]. ''Musei Capitolini''</ref>]]
[[File:Double Centenionalis Magnentius-XR-s4017.jpg|thumb|alt=|Bronze coin of [[Magnentius]]]]
[[File:Solidus-Constantius Gallus-thessalonica RIC 149.jpg|thumb|alt=|Gold solidus of [[Constantius Gallus]]. A paternal cousin of Constantius, he was made [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]] by Constantius in 350 and was married to the [[Roman emperor|emperor]]'s sister, [[Constantina]]. However, his mismanagement of the eastern provinces led to his death in 354.]]

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]].{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=1}} Soon after his father's death, the army massacred his relatives descended from the marriage of his paternal grandfather [[Constantius Chlorus]] to [[Flavia Maximiana Theodora]], though the details are unclear.{{sfn|Burgess|2008|p=10}}{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=3}} Two of Constantius's uncles ([[Julius Constantius]] and [[Flavius Dalmatius]]) and seven of his cousins were killed,<ref name="Letter">Julian, "Letter to the senate and people of Athens", 270. {{Wikisource-inline|Letter to the senate and people of Athens|single=true}}</ref> including [[Hannibalianus]] and [[Dalmatius]], rulers of [[Diocese of Pontus|Pontus]] and [[Diocese of Moesia|Moesia]] respectively, leaving Constantius, his two brothers [[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine II]] and [[Constans]], and three cousins [[Constantius Gallus|Gallus]], [[Julian the Apostate|Julian]] and [[Nepotianus]] as 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,{{sfn|Burgess|2008|p=25}}<ref name="ReferenceA">[[Eutropius (historian)|Eutropius]], ''Historiae Romanae Breviarium'' X.9</ref><ref>Julian, "Letter to the senate and people of Athens", 271. {{Wikisource-inline|Letter to the senate and people of Athens|single=true}}</ref>  [[Ammianus Marcellinus]], [[Zosimus (historian)|Zosimus]], [[Libanius]], [[Athanasius of Alexandria|Athanasius]] and Julian all blamed Constantius for the event.{{sfn|DiMaio|1992|p=165}}<ref name="Letter"/> Burgess considered the latter version to be “consistent with all the evidence”, pointing to multiple factors that he believed lined up with 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.{{sfn|Burgess|2008|pp=26–27}}{{efn|By 351–354, Constantius’s courtiers stopped denying his involvement and instead claimed he was tormented with guilt over his role in the massacre.<ref name="Letter"/>{{sfn|Burgess|2008|pp=16–17}}}}

Soon after, Constantius met his brothers in [[Pannonia]] at [[Sirmium]] to formalize the partition of the empire.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=4}} Constantius received the eastern provinces, including Constantinople, [[Roman Thrace|Thrace]], [[Asia Minor]], [[Roman Syria|Syria]], [[Roman Egypt|Egypt]], and [[Cyrenaica]]; Constantine received [[Roman Britain|Britannia]], [[Roman Gaul|Gaul]], [[Hispania]], and [[Mauretania Tingitana|Mauretania]]; and Constans, initially under the supervision of Constantine II, received [[Italia (Roman Empire)|Italy]], [[Africa Province|Africa]], [[Illyricum (Roman province)|Illyricum]], [[Pannonia]], [[Macedonia (Roman province)|Macedonia]], and [[Achaea (Roman province)|Achaea]].{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=4}}

Constantius then hurried east to [[Antioch]] to resume the [[Perso-Roman wars of 337–361|war with Persia]].{{sfn|Hunt|1998|pp=11-12}}<ref name="autogenerated1">Theodoret, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' II, 30, 1–14, GCS</ref> 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 the city of Nisibis under siege.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=12}} Despite initial success, Shapur lifted his siege after his army missed an opportunity to exploit a collapsed wall.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> 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 the major fortresses of [[Roman Mesopotamia]], including [[Nisibis]] ([[Nusaybin]]), [[Singara]], and [[Diyarbakir|Amida]] ([[Diyarbakir]]).{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=13}} Although Shapur seems to have been victorious in most of these confrontations, the Sassanids were able to achieve little.<ref name="ReferenceB">[[Festus (historian)|Festus]], ''Brevarium'' XXVII</ref>{{sfn|Dingas|Winter|2007|p=89}} However, the Romans won a decisive victory at the Battle of Narasara, killing Shapur's brother, Narses.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=13}} Ultimately, Constantius was able to push back the invasion, and Shapur failed to make any significant gains.{{sfn|Dingas|Winter|2007|p=89}}

Meanwhile, Constantine II desired to retain control of Constans's realm, leading the brothers into open conflict. Constantine was killed in 340 near [[Aquileia]] during an ambush.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=5}}{{sfn|Drinkwater|2007|p=199}}{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=64}} 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 [[Roman usurper|usurper]] [[Magnentius]].{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=11}}{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=471}}{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=72}}

===War against Magnentius===
{{main|Roman civil war of 350–353}}
Constantius was determined to march west to fight the usurper.{{sfn|Errington|2006|p=16}} However, feeling that the east still required some sort of imperial presence, he elevated his cousin [[Constantius Gallus]] to ''caesar'' of the eastern provinces.{{sfn|Barnes|1993|p=105}}{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=472}} As an extra measure to ensure the loyalty of his cousin, he married the elder of his two sisters, [[Constantina]], to him.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=17}}

Before facing Magnentius, Constantius first came to terms with [[Vetranio]], a loyal general in [[Illyricum (Roman province)|Illyricum]] who had recently been acclaimed emperor by his soldiers.{{sfn|Barnes|1993|p=101}} 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 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''.{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=472}} However, when Constantius arrived, Vetranio willingly resigned his position and accepted Constantius's offer of a comfortable retirement in [[Bithynia]].{{sfn|Hunt|1998|pp=16–17}}

In 351, Constantius clashed with Magnentius in [[Pannonia]] with a large army. The ensuing [[Battle of Mursa Major]] was one of the largest and bloodiest battles ever between two Roman armies.{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=473}}{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=20}} 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 the early months of 352 campaigning against the [[Sarmatians]] along the middle [[Danube]].{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=474}} 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 [[Roman Gaul|Gaul]].{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=474}}{{sfn|Barnes|1993|p=106}}

In 353, Constantius and Magnentius met for the final time at the [[Battle of Mons Seleucus]] in southern Gaul, and again Constantius emerged the victor.{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=474}} Magnentius, realizing the futility of continuing his position, committed suicide on 10 August 353.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=22}}{{sfn|Drinkwater|2007|p=201}}{{sfn|Barnes|1993|p=106}}

