Constantina
Constantina | |
---|---|
Augusta | |
Born | 307-317 |
Died | 354 Caeni Gallicani, Bithynia |
Burial | |
Spouse | Hannibalianus Constantius Gallus |
Issue | Constantia Anastasia |
Dynasty | Constantinian |
Father | Constantine the Great |
Mother | Fausta |
Flavia Valeria Constantina
Life
Some time before mid 320s, Constantina was born to the emperor Constantine and empress Fausta. She was sister to
For the second time, Constantius II gave Constantina to Hannibalianus' cousin, and her own half cousin Gallus. Gallus was created a Caesar of the East and his name changed to Constantius Gallus to further his legitimacy around 349/350, which also presumably was the time of their marriage. Gallus was twenty-five or twenty-six at the time, whereas Constantina was substantially his senior. Her second marriage produced a daughter Anastasia, whose full name and fate are unknown.[5]
Constantina and Constantius Gallus were then sent from Rome to
Political role
Upon marrying Hannibalianus her father allegedly made her
Not only did Constantina exercise influence on her own, she was inherently, as a female member of the imperial Roman family, a political tool. As a widow, she could be offered in marriage to secure political alliance. This happened twice. In AD 350, in order to attempt a peaceful compromise by arranging marriage, Magnentius offered to marry Constantina and have Constantius II marry his daughter.[9] But Constantius II refused this offer. Shortly after, in AD 351, Constantius II used Constantina for a different political purpose and gave her in marriage to Constantius Gallus who was made Caesar in the Eastern Roman Empire and they moved to Antioch.[6]
The Passio Artemii (12) alleges that the marriage was meant to ensure Gallus' loyalty[10] but it may have had at least as much to do with Constantina who, besides having known power as Constantine's daughter and Hannibalianus' wife, had prompted the opposition of Vetranio[11] to Magnentius, and whose hand had been sought from Constantius by ambassadors of Magnentius himself.[12]
The marriage, besides benefiting Constantius, extricated her from a dangerous situation in the empire and placed her in a position from which she might control the younger and inexperienced Caesar, an interest she shared with Constantius. On the other hand, it is possible that Constantius saw the marriage as a way to remove his intrusive – perhaps treasonous – sister from the volatile west. If the mention in the Passio Artemii (11) of letters from Constantina to her brother preserves a genuine tradition, it is possible Constantina even initiated the proposal that she marry Gallus.
Gallus ruled over the East from
When, after receiving the complaints of the Anthiocheans, Constantius II summoned both Gallus and Constantina, but according to Ammianus Constantina, in her last attempt at using her political power, journeyed ahead to meet with her brother the emperor to try to pacify him in his conflict with her husband Constantius Gallus, during which she died from illness.[15]
Character assessment
Ammianus Marcellinus portrays Constantina as cruel, violent, and arrogant: "her pride was swollen beyond measure; she was a Fury in mortal form, incessantly adding fuel to her husband's rage, and as thirsty for human blood as he".[7]
Later in the 18th century, Edward Gibbon, influenced by Ammianus Marcellinus' rhetoric, likened Constantina to one of the infernal furies tormented with an insatiate thirst of human blood. The historian said that she encouraged the violent nature of Gallus rather than persuading him to show reason and compassion. Gibbon stated that her vanity was accentuated while the gentle qualities of a woman were absent in her makeup when she would have accepted a pearl necklace in return for consenting to the execution of a worthy nobleman.[16]
Medieval legend
In the
Cult and recognition of her holiness
Her relics were placed by Pope Alexander IV under a new altar. Today, the grave of Constantina is in the church of Santa Costanza, Rome. It was only in the 16th century that Constantina, Attica, and Artemia were placed for the first time in martyrologies. The feast day of Constantina is 18 February. Attica and Artemia are venerated, in addition, on 28 January and 17 February. Together, they are venerated on 25 February and 25 June.[19]
Notes
References
- ^ Mémoires de la Société archéologique de Touraine. Vol. 4. Archaeological Society of Touraine. 1855. p. 19.
- ^ St Constance Church (2014). "Our Patron". Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ Alan Cameron (1996). "Orfitus and Constantius: a note on Roman gold-glasses," in Journal of Roman archaeology, p. 301.
- ^ Ammianus Marcellinus, xiv 1.2.
- Flavius Claudius Iulianus, Epistola ad Athenienses, 272 D.
- ^ a b c DiMaio 1996
- ^ a b Ammianus Marcellinus 1986, p. 41
- ^ Webb 2001, p. 252
- ^ Gibbon 1854, p. 377
- ^ Gibbon 1854, p. 388
- ^ Jones, Martindale & Morris 1971, p. 222
- ^ Müller 1841–1870, Peter the Patrician fr. 16, p. 190
- ^ Ammianus Marcellinus 1986, p. 62
- ^ Ammianus Marcellinus, xiv 1.3.
- ^ "she set out in the hope that as he was her brother she would be able to soften him".Ammianus Marcellinus 1986, p. 58
- ^ Gibbon 1854, p. 389
- ^ Grossmann, Peter (1998). "The Pilgrimage Center of Abû Mînâ". in D. Frankfurter (ed.), Pilgrimage & Holy Space in Late Antique Egypt. Leiden-Boston-Köln, Brill: p. 282
- ^ Kleinhenz 2004, p. 251
- ^ Stadler, J.E.; Home, F.J.; Ginal, J.N. (1858–1882). SS. Constantia, Attica et Artemia. Augsburg. p. 663.
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Sources
- Primary sources
- Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae Libri XXXI.
- ISBN 978-0-14-044406-3.
- Secondary sources
- Crawford, Peter (2016). Constantius II: Usurpers, Eunuchs, and the Antichrist. Pen & Sword. ISBN 978-1-78340-055-3.
- DiMaio, Michael (15 November 1996). "Constantina (daughter of Constantine I)". De Imperatoribus Romanis.
- Gibbon, Edward (1854). The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire. London: John Murray.
- Kleinhenz, Christopher (2004). "Constantina". Medieval Italy an encyclopedia. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-93929-4. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
- Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin; Martindale, John Robert; Morris, John (1971). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Cambridge University Press. p. 222. ISBN 0-521-07233-6.
- Müller, Karl (1841–1870). Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum (in Latin). Paris: Didot. Vols. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
- Webb, Matilda (2001). The Churches and Catacombs of Early Christian Rome. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press. p. 41. ISBN 1-902210-57-3.