Editing Constantine II (emperor) (section)

== Life ==
Born in [[Arles#Ancient era|Arles]] in 316,{{sfn|Barnes|1981|p=66}}{{efn|The only extant outright attestation of Constantine II's birth date states he was born on August 7. This has sometimes been dismissed as a confusion with Constantius II, who was certainly born on the same date, but Barnes commented that the coincidence is possible. He additionally cited Constantine I's documented presence in Constantine II's birthplace in August 316 as support for accepting August 7.{{sfn|Barnes|1973|p=38}} Burgess is more skeptical, arguing that evidence of public celebration of Constantine II's birthday would not have survived due to his condemnation of memory.{{sfn|Burgess|2008|p=7}}}} Constantine II was the second son of the Roman emperor [[Constantine I]], and the eldest with his wife [[Fausta]],{{efn|Based on the report that Constantine II was proclaimed Caesar only a few days after he was born,{{sfn|Barnes|Vanderspoel|1984|p=175}} the [[Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire]] assumed his birth date was in February 317 and, therefore, that he was not Fausta's son, as Constantius II was born less than 9 months later.{{sfn|Jones|Martindale|Morris|p=223}} However, Constantine had already been styled as Caesar on his father's coinage prior to his formal proclamation on 1 March 317, so he cannot have been born as late as February 317.{{sfn|Barnes|Vanderspoel|1984|p=176}}{{sfn|Barnes|1973|p=37}} Evidence for Constantine II being Fausta's son includes an inscription outright describing him as such, and [[Julian (emperor) |Julian]] calling Fausta the mother of "many emperors."{{sfn|Barnes|1973|p=36}}}}  the daughter of the emperor [[Maximian]].
=== Caesar ===
On 1 March 317, he was made [[Caesar (title)|''caesar'']] at [[Serdica]].{{sfn|Barnes|1981|p=67}} After accompanying his father on his campaign against the [[Sarmatians]] in 323,{{sfn|Barnes|1982|p=84}} he was commemorated on coinage produced to recognize the ensuing victory.{{sfn|Baker-Brian|2022|p=120}} Constantine II usually resided with his father until 328, when his own court was installed at [[Trier]].{{sfn|Barnes|1981|p=221}} An inscription dated to 328–330{{efn|Barnes favors the date 330,{{sfn|Barnes|1982|p=84}} while Drinkwater prefers an earlier date of 328–9.{{sfn|Drinkwater|2007|pp=198-199}}}} records the title of {{Lang|la|Alamannicus}}, indicating that his generals won a victory over the [[Alamanni]].<ref name=dimaio>{{Cite encyclopedia|last1=DiMaio Jr|first1=Michael|last2=Frakes|first2=Robert|title=Constantine II (337–340 A.D.)|url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/conii.htm|date=2 May 1998|encyclopedia=[[De Imperatoribus Romanis]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325143514/http://www.roman-emperors.org/conii.htm |archive-date=25 March 2022 }}</ref>  His military career continued when Constantine I made him field commander during the 332 winter campaign against the [[Goths]].<ref name=dimaio/> As a result of his leadership,{{sfn|Baker-Brian|2022|p=140}} the military operation concluded with 100,000 Goths reportedly slain and the surrender of the ruler [[Ariaric]].{{sfn|Barnes|1981|p=250}} Festival games were initiated in [[Rome]] to celebrate the ''caesar''<nowiki/>'s role in the successful military campaigns, in a public advertisement of his capability to rule.{{sfn|Baker-Brian|2022|p=140}} He was married prior to 336, although his wife's identity remains unknown.{{sfn|Woods|2011|p=195}}

While Constantine I had intended for his sons to rule together with their cousins [[Dalmatius]] and [[Hannibalianus]], soon after his death in May 337 the army murdered several of their male relatives, including Dalmatius and Hannibalianus,{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=3}} on the orders of Constantine II's younger brother [[Constantius II]].{{sfn|Burgess|2008|pp=25-27}} Although Constantine himself appears to not have been directly involved,{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=4}}{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=33}} Burgess observed from numismatic evidence that he and his brothers "not only seem not to have fully accepted the legitimacy of Dalmatius and viewed him as an interloper, but also appear to have communicated with one another on this point and agreed on a common response."{{sfn|Burgess|2008|pp=21-22}}