== Solo reign ==
[[File:Constantius2cng10400876.jpg|thumb|left|300px|[[Solidus (coin)|''Solidus'']] struck at [[Mediolanum]] in 354–357. The reverse reads ''gloria rei publicae'', "glory of the republic".]]
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.<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' 14.1.10</ref> Possibly as a result of these reports, Constantius concluded a peace with the Alamanni and traveled to [[Mediolanum]] ([[Milan]]).<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XIV.10.16</ref>

In Mediolanum, Constantius first summoned [[Ursicinus (magister equitum)|Ursicinus]], Gallus's ''[[magister equitum]]'', for reasons that remain unclear.<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XIV.11.3–5</ref> Constantius then summoned Gallus and Constantina.<ref name="ReferenceC">[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XIV.11.6</ref> Although Gallus and Constantina complied with the order at first, when Constantina died in [[Bithynia]],<ref name="ReferenceC"/> Gallus began to hesitate. However, after some convincing by one of Constantius's agents,<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XIV.11.11–12</ref> Gallus continued his journey west, passing through [[Constantinople]] and [[Thracia (Roman province)|Thrace]] to [[Poetovio]] ([[Ptuj]]) in [[Pannonia]].<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XIV.11.19</ref><ref name="roman-emperors.org">{{cite web| url = http://www.roman-emperors.org/gallus.htm| title = Banchich, T. M., 'DIR-Gallus' from De Imperatoribus Romanis| access-date = 2 March 2009| archive-date = 10 December 2008| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081210150345/http://www.roman-emperors.org/gallus.htm| url-status = dead}}</ref>

In Poetovio, Gallus was arrested by the soldiers of Constantius under the command of [[Barbatio]].<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XIV.11.20</ref> Gallus was then moved to [[Pula|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.<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XIV.11.22</ref> This angered Constantius so greatly that he immediately ordered Gallus's execution.<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XIV.11.23</ref> He soon changed his mind, however, and recanted the order.<ref>[[Joannes Zonaras|Zonaras]], ''Extracts of History'' XIII.9.20</ref><ref>[[Libanius]], ''Orations'' XVIII.152</ref><ref>Philostorgius, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' 4.1</ref> Unfortunately for Gallus, this second order was delayed by [[Eusebius (praepositus sacri cubiculi)|Eusebius]], one of Constantius's eunuchs, and Gallus was executed.<ref name="roman-emperors.org"/>

===Religious issues===
[[File:07 constantius2Chrono354.png|thumb|right|270px|Constantius II depicted in the [[Chronography of 354]] dispensing largesse (a [[Renaissance]] copy of a [[Carolingian art|Carolingian]] copy)]]

[[File:Byzantine - Belt Section with Medallions of Constantius II and Faustina - Walters 57527 - Back.jpg|right|thumb|Section of a belt containing two gold medallions, the larger coin depicting the triumphant emperor in his chariot;<ref>{{cite web |publisher= [[The Walters Art Museum]]
|url= http://art.thewalters.org/detail/# |title= Belt Section with Medallions of Constantius II and Faustina}}</ref> The Walters Art Museum]]
{{Main|Religious policies of Constantius II}}

====Paganism====
Laws dating from the 350s prescribed the death penalty for those who performed or attended pagan [[sacrifice]]s, and for the worshipping of [[cult image|idols]].<ref name="Kirsch04pp200-201">Kirsch, J. (2004) ''God against the Gods'', pp.200-1, Viking Compass</ref><ref name="CodexTheodosianus16.10.2">''The Codex Theodosianus On Religion'', 16.10.2</ref><ref name="CodexTheodosianus16.10.6">Theodosian Code 16.10.6</ref> Pagan temples were shut down,<ref name="CodexTheodosianus16.10.4">{{cite web| url = http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/codex-theod1.html| title = 'The Codex Theodosianus On Religion', XVI.x.4, 4 CE}}</ref><ref name="hughes"/> and the [[Altar of Victory]] was removed from the Senate meeting house.<ref name="Sheridan66">Sheridan, J.J. (1966) ''The Altar of Victor – Paganism's Last Battle.'' in L'Antiquite Classique 35 : 186–187.</ref> There were also frequent episodes of ordinary Christians destroying, pillaging and desecrating many ancient pagan temples, tombs and monuments.<ref name="Ammianus22.4.3">[[Ammianus Marcellinus]] ''Res Gestae'' 22.4.3</ref><ref>[[Sozomen]] ''Ecclesiastical History'' [https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/26023.htm 3.18].</ref><ref name="CodexTheodosianus16.10.3">Theodosian Code 16.10.3</ref><ref name="CodexTheodosianus9.17.2">Theodosian Code 9.17.2</ref>
Paganism was still popular among the population at the time. The emperor's policies were passively resisted by many governors and magistrates.<ref name="hughes">"A History of the Church", Philip Hughes, Sheed & Ward, rev ed 1949, vol I chapter 6.[http://www.ewtn.com/library/CHISTORY/HUGHHIST.TXT] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223191523/http://www.ewtn.com/library/CHISTORY/HUGHHIST.TXT|date=23 December 2018}}</ref><ref name="Ammianus9.10and19.12">[[Ammianus Marcellinus]] ''Res Gestae'' 9.10, 19.12. quote summary: Ammianus  describes Pagan sacrifices and worship taking place openly in [[Alexandria]] and [[Rome]]. The [[Roman Calendar]] of 354 cites many Pagan festivals as though they were still being openly observed. See also the descriptions of Pagan worship in the following works: Firmicius Maternus De Errore Profanorum Religionum; Vetus Orbis Descriptio Graeci Scriptoris sub Constantio.</ref><ref name="Bowder1978">Bowder, D. (1978) ''The Age of Constantine and Julian''</ref>

In spite of this, Constantius never made any attempt to disband the various Roman priestly colleges or the [[Vestal Virgin]]s. 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 a priest for Africa.{{sfn|Vasiliev|1958|p=68}} 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.{{sfn|Salzman|2002|p=182}}

====Christianity====
Although often considered an [[Arianism|Arian]],{{sfn|Jones|1964|p=118}} Constantius ultimately preferred a third, compromise version that lay somewhere in between [[Arianism]] and the [[Nicene Creed]], retrospectively called [[Semi-Arianism]].<ref>Pelikan, J. J., ''The Christian Tradition'' (1989), pp. 209–210</ref>{{sfn|Gaddis|2005|p=92}} 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 council|ecumenical]] in 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."{{sfn|Jones|1964|p=118}}

