Constantius II

Constantius II ruled the Roman Empire for twenty-four years and spent most of them fighting Romans. Born in 317, he was the second surviving son of Constantine the Great. When his father died in 337, the army at Constantinople massacred most of the rest of the dynasty — two uncles and seven cousins — sparing only two small boys, Gallus and Julian. Constantius was present and the sources hold him responsible. He and his brothers divided the empire; Constantine II was killed invading Constans's territory in 340, and Constans was murdered by the usurper Magnentius in 350. Constantius destroyed Magnentius at Mursa in 351 in one of the bloodiest battles Romans ever fought against each other — perhaps 50,000 dead, and losses among the field armies that were never made good. He was then sole emperor of a state that could not defend the Rhine, the Danube and Persia at once. His answer was to appoint the surviving cousins as Caesars and then distrust them. Gallus was recalled and executed in 354; Julian was sent to Gaul in 355, beat the Alamanni at Strasbourg, and was proclaimed emperor by his troops in 360 when Constantius demanded his best units for the eastern war. He was an Arian who intervened constantly in church affairs, exiled Athanasius repeatedly, and pressed western bishops to condemn him. He died of fever in Cilicia in November 361 marching against Julian, and named him successor on his deathbed. Ammianus, who served under both, thought him a competent administrator ruined by suspicion and by the men who fed it.

• Lived: 317 CE – 361 CE
• Nationality: Roman
• Roles: emperor, head_of_state, military_leader