Division of Empire: The Reign of the Sons of Constantine

"Constantine the Great died on 22 May AD 337. He left behind three sons, Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans, to face the challenge of how to rule the Roman empire, and how to divide it between them. This book follows the lives of the sons from the death of their father and traces how they first shared the empire as a triarchy, until Constantine II was killed by his brother Constans in the civil war of 340, and after that as a diarchy, until Constans was murdered by a usurper in 350. It also tackles the question of division. It is well known that the Roman empire came to be divided into eastern and western halves in 395; what is less known is that this was the culmination of a great series of divisions and reunifications stretching across the fourth century. Division was a process, rather than an event, and it is a process that has received little attention in scholarship. This book uses the power-sharing of the sons of Constantine as a case study for division, and how it worked in practice. Constantius was the last man standing of Constantine's sons, and reunified the empire under the rule of a sole Augustus, like his father. However, the cracks were already starting to show. The reunification of the empire proved to be a failure, and this book traces the threads of Constantinian division as the empire ossified into separate halves"-- Cover Oxford Studies In Late Antiquity Division of Empire : The Reign of the Sons of Constantine Copyright Contents Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations 1: Introduction: Partes Regendae Preface Defining and Approaching D ivision Structure Conclusion 2: Constantius, Divider of Empires? Introduction The Testament of Constantine Negotiations in Pannonia A Detour to Troesmis Mutiny Conclusion : The Post -Tetrarchy of Constantius 3: The Constantinian Triarchy Introduction Territories Seniority The Consulship, ad 337–40 The Posthumous Coinage of Constantine Conclusion : The Nature of Covernment 4: The Civil War of ad 340 Introduction The Official Narrative The Unauthorized Narrative The Contemporary Evidence and Chronology Constans ’ Coup The Reaction of Constantius Conclusion 5: Ulpius Limenius and the West Introduction The Proconsul of Constantinople Praetorian Prefects of the West The Anatolius Controversy Praetorian Prefects of the West, Continued Constans ’ Eastern Court The Consulship, ad 340–50 Conclusion 6: Fabius Titianus and the Urban Prefecture of Rome Introduction The Chronography of 354 Constans ’ Urban Prefects The Profile of the Urban Prefecture under Constans Vetranio The Fight for Rome Fabius Titianus: Praefectus Iterum A Conspiracy of Constans ’ Supporters Usurpation in a Divided Empire Conclusion 7: Constantius’ Failure and the End of Unity Introduction Division, ad 337–50 Constantius and the Reunification of the Roman Empire The Gallus Experiment One Augustus, One Caesar Julian and Jovian Valentinian and Valens Gratian and Valentinian II Theodosius Conclusion 8: Conclusion: Division of Empire Introduction Reflections on the Sons of Constantine Division in the F ourth Century The Nature of Division Epilogue Bibliography Index