According to the [[Greek historian]] [[Philostorgius]] (d. 439) in his ''Ecclesiastical History'', Constantius sent an [[Arianism|Arian]] bishop known as [[Theophilos the Indian|Theophilus the Indian]] (also known as "Theophilus of Yemen") to [[Tharan Yuhanim]], then the king of the [[South Arabia]]n [[Himyarite Kingdom]] to convert the people to [[Christianity in pre-Islamic Arabia|Christianity]]. According to the report, Theophilus succeeded in establishing three churches, one of them in the capital [[Zafar, Yemen|Zafar]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fisher |first=Greg |title=Rome, Persia, and Arabia: shaping the Middle East from Pompey to Muhammad |date=2020 |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group |isbn=978-0-415-72880-5 |location=London & New York |page=90}}</ref>

====Judaism====
Judaism faced some severe restrictions under Constantius, who seems to have followed an anti-Jewish policy in line with that of his father.{{sfn|Schäfer|2003|p=180-181}} This included  edicts to limit the ownership of slaves by Jewish people<ref name="Codex Theodosianus 16.9.2">[[Codex Theodosianus]] 16.9.2</ref> and banning marriages between Jews and Christian women.<ref name="Codex Theodosianus 16.9.2"/> Later edicts sought to discourage conversions from Christianity to Judaism by confiscating the [[Apostacy|apostate's]] property.<ref name="Codex Theodosianus 16.8.7">[[Codex Theodosianus]] 16.8.7</ref> 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.{{sfn|Schäfer|2003|pp=180–181}}

===Further crises===
On 11 August 355, 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 a letter from Constantius recalling him to Milan, but which made no reference to the revolt. [[Ursicinus (magister equitum)|Ursicinus]], who was meant to replace Silvanus, bribed some troops, and Silvanus was killed.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

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,<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XV.8.17</ref> he elevated his last remaining male relative, [[Julian the Apostate|Julian]], to the rank of ''caesar''.<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XV.8.5–16</ref> A few days later, Julian was married to [[Helena, wife of Julian|Helena]], the last surviving sister of Constantius.<ref name="autogenerated2">[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XV.8.18</ref> Constantius soon sent Julian off to Gaul.<ref name="autogenerated2"/>
[[File:2009 Carnuntum Heidentor1.jpg|thumb|Triumphal arch of Constantius II in [[Carnuntum]], Pannonia]]
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 [[Sarmatians|Sarmatian]] and [[Quadi]] invaders out of Pannonia and [[Moesia|Moesia Inferior]], then led a successful counter-attack across the Danube.<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XVI.12</ref>

In the winter of 357–58, Constantius received ambassadors from [[Shapur II]] who demanded that Rome restore the lands surrendered by [[Narseh]].<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XVII.5.3–8</ref><ref>[[Joannes Zonaras|Zonaras]], ''Extracts of History'' XII.9.25–27</ref> Despite rejecting these terms,<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XVII.5.9–14</ref><ref>[[Joannes Zonaras|Zonaras]], ''Extracts of History'' XII.9.28–29</ref> Constantius tried to avert war with the [[Sassanid Empire]] by sending two embassies to Shapur II.<ref>[[Libanius]], ''Epistle'' 331</ref><ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XVII.14.1–3 & XVIII.6.17–18</ref><ref>[[Eunapius]], ''Lives of the Sophists'' VI. 5.1–10</ref> Shapur II nevertheless launched another invasion of Roman Mesopotamia. In 360, when news reached Constantius that Shapur II had destroyed [[Singara]] ([[Sinjar]]),<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XX.6</ref> and taken [[Hasankeyf|Kiphas]] ([[Hasankeyf]]), Amida (Diyarbakır),<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XIX</ref> and Ad Tigris ([[Cizre]]),<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XX.7.1–16</ref> he decided to travel east to face the re-emergent threat.

===Usurpation of Julian and crises in the east===
[[File:The triumph of Constantius II.jpg|thumb|270px|Missorium of Kerch depicting Constantius II on horseback with a spear. He is preceded by victory and accompanied by a guardsman ([[Hermitage Museum]]).]]
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''.{{sfn|Drinkwater|2007|p=253}}{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=505}}{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=57}}{{efn|Ammianus and Julian both portrayed Constantius's order as fueled by envy of the Caesar’s growing popularity, with the additional intent of weakening his military position, as he had previously done with Gallus.<ref>Walter E. Roberts and Michael DiMaio Jr., [http://www.roman-emperors.sites.luc.edu/julian.htm Julian (361–363 A.D.)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924080550/http://roman-emperors.sites.luc.edu/julian.htm |date=24 September 2023 }}</ref> Crawford was skeptical of such a portrayal, believing that Julian would’ve needed far less troops than Constantius if he was really as successful as he portrayed himself,{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=212}} while Potter dismissed the idea, believing that the necessity of Constantius's act for his plan was sufficient explanation.{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=505}}}}

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 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 [[Sassanid Empire|Sassanids]] remained. Constantius had already spent part of early 361 unsuccessfully attempting to re-take the fortress of Ad Tigris.<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XX.11.6–25</ref> After a time he had withdrawn to [[Antioch]] to regroup and prepare for a confrontation with [[Shapur II]].<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae'' XXI.7.7 & 13.1–5</ref> The campaigns of 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.{{sfn|Vagi|2001|p=508}}

===Death===
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 was near, Constantius had himself baptised by Euzoius, the [[Semi-Arianism|Semi-Arian]] bishop of [[Antioch]], and then declared that Julian was his rightful successor.{{sfn|Vagi|2001|p=508}}{{efn|Ammianus only recorded Constantius's legitimization of Julian as a rumor. While Hunt and Matthews treated the report with caution,{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=60}}{{sfn|Matthews|1989|p=101}}
 Kelly considered it to be true, observing that the act prevented civil war and protected his posthumous reputation, as well as his wife’s unborn child.<ref>Kelly, Gavin (2013). "The Political Crisis of AD 375–376" (PDF). Chiron p. 357</ref> Errington and Crawford also accepted it as true, viewing it as a display of pragmatism and dynastic solidarity.{{sfn|Errington|2006|p=18}}{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=239}}}}
Constantius II died of fever on 3 November 361.<ref>The manuscript of Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Res Gestae'' 21.15.2 reads ''tertium nonarum Octobrium'', which is the equivalent of 5 October. The latest editor of the ''Res Gestae'' accepts Otto Seeck's emendation ''tertium nonarum Novembrium'' which is the equivalent of 3 November. T.D. Barnes (''Classical Philology'', 88 [1993], pp. 64f) provides indirect evidence showing 3 November is a better fit.</ref>

