Licinius II
| Licinius II | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caesar | |||||||||
| Born | c. July/August 315 | ||||||||
| Died | c. 326 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Dynasty | Constantinian | ||||||||
| Father | Licinius | ||||||||
| Mother | Flavia Julia Constantia | ||||||||
Licinius II,[1][2] also called Licinius Junior[3][4] or Licinius Caesar[5] (Latin: Valerius Licinianus Licinius; c. July/August 315 – c. 326),[6][4] was the son of the Roman emperor Licinius I. He held the imperial rank of caesar between March 317 and September 324,[6] while his father was augustus, and he was twice Roman consul.[4][7] After losing a civil war, his father lost power and both he and Licinius Junior were eventually put to death.
Family and background
Licinius I married
Life
Licinius II, son of Licinius, grandson of Constantius I, and half-nephew of Constantine, was born to Flavia Julia Constantia in July or August 315.[4]
While the augustus Licinius marched against Constantine in 316, Licinius II was left with his mother and the augustus's treasury at Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica).[10][1] After Licinius was defeated by Constantine at the Battle of Cibalae, and lost two thirds of his army, he fled to Sirmium and thence to Singidunum (Belgrade), where he crossed the river Sava and destroyed the bridge to delay Constantine's pursuit of him.[1] With this delay, Licinius and his family reached Hadrianopolis.[1] After Constantine reached Philippopolis (Plovdiv), and after he and Licinius failed to come to terms over Licinius's appointment of Valerius Valens as co-augustus, the Battle of the Mardia (or "of Campus Ardiensis", probably Harmanli) ensued, in which Licinius was again defeated.[1]
Licinius failed to flee towards
Caesar
On the 1 March 317 Licinius II was raised to the imperial rank of caesar by agreement between his father and Constantine. Constantine's sons Crispus and the infant Constantine II were elevated to caesar on the same day,[8] at Serdica (Sofia).[3] The date was chosen especially; it was the dies imperii (date of accession) of Constantine's father and Licinius's father-in-law Constantius I, the grandfather of all the new caesares.[1] Crispus was no older than 17, while Constantine II was, at seven months, even younger than Licinius II, who was then only 20 months old.[1] Sharing the same day of investiture, none of the caesares could claim seniority. Licinius II retained his title until 324, throughout the time his father remained in power. [11]
Licinius is said by
Licinius II was made consul in 319.
After his defeats by Constantine and Crispus at the
Death
The younger Licinius was executed by his uncle Constantine in 326.[6] He fell victim to the augustus's suspicions and died at Pola, possibly in the context of the execution of Crispus.[16] Like his father, Licinius II was the subject of a posthumous damnatio memoriae and their names were expunged from official inscriptions.[4]
Liciniani filius in the Codex Theodosianus
A Liciniani filius, 'son of Licinianus', is noted in two laws in the Codex Theodosianus dated 336.[6] According to the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, this was not Licinius II, but rather an illegitimate son legitimated by rescript.[6] This son of the augustus was, by legislation, forced into slavery in the imperial textile factories (gynaeceum) in Carthage, Africa.[6] The text contains a directive that he be reduced to the slave status of his birth.[17] No son of Constantine's sister would have been referred to in this manner, therefore, this "son of Licinianus" must have been the illegitimate son of the emperor by a woman of servile status.[17]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-81838-4, retrieved 2020-09-01
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-870677-9, retrieved 2020-09-02
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-954556-8, retrieved 2020-09-02
- ^ ISBN 978-3-534-26724-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8, retrieved 2020-09-02
- ^ ISBN 0-521-07233-6.
- ^ a b Clinton, Henry Fynes (1850). Fasti Romani the Civil and Literary Chronology of Rome and Constantinopole from the Death of Augustus to the Death of Heraclius. Vol. II. Oxford University Press. p. 195.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8, retrieved 2020-09-01
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8, retrieved 2020-09-01
- ISBN 978-0-674-28067-0.
- ^ [1] Last Statues of Antiquity, LSA-334 (J. Lenaghan), 10/3/2022
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8, retrieved 2020-09-02
- ^ ISBN 0-521-07233-6.
- ^ Grant, M. (1985) The Roman Emperors: a Biographical Guide to the Rulers of Imperial Rome, 31BC-AD476, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London
- ^ Stephenson, P. (2009) Constantine: Unconquered Emperor, Christian Victor, Quercus, London, p. 182.
- ISBN 0-7538-0528-6.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ ISBN 0-415-13178-2.
Further reading
- Dietmar Kienast: Römische Kaisertabelle. Grundzüge einer römischen Kaiserchronologie. Wiss. Buchgesellschaft, 3. Auflage, Darmstadt 2004 (unveränderter Nachdruck der 2., durchgesehenen und erw. Auflage 1996), S. 296, ISBN 3-534-18240-5. (in German)
- Lenski, Noel (2005), Lenski, Noel (ed.), "The Reign of Constantine", The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine, Cambridge University Press, pp. 59–90, ISBN 978-0-521-81838-4, retrieved 2020-09-01
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