Constantius Gallus

Constantius Gallus
Caesar (15 March 351 – 354)
Solidus of Constantius Gallus, marked: d·n·fl·cl· constantius nob·caes·
Born	Gallus 325 or 326 Massa Veternensis, Etruria
Died	354 (aged 28) Pola
Spouse	Constantina
Issue	Anastasia (only daughter)
Regnal name Flavius Claudius Constantius[1]
Dynasty	Constantinian
Father	Julius Constantius
Mother	Galla
Religion	Christianity

Flavius Claudius Constantius Gallus (326 – 354) was a statesman and ruler in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire from 351 to 354, as Caesar under emperor Constantius II (r. 337–61), his cousin. A grandson of emperor Constantius Chlorus (r. 293–306) and empress Flavia Maximiana Theodora, and a son of Julius Constantius and Galla, he belonged to the Constantinian dynasty. Born during the reign of his uncle Constantine the Great (r. 306–37), he was among the few male members of the imperial family to survive the purge that followed Constantine's death. Under Constantius II, Gallus served as deputy emperor, based in Antioch and married to Constantius' sister Constantina. He dealt with a Jewish revolt in the years 351-352. Gallus ultimately fell out of favor with Constantius and was executed, being replaced as Caesar by his younger half-brother Julian.

Family

Gallus was a son of Julius Constantius and his first wife Galla, who seems to have died at some point prior to 331/2. Gallus' paternal grandparents were the emperor Constantius Chlorus and his second wife Flavia Maximiana Theodora. Julius Constantius was a paternal half-brother of the emperor Constantine I, which, in turn, meant Gallus was a half-first cousin of Constantine's sons, Constantine II, Constantius II and Constans.

Gallus had three siblings: his elder sister, of unknown name, was the

Caesar

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Location of Antioch in present-day Turkey

In 350, Magnentius rebelled and killed the emperor Constans, claiming the purple. Constantius II prepared to move against the usurper, but needed a representative in the East, so he called Gallus at Sirmium, raised him to the rank of caesar (15 March 351), gave him the name Constantius, and strengthened the bonds with his cousin by allowing Gallus to marry his sister Constantina.^[1] The two set up residence in Antioch.

During his rule, Gallus had to deal with a

Gallus was saved from an assassination plot by a woman, who revealed that some members of her household were planning the murder. Some sources, among whom are Joannes Zonaras, claim that this plot had been organized by Magnentius in order to distract Constantius.

As a consequence of the need to gather food for the troops for a Persian campaign or because of drought, the grain supply in Antioch decreased. In order to counter the higher price of grain, Gallus forced the passage of some laws regardless of the opinion of the Senate, thus alienating the senatorial class of Antioch. Ammianus Marcellinus, a pro-senatorial writer, tells how the anger of the people of Antioch for the famine was diverted by Gallus towards the consularis Syriae Theophilus, who was killed by the mob.

Ammianus reports also that Gallus and Constantina brought a number of wealthy people to trial for magic, ending in the execution of innocents and in the confiscation of their wealth. The same source claims that Gallus walked anonymously in Antioch by night, asking passers-by for their opinion on their caesar, while Julian records the great amount of time spent by Gallus at the Hippodrome, probably to obtain popular support.

Doubting his cousin's loyalty, Constantius reduced the troops under Gallus, and sent the Praetorian Prefect Domitianus to Antioch to urge Gallus to go to Italy. Different sources tell different stories, but all agree that Gallus arrested Domitianus and the quaestor Montius Magnus who had come to his aid, and that the two officers were killed.

The arrest of Montius Magnus led to the discovery of what seems to be a plot to usurp Gallus' position. The conspirators had the support of two tribuni fabricarum (officers of the weapons factories) who had promised the weapons for an uprising (Ammianus Marcellinus, 14.7.18), and probably of the troops in Mesopotamia, as well as of the rector of the province of Phoenice. All suspected in connection with the plot, including many innocents, were put to death by order of the Caesar.^[5]

Fall and death

Constantius was informed of the treason trials in Antioch during a campaign against the

First he summoned Ursicinus to the West, whom he suspected of inciting Gallus in order to create the occasion for a revolt and the usurpation of his own son.[7]

Next, Constantius summoned Gallus and Constantina to Mediolanum. Constantina left first, in order to gain some of her brother's trust, but died at Caeni Gallicani in Bithynia. Gallus, whose bonds to Constantius had been weakened, stayed in Antioch. Constantius tried to lure Gallus, sending the tribunus scutariorum Scudilo to tell Gallus that Constantius wanted to raise him to Augustus. Gallus took Constantius's bait and left Antioch to meet him. Gallus staged a chariot race in Constantinople's Hippodrome and crowned the victor, an honor reserved only for an Augustus. This insolence enraged Constantius. In an attempt to further isolate Gallus from any form of military protection, Constantius had the garrisons removed from the towns in Gallus's path.

When Gallus arrived at

See also

• Itineraries of the Roman emperors, 337–361
• Jewish revolt against Gallus

References

Constructs such as named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (May 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message )

Sources

• Banchich, Thomas M., "Gallus Caesar (15 March 351 – 354 A.D.)", DIR (1997) (Archive)
• Crawford, Peter (2016). Constantius II: Usurpers, Eunuchs, and the Antichrist. Pen & Sword.
  ISBN 978-1-78340-055-3
  .
• Hunt, David (1998). "The successors of Constantine". In
  ISBN 0-521-30200-5
  .
• ISBN 0-521-07233-6
  .
• Seeck, Otto, "Constantius 5", Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, volume 7 (IV.1), Metzlerscher Verlag (Stuttgart, 1900), columns 1094–1099.

External links

Media related to Gallus Caesar at Wikimedia Commons