Like Constantine the Great, he was buried in the [[Church of the Holy Apostles]], in a [[Porphyry (geology)#Imperial sarcophagi|porphyry sarcophagus]] that was described in the 10th century by [[Constantine VII|Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus]] in the ''[[De Ceremoniis]]''.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Vasiliev|first=A. A.|year=1948|title=Imperial Porphyry Sarcophagi in Constantinople|url=https://lucazavagno.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/vasiliev.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231151500/https://lucazavagno.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/vasiliev.pdf |archive-date=2019-12-31 |url-status=live|journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers|volume=4|pages=1+3–26|doi=10.2307/1291047|jstor=1291047}}</ref>

==Marriages and children==
[[File:Constantius II bust crop.png|thumb|Presumed bust of Constantius II (or [[Valens]]), from an exhibition at the [[Colosseum]], 2013<ref>http://laststatues.classics.ox.ac.uk, LSA-1065 (J. Lenaghan)</ref>]]
Constantius II was married three times:

First to a [[Daughter of Julius Constantius|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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/gallus.htm |title=Gallus Caesar (15 March 351 – 354 A.D.) |last=Banchich |first=Thomas M. |website=De Imperatoribus Romanis |access-date=7 September 2018 |archive-date=10 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210150345/http://www.roman-emperors.org/gallus.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Second, to [[Eusebia (empress)|Eusebia]], a woman of [[Ancient Macedonians|Macedonian]] origin, originally from the city of [[Thessaloniki|Thessalonica]], whom Constantius married before his defeat of Magnentius in 353. She died before 361.{{sfn|Jones|Martindale|Morris|pp=300–301}}

Third and lastly, in 361, to [[Faustina (wife of Constantius II)|Faustina]], who gave birth to Constantius's only child, a posthumous daughter named [[Constantia (wife of Gratian)|Constantia]], who later married Emperor [[Gratian]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Ammian/21*.html |first=Ammianus |last=Marcellinus |author-link=Ammianus Marcellinus |title=The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus |volume=2, Book 21, chapter 15 |year=1940 |translator-first=J. C. |translator-last=Rolfe |publisher=Harvard University Press |series=Loeb Classical Library |access-date=11 April 2011 }}</ref>

==Family tree==
{{see also|Constantinian dynasty}}

{{Constantinian dynasty family tree}}

{{Chart top|width=100%|collapsed=auto}}
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'''
{{Tree chart/start|align=center}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | |CGOTH|CGOTH={{ubl|[[Claudius Gothicus]]|268–270|''fabricated ancestry''}}|boxstyle_CGOTH=border:2px solid; border-radius:1em}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | |Q|}}
{{tree chart| | |HELEN|y|CCHLO|y|THEO1|HELEN=[[Helena, mother of Constantine I|Helena]]|boxstyle_HELEN=border:2px solid|CCHLO={{ubl|[[Constantius I]]|305–306}}|boxstyle_CCHLO=border:2px solid; border-radius:1em|THEO1=[[Flavia Maximiana Theodora]]}}
{{tree chart| | | | | |!| | | |)|-|v|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|.| | | | | }}
{{tree chart| | | | |CONST| |FLAVD|!|HANN1| |CONS2|y|LICI1|!|ANAST|~|BASSI|CONST={{ubl|'''Constantine I'''|306–337}}|boxstyle_CONST=border:3px solid; border-radius:1em|FLAVD=[[Flavius Dalmatius]]|HANN1=Hannibalianus|CONS2=[[Flavia Julia Constantia]]|LICI1={{ubl|[[Licinius]]|308–324}}|boxstyle_LICI1=border:2px solid; border-radius:1em|ANAST=Anastasia|BASSI=[[Bassianus (executed by Constantine)|Bassianus]]}}
{{tree chart| |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|'| |!| | | | | | | |!| | | |!}}
{{tree chart| |!| | | | |GALL1|y|JULIC|y|BASIL| |LICI2| |EUTR2|y|NEPO1|GALL1=[[Galla (wife of Julius Constantius)|Galla]]|JULIC=[[Julius Constantius]]|BASIL=[[Basilina]]|LICI2=[[Licinius II]]|EUTR2=[[Eutropia (sister of Constantine I)|Eutropia]]|NEPO1=Virius Nepotianus}}
{{tree chart| |!| | | | | | | |!| | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | |!}}
{{tree chart|HANN2|~|CONS6|~|GALLU| |JULIA|~|HELE2| | | | | |NEPO2|HANN2=[[Hannibalianus]]|boxstyle_HANN2=border:3px solid|CONS6=[[Constantina]]|boxstyle_CONS6=border:3px solid|GALLU=[[Constantius Gallus]]|boxstyle_GALLU=border:3px solid|JULIA={{ubl|[[Julian (emperor)|Julian]]|360–363}}|boxstyle_JULIA=border:3px solid; border-radius:1em|HELE2=[[Helena (wife of Julian)|Helena]]|boxstyle_HELE2=border:3px solid|NEPO2=[[Nepotianus]]}}
{{tree chart/end}}
{{break}}
'''2: Constantine's children'''
{{Tree chart/start|align=center}}
{{tree chart|MINER|y|CONST|y|FAUS1|MINER=[[Minervina]]|CONST={{ubl|'''Constantine I'''|306–337}}|boxstyle_CONST=border:3px solid; border-radius:1em|FAUS1=[[Fausta]]}}
{{tree chart| | | |!| | | |)|-|v|-|v|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|.|}}
{{tree chart| | |CRISP| |CONS3|!|CONS5|!|HANN2|~|CONS6|~|GALLU|CRISP=[[Crispus]]|CONS3={{ubl|[[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine II]]|337–340}}|boxstyle_CONS3=border:2px solid; border-radius:1em|CONS5={{ubl|[[Constans]]|337–350}}|boxstyle_CONS5=border:2px solid; border-radius:1em|HANN2=[[Hannibalianus]]|boxstyle_HANN2=border:3px solid|CONS6=[[Constantina]]|boxstyle_CONS6=border:3px solid|GALLU=[[Constantius Gallus]]|boxstyle_GALLU=border:3px solid}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | |!| | | |!}}
{{tree chart| | | | |FAUS2|y|CONS4| |HELE2|~|JULIA|FAUS2=[[Faustina (wife of Constantius II)|Faustina]]|CONS4={{ubl|Constantius II|337–361}}|boxstyle_CONS4=border:2px solid; border-radius:1em|JULIA={{ubl|[[Julian (emperor)|Julian]]|360–363}}|boxstyle_JULIA=border:3px solid;  border-radius:1em|HELE2=[[Helena (wife of Julian)|Helena]]|boxstyle_HELE2=border:3px solid}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | |!}}
{{tree chart| | |GRATI|~|CONS7|GRATI={{ubl|[[Gratian]]|367–383}}|boxstyle_GRATI=border:2px solid; border-radius:1em|CONS7=[[Constantia (wife of Gratian)|Constantia]]}}
{{Tree chart/end}}
{{Chart bottom}}

==Reputation==
[[File:Constantius II, RIC VIII 170 (obverse).jpg|thumb|Solidus of Constantius II with a three-quarter facing portrait, struck {{circa}} 355. This [[Obverse and reverse|obverse]] later served as the model for most [[Byzantine coinage]] after 395.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sdCjnwoQLR0C&pg=PA74 |title=Catalogue of Late Roman Coins: From Arcadius and Honorius to the Accession of Anastasius |last1=Grierson |first1=Philip |author-link=Philip Grierson|date=1992 |publisher=Dumbarton Oaks |isbn=978-0-88402-193-3 |page=74}}</ref>]]
According to DiMaio and Frakes, “...Constantius is hard for the modern historian to fully understand both due to his own actions and due to the interests of the authors of primary sources for his reign.”<ref>Michael DiMaio Jr. and Robert Frakes, [http://www.roman-emperors.sites.luc.edu/constaii.htm Constantius II (337–361 A.D.)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308141930/http://roman-emperors.sites.luc.edu/constaii.htm |date=8 March 2023 }}</ref> A. H. M. Jones writes that he "appears in the pages of [[Ammianus Marcellinus|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."{{sfn|Jones|1964|p=116}} However, Kent and M. and A. Hirmer suggest that the emperor "has suffered at the hands of unsympathetic authors, ecclesiastical and civil alike. To orthodox churchmen he was a bigoted supporter of the Arian heresy, to [[Julian (emperor)|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".<ref>Kent, J.P.C., Hirmer, M. & Hirmer, A. ''Roman Coins'' (1978), p. 54</ref>

Eutropius wrote of him,<ref>Eutropius, ''Historiae Romanae Breviarium'' X.15</ref><blockquote>He 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 the government was excited in him; otherwise he was gentle. His fortune is more to be praised in civil than in foreign wars.</blockquote>

==See also==
*[[Persian wars of Constantius II]]
*[[Itineraries of the Roman emperors, 337–363]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==

===Ancient sources===
{{refbegin|35em}}
*Ammianus Marcellinus. ''Res Gestae''.
**Yonge, Charles Duke, trans. ''Roman History''. London: Bohn, 1862. Online at [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/ammianus_00_eintro.htm Tertullian]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
**Rolfe, J.C., trans. ''History''. 3 vols. Loeb ed. London: Heinemann, 1939–52. Online at [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Ammian/home.html LacusCurtius]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
**Hamilton, Walter, trans. ''The Later Roman Empire (A.D. 354–378)''. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1986. [Abridged edition]
*Athanasius of Alexandria.
**''Festal Index''.
***Atkinson, M., and Archibald Robertson, trans. ''Festal Letters''. From ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'', Second Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf204.xxv.iii.iii.html Christian Classics Ethereal Library]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
**''Epistula encyclica'' (''Encyclical letter''). Summer 339.
***Atkinson, M., and Archibald Robertson, trans. ''Encyclical letter''. From ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'', Second Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2807.htm New Advent] and [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf204.xii.ii.i.html Christian Classics Ethereal Library]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
**''Apologia Contra Arianos'' (''Defense against the Arians''). 349.
***Atkinson, M., and Archibald Robertson, trans. ''Apologia Contra Arianos''. From ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'', Second Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2808.htm New Advent]. Accessed 14 August 2009.
**''Apologia ad Constantium'' (''Defense before Constantius''). 353.
***Atkinson, M., and Archibald Robertson, trans. ''Apologia ad Constantium''. From ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'', Second Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2813.htm New Advent]. Accessed 14 August 2009.
**''Historia Arianorum'' (''History of the Arians''). 357.
***Atkinson, M., and Archibald Robertson, trans. ''Historia Arianorum''. From ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'', Second Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2815.htm New Advent]. Accessed 14 August 2009.
**''De Synodis'' (''On the Councils of Arminium and Seleucia''). Autumn 359.
***Newman, John Henry and Archibald Robertson, trans. ''De Synodis''. From ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'', Second Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2817.htm New Advent]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
**''Historia acephala''. 368&nbsp;–&nbsp;c. 420.
***Robertson, Archibald, trans. ''Historia Acephala''. From ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'', Second Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2820.htm New Advent] and [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf204.xxv.ii.ii.html Christian Classics Ethereal Library]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
*''Chronica minora'' 1, 2.
**Mommsen, T., ed. ''Chronica Minora saec. IV, V, VI, VII'' 1, 2 (in Latin). ''Monumenta Germaniae Historia'', Auctores Antiquissimi 9, 11. Berlin, 1892, 1894. Online at {{cite web |url=http://bsbdmgh.bsb.lrz-muenchen.de/dmgh_new/ |title=Bayerische StaatsBibliothek |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708060352/http://bsbdmgh.bsb.lrz-muenchen.de/dmgh_new/ |archive-date=8 July 2012 }}. Accessed 25 August 2009.
*''Codex Theodosianus''.
**Mommsen, T. and Paul M. Meyer, eds. ''Theodosiani libri XVI cum Constitutionibus Sirmondianis et Leges novellae ad Theodosianum pertinentes''<sup>2</sup> (in Latin). Berlin: Weidmann, [1905] 1954. Complied by Nicholas Palmer, revised by [[Tony Honoré]] for Oxford Text Archive, 1984. Prepared for online use by R.W.B. Salway, 1999. Preface, books 1–8. Online at [https://web.archive.org/web/20090826174516/http://www.ucl.ac.uk/history2/volterra/texts/cthinfo.htm University College London] and the [http://web.upmf-grenoble.fr/Haiti/Cours/Ak/Constitutiones/codtheod.html University of Grenoble] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618051844/http://web.upmf-grenoble.fr/Haiti/Cours/Ak/Constitutiones/codtheod.html |date=18 June 2010 }}. Accessed 25 August 2009.
**Unknown edition (in Latin). Online at [http://ancientrome.ru/ius/library/codex/theod/ AncientRome.ru]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
*''Codex Justinianus''.
**Scott, Samuel P., trans. ''The Code of Justinian'', in ''The Civil Law''. 17 vols. 1932. Online at the [http://www.constitution.org/sps/sps.htm Constitution Society]. Accessed 14 August 2009.
*Ephraem the Syrian. ''Carmina Nisibena'' (''Songs of Nisibis'').
**Stopford, J.T. Sarsfield, trans. ''The Nisibene Hymns''. From ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'', Second Series, Vol. 13. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3702.htm New Advent]. Accessed 16 August 2009.
**Bickell, Gustav, trans. ''S. Ephraemi Syri Carmina Nisibena: additis prolegomenis et supplemento lexicorum Syriacorum'' (in Latin). Lipetsk: Brockhaus, 1866. Online at [https://books.google.com/books†id=FNECZJZEUVUC Google Books]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
*''Epitome de Caesaribus''.
**Banchich, Thomas M., trans. ''A Booklet About the Style of Life and the Manners of the Imperatores''. ''Canisius College Translated Texts'' 1. Buffalo, NY: Canisius College, 2009. Online at [http://www.roman-emperors.org/epitome.htm De Imperatoribus Romanis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108100827/http://www.roman-emperors.org/epitome.htm |date=8 November 2020 }}. Accessed 15 August 2009.
*Eunapius. ''Lives of the Sophists''.
*Eusebius of Caesarea.
**''Oratio de Laudibus Constantini'' (''Oration in Praise of Constantine'', sometimes the ''Tricennial Oration'').
***Richardson, Ernest Cushing, trans. ''Oration in Praise of Constantine''. From ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'', Second Series, Vol. 1. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2504.htm New Advent]. Accessed 16 August 2009.
**''Vita Constantini'' (''Life of Constantine'').
***Richardson, Ernest Cushing, trans. ''Life of Constantine''. From ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'', Second Series, Vol. 1. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2502.htm New Advent]. Accessed 25 August 2009.
*[[Eutropius (historian)|Eutropius]]. ''Historiae Romanae Breviarium''.
**Watson, John Selby, trans. ''Abridgment of Roman History''. London: George Bell & Sons, 1886. Revised and edited for Tertullian by Roger Pearse, 2003. Online at [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/eutropius_breviarium_2_text.htm Tertullian]. Accessed 11 June 2010.
*Festus. ''Breviarium''.
**Banchich, Thomas M., and Jennifer A. Meka, trans. ''Breviarium of the Accomplishments of the Roman People''. ''Canisius College Translated Texts'' 2. Buffalo, NY: Canisius College, 2001. Online at [http://www.roman-emperors.org/festus.htm De Imperatoribus Romanis](). Accessed 15 August 2009.
*Firmicus Maternus. ''De errore profanarum religionum'' (''On the error of profane religions'').
**Baluzii and Rigaltii, eds. ''Divi Cæcilii Cypriani, Carthaginensis Episcopi, Opera Omnia; accessit J. Firmici Materni, Viri Clarissimi, De Errore Profanarum Religionum'' (in Latin). Paris: Gauthier Brothers and the Society of Booksellers, 1836. Online at [https://books.google.com/books†id=Zow7AAAAcAAJ Google Books]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
*Hilary of Poitiers. ''Ad Constantium'' (''To Constantius'').
**Feder, Alfred Leonhard, ed. ''S. Hilarii episcopi Pictaviensis Tractatus mysteriorum. Collectanea Antiariana Parisina (fragmenta historica) cum appendice (liber I Ad Constantium). Liber ad Constantium imperatorem (Liber II ad Constantium). Hymni. Fragmenta minora. Spuria'' (in Latin). In the ''Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum'', Vol. 65. Vienna: Tempsky, 1916.
*''Itinerarium Alexandri'' (''Itinerary of Alexander'').
**Mai, Angelo, ed. ''Itinerarium Alexandri ad Constantium Augustum, Constantini M. Filium'' (in Latin). Regiis Typis, 1818. Online at [https://books.google.com/books†id=LaB9JC1Fm6kC Google Books]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
**Davies, Iolo, trans. ''Itinerary of Alexander''. 2009. Online at [http://papyri.info/idp_static/current/ddb-citations-p+abinn.html DocStoc]{{dead link|date=March 2015 }}. Accessed 15 August 2009.
*Jerome.
**''Chronicon'' (''Chronicle'').
***Pearse, Roger, ''et al.'', trans. ''The Chronicle of St. Jerome'', in ''Early Church Fathers: Additional Texts''. Tertullian, 2005. Online at [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/jerome_chronicle_00_eintro.htm Tertullian]. Accessed 14 August 2009.
**''de Viris Illustribus'' (''On Illustrious Men'').
***Richardson, Ernest Cushing, trans. ''De Viris Illustribus (On Illustrious Men)''. From ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'', Second Series, Vol. 3. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2708.htm New Advent]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
*Julian.
**[[Wilmer Cave Wright|Wright, Wilmer Cave]], trans. ''Works of the Emperor Julian''. 3 vols. Loeb ed. London: Heinemann, 1913. Online at the Internet Archive: [https://archive.org/details/workswithenglish01juliuoft Vol. 1], [https://archive.org/details/workswithenglish02juliuoft 2], [https://archive.org/details/workswithenglish03juliuoft 3].
*Libanius. ''Oratio'' 59 (''Oration'' 59).
**M.H. Dodgeon, trans. ''The Sons of Constantine: Libanius Or. LIX''. In ''From Constantine to Julian: Pagan and Byzantine Views, A Source History'', edited by S.N.C. Lieu and [[Dominic Montserrat]], 164–205. London: Routledge, 1996. {{ISBN|0-415-09336-8}}
*''Origo Constantini Imperatoris''.
**Rolfe, J.C., trans. ''Excerpta Valesiana'', in vol. 3 of Rolfe's translation of Ammianus Marcellinus's ''History''. Loeb ed. London: Heinemann, 1952. Online at [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Excerpta_Valesiana/1*.html LacusCurtius]. Accessed 16 August 2009.
*''[[Abinnaeus Archive|Papyri Abinnaeus]]''.
**''The Abinnaeus Archive: Papers of a Roman Officer in the Reign of Constantius II'' (in Greek). Duke Data Bank of Documentary Papyri. Online at [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.05.0052&query=document%3D%231 Perseus] and the [http://papyri.info/idp_static/current/ddb-citations-p+abinn.html Duke Data Bank]{{dead link|date=March 2015 }}. Accessed 15 August 2009.
*''Papyri Laurentius''.
**''Dai Papiri della Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana'' (in Greek). Duke Data Bank of Documentary Papyri. Online at [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text;jsessionid=AC847D304432C05A3A6019E311003F54?doc=Perseus:text:1999.05.0147 Perseus] and the [http://papyri.info/idp_static/current/ddb-citations-p+laur.html Duke Data Bank]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}. Accessed 15 August 2009.
*Philostorgius. ''Historia Ecclesiastica''.
**Walford, Edward, trans. ''Epitome of the Ecclesiastical History of Philostorgius, Compiled by Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople''. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1855. Online at [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/philostorgius.htm Tertullian]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
*Socrates. ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' (''History of the Church'').
**Zenos, A.C., trans. ''Ecclesiastical History''. From ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'', Second Series, Vol. 2. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2601.htm New Advent]. Accessed 14 August 2009.
*Sozomen. ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' (''History of the Church'').
**Hartranft, Chester D. ''Ecclesiastical History''. From ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'', Second Series, Vol. 2. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2602.htm New Advent]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
*Sulpicius Severus. ''Sacred History''.
**Roberts, Alexander, trans. ''Sacred History''. From ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'', Second Series, Vol. 11. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1894. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3505.htm New Advent]. Accessed 14 August 2009.
*Theodoret. ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' (''History of the Church'').
**Jackson, Blomfield, trans. ''Ecclesiastical History''. From ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'', Second Series, Vol. 3. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1892. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Online at [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2702.htm New Advent]. Accessed 15 August 2009.
*Themistius. ''Orationes'' (''Orations'').
*[[Theophanes the Confessor|Theophanes]]. ''Chronicle''.
*[[Joannes Zonaras|Zonaras]]. ''Extracts of History''.
*Zosimus. ''Historia Nova'' (''New History'').
**Unknown trans. ''The History of Count Zosimus''. London: Green and Champlin, 1814. Online at [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/zosimus00_intro.htm Tertullian]. Accessed 15 August 2009. [An unsatisfactory edition.]
**Unknown trans. ''Histoire Nouvelle'' and ''ΖΩΣΙΜΟΥ ΚΟΜΙΤΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΠΟΦΙΣΚΟΣΥΝΗΓΟΡΟΥ'' (in French and Greek). Online at the [http://pot-pourri.fltr.ucl.ac.be/files/aclassftp/TEXTES/Zosimus/ Catholic University of Louvain] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091201133558/http://pot-pourri.fltr.ucl.ac.be/files/AClassftp/Textes/Zosimus/ |date=1 December 2009 }}. Accessed 16 November 2009.
{{refend}}

===Modern sources===
{{refbegin|2|indent=y}}
* Baker-Brian, N. and Tougher, S., ''The Sons of Constantine, AD 337–361: In the Shadows of Constantine and Julian'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020)
*{{cite book |last=Baker-Brian |first=Nicholas |title=The Reign of Constantius II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LzZwEAAAQBAJ|publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2022|isbn=978-1-0006-1991-1}}
* Banchich, T. M., 'DIR-Gallus' from ''De Imperatoribus Romanis'' [http://www.roman-emperors.org/gallus.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210150345/http://www.roman-emperors.org/gallus.htm |date=10 December 2008 }}
* {{Cite book|last=Barnes|first=Timothy David|title=Athanasius and Constantius: theology and politics in the Constantinian empire|url= https://archive.org/details/athanasiusconsta0000barn/page/n9/mode/1up |publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1993|isbn=0-674-05067-3|location=Cambridge, Mass}}
*{{cite journal |last=Burgess |year=2008 |first=R.W. |title= The Summer of Blood: The 'Great Massacre' of 337 and the Promotion of the Sons of Constantine |journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |volume=62|pages=5–51  |jstor=20788042}}
*{{cite book |last=Crawford |first=Peter |title=Constantius II: Usurpers, Eunuchs, and the Antichrist |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_aJBDQAAQBAJ|publisher=Pen & Sword |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-78340-055-3}}
* {{cite book|last1=Dingas |first1=Beate |last2=Winter |first2=Engelbert |title=Rome and Persia in Late Antiquity |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2007}}
* DiMaio, M., and Frakes, R., [http://www.roman-emperors.org/constaii.htm "Constantius II,"] from ''[[De Imperatoribus Romanis]]''
*{{cite journal |last=DiMaio |first=Michael |title=Per Vim, per Caedem, per Bellum : A Study of Murder and Ecclesiastical Politics in the Year 337 A.D.|journal=Byzantion|date=23 January 1992 |volume=62|pages=158–211 |jstor=44171626}}
*{{cite book |last=Dodgeon |first=Michael H. |author2=Greatrex, Geoffrey |author3=Lieu, Samuel N. C.  |title=The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (Part I, 226–363 AD)  |year=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-00342-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zoZIxpQ8A2IC |ref={{sfnref|Dodgeon|Greatrex|Lieu}} }}
* {{Cite book|last=Drinkwater|first=John F.|title= The Alamanni and Rome 213–496. Caracalla to Clovis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wBJREAAAQBAJ|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-19-929568-5|location=Oxford}} 
* {{cite book |last=Errington |year=2006 |first=R. Malcolm |title=Roman Imperial Policy from Julian to Theodosius |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |place=Chapel Hill |isbn=0-8078-3038-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/romanimperialpol0000erri }}
* {{wikicite |ref={{sfnref|Gaddis|2005}} |reference=Gaddis, Michael. ''There Is No Crime for Those Who Have Christ. Religious violence in the Christian Roman Empire''. University of California Press, 2005. {{ISBN|978-0-520-24104-6}}.}}
* {{cite book |last=Hunt |year=1998 |first=David |section= The successors of Constantine + Julian|title=The Cambridge Ancient History XIII: The Late Empire, A.D. 337–425|editor=Averil Cameron |editor2=Peter Garnsey |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-30200-5 |title-link= iarchive:the-cambridge-ancient-history-volume-13/mode/1up|name-list-style=amp |editor-link=Averil Cameron |editor2-link=Peter Garnsey |authorlink=}}
* {{wikicite |ref={{sfnref|Jones|1964}} |reference=[[Arnold Hugh Martin Jones|Jones, A. H. M.]] ''The Later Roman Empire, 284–602: A Social, Economic, and Administrative Survey'' [Paperback, vol. 1] {{ISBN|0-8018-3353-1}} Basil Blackwell Ltd. 1964.}}
* {{cite book |last=Jones |year=1971 |first=A.H.M. |author2=J.R. Martindale |author3=J. Morris |title=The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire Volume 1: A.D. 260–395 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-07233-6 |url={{googlebooks|uOHw4idqAeYC|plainurl=y}} |name-list-style=amp |author-link=A. H. M. Jones |author-link2=John Robert Martindale |author-link3=John Morris (historian) |ref={{sfnref|Jones|Martindale|Morris}} }}
* Kent, J.P.C., Hirmer, M. & Hirmer, A. ''Roman Coins'' (Thames and Hudson, 1978)
*{{cite book|last = Matthews | first = John|title = The Roman Empire of Ammianus|url= https://archive.org/details/romanempireofamm0000matt_n9f6|year = 1989
|publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-0-9799-7132-7|location=Baltimore
}}
* Moser, Muriel. 2018. Emperor and Senators in the Reign of Constantius II. Cambridge University Press.
* Pelikan, J.J., ''The Christian Tradition'' (University of Chicago, 1989)
* {{cite book |last=Potter |first=David S. |title=The Roman Empire at Bay: AD 180–395 |location=New York |publisher=Routledge |year=2004 |isbn=0-415-10057-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/romanempireatbay0000pott }}
* {{cite book |last=Salzman |first=Michele Renee |author-link=Michele R. Salzman |year=2002 |title=The Making of a Christian Aristocracy: Social and Religious Change in the Western Roman Empire |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-674-00641-6 |url={{googlebooks|9JGzYaUQyt4C|plainurl=y}} }}
*{{cite book
| last=Schäfer
| first=Peter 
| title=The History of the Jews in the Greco-Roman World
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YBarWAR2qVkC
| year=2003
| publisher=Psychology Press
| isbn=978-0-415-30585-3
}}
* {{wikicite |reference=[[Otto Seeck|Seeck, Otto]], "[[s:de:RE:Constantius 4|Constantius 4]]", ''[[Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft]]'', [[iarchive:PaulysReal-encyclopadieDerClassischenAltertumswissenschaftVolume7/page/n263/mode/2up|volume IV.1]], Stuttgart, 1900, columns 1044–1094.|ref={{sfnref|Seeck}} }}
* {{cite book |last1=Vagi |first1=David L. |title=Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, c. 82 B.C. – A.D. 480 |date=2001 |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn |isbn=978-1-57958-316-3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Vasiliev |first=Alexander |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EXiWAwAAQBAJ |title=History of the Byzantine Empire 324–1453 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |year=1958 |isbn=0299809250 |author-link=Alexander Kazhdan}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* This [https://web.archive.org/web/20081025063840/http://www.fourthcentury.com/index.php/imperial-laws-chart-364 list of Roman laws of the fourth century] shows laws passed by Constantius II relating to Christianity.

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Constantinian dynasty]]|7 August|317|3 November|361}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef| before=[[Constantine I]]}}
{{s-ttl| title=[[List of Roman emperors|Roman emperor]]
       | years=337–361
       | with=[[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine II]] and [[Constans]] in the [[Western Roman Empire|West]]}}
{{s-aft| after=[[Julian (emperor)|Julian]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef | before= [[Sextus Anicius Paulinus|Sex. Anicius Paulinus]] |before2=[[Julius Julianus]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[List of Roman consuls|Roman consul]] | years=326 |regent1= [[Constantine I|Constantine Augustus]]}}
{{s-aft | after= Flavius Constantius |after2=[[Valerius Maximus (praetorian prefect)|Valerius Maximus]]}}
{{s-bef | before= Ursus |before2=[[Julius Valerius Alexander Polemius|Polemius]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[List of Roman consuls|Roman consul]] II| years=339 |regent1= [[Constans I|Constans Augustus]]}}
{{s-aft | after= [[Septimius Acindynus]] |after2=[[Lucius Aradius Valerius Proculus|L. Aradius Valerius Proculus]]}}
{{s-bef | before= [[Petronius Probinus (consul 341)|Petronius Probinus]] |before2=[[Antonius Marcellinus]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[List of Roman consuls|Roman consul]] III| years=342 |regent1= [[Constans I|Constans Augustus]] II}}
{{s-aft | after= [[Marcus Maecius Memmius Furius Baburius Caecilianus Placidus|M. Furius Placidus]]|after2=[[Flavius Romulus (consul)|Romulus]]}}
{{s-bef | before= Amantius|before2=[[Marcus Nummius Albinus Triturrius|M. Nummius Albinus]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[List of Roman consuls|Roman consul]] IV| years=346 |regent1= [[Constans I|Constans Augustus]] III}}
{{s-aft | after= [[Vulcacius Rufinus]]|after2=[[Eusebius (consul 347)|Eusebius]]}}
{{s-bef | before= [[Magnentius]]|before2=[[Gaiso]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[List of Roman consuls|Roman consul]] V–VII| years=352–354 |regent1= [[Constantius Gallus|Constantius Caesar]]}}
{{s-aft | after= [[Arbitio]]|after2=[[Quintus Flavius Maesius Egnatius Lollianus Mavortius|Lollianus Mavortius]]}}
{{s-bef | before= [[Arbitio]]|before2=[[Quintus Flavius Maesius Egnatius Lollianus Mavortius|Lollianus Mavortius]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[List of Roman consuls|Roman consul]] VIII–IX| years=356–357 |regent1= [[Julian (emperor)|Julian Caesar]]}}
{{s-aft | after= [[Censorius Datianus]]|after2=[[Neratius Cerealis]]}}
{{s-bef | before= [[Eusebius (consul 359)|Eusebius]]|before2=[[Hypatius (consul 359)|Hypatius]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[List of Roman consuls|Roman consul]] X | years=360 |regent1= [[Julian (emperor)|Julian Caesar]]}}
{{s-aft | after= [[Taurus (consul 361)|Taurus]]|after2=[[Florentius (consul 361)|Florentius]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Roman emperors}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Constantius 2}}
[[Category:Constantius II| ]]
[[Category:317 births]]
[[Category:361 deaths]]
[[Category:4th-century Christians]]
[[Category:4th-century Roman emperors]]
[[Category:4th-century Roman consuls]]
[[Category:Arian Christians]]
[[Category:Constantinian dynasty]]
[[Category:Flavii]]
[[Category:Illyrian people]]
[[Category:Infectious disease deaths in Turkey]]
[[Category:Julii]]
[[Category:People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars]]
[[Category:People from Sirmium]]
[[Category:Sons of Roman emperors]]
[[Category:Burials at the Church of the Holy Apostles]]
[[Category:Illyrian emperors]]
[[Category:Romans from Pannonia]]