[[File:Solidus Constantine II-heraclea RIC vII 101.jpg|thumb|200px|left|[[Solidus (coin)|''Solidus'']] of Constantine II as ''caesar''|alt=]]

In what seemed to be an attempt to distance themselves from the massacre,{{sfn|Woods|2011|pp=194-195}}{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=32}} the three brothers proceeded to print coins of [[Flavia Maximiana Theodora|Theodora]], whom their murdered relatives had been descended from.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=3}} Most of the coins were generated at Constantine II's capital, [[Trier]], indicating that he was the one responsible for designing and producing the coinage at the start, as well as convincing his brothers to do the same.{{sfn|Burgess|2008|p=23}} Woods considered it to suggest that he was more sympathetic to Theodora's memory than his brothers,{{sfn|Woods|2011|p=194}} possibly because his wife may have been a granddaughter of Theodora.{{sfn|Woods|2011|p=195}}

In June 337, before he was named emperor, Constantine had already begun attempting to assert his seniority.{{sfn|Lewis|2020|p=69}} He issued an order allowing the exiled bishop [[Athanasius of Alexandria|Athanasius]] to return to [[Alexandria]], which was under the control of Constantius II,{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=105}} claiming to be carrying out the unfulfilled intentions of his father.<ref name=dimaio/>{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=5}} While Constantine's motives remain unclear, suggested explanations include him truly believing in the bishop's innocence, him wanting to get rid of a religious nuisance, or him wanting to cause trouble for Constantius,<ref name=dimaio/>{{sfn|Crawford|2016|pp=105-106}} who would oust Athanasius from Alexandria only two years later.{{sfn|Lewis|2020|p=69}}

=== Augustus ===

The three brothers were not named as ''[[Augustus (title)|Augusti]]'' until 9 September 337,{{sfn|Jones|Martindale|Morris|p=223}} when they gathered together in [[Pannonia]] and divided the Roman territories among themselves.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=4}} Constantine received [[Roman Gaul|Gaul]], [[Roman Britain|Britannia]] and [[Hispania]].{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=4}}<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|author=|date=2021|title=Constantine II – Roman Emperor|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Constantine-II-Roman-emperor|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> Unlike his younger brothers, he gained little from Dalmatius's removal.{{sfn|Lewis|2020|p=59}}

[[File:Impero_Romano_da_maggio_a_settembre_337.png|thumb|Division of the Empire among the Caesars appointed by Constantine I: from west to east, the territories of Constantine II, Constans, Dalmatius and Constantius II{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=30}}]]

[[File:Gold solidus of Constantine II.jpg |left|thumb|''Solidus'' of Constantine II as ''augustus'']]

Constantine was evidently left unsatisfied with the results of their meeting,{{sfn|DiMaio|1988|p=240}}{{sfn|Baker-Brian|2022|p=136}} seemingly believing that his age granted him some sort of seniority in the imperial college{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=35}} and, by extension, control over the dominion of his youngest brother [[Constans]], who was still a teenager in 337.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=5}}{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=64}} Even after campaigning successfully against the Alamanni in 338, Constantine continued to maintain his position.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=5}}{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=63}}{{sfn|Drinkwater|2007|p=199}} The [[Theodosian Code]] recorded his legislative intervention in Constans's territory through issuing an edict to the proconsul of Africa in 339.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=5}}{{sfn|Crawford|2016|pp=63-64}}

In April 340,{{sfn|Lewis|2020|pp=74-75, 82-84}} Constantine launched an invasion into Italy to claim territory from Constans.<ref name=dimaio/>{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=5}} Constans, at that time in [[Naissus]],{{sfn|DiMaio|1988|p=240}} sent a number of troops to confront him, and Constantine was killed in an ambush near [[Aquileia]].{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=5}}{{sfn|DiMaio|1988|p=241}}{{efn|In a confused account, [[Zosimus (historian)|Zosimus]] does not say Constantine II invaded his youngest brother's territory. He instead reported that Constans sent troops to Constantine on the pretext of assisting Constantius II in the Persian war, but in reality to assassinate him by surprise.{{sfn|Baker-Brian|2022|p=144}} Constans's troops would've been marching away from the Persians if they were heading to Constantine’s territory.{{sfn|Baker-Brian|2022|p=145}}{{sfn|Lewis|2020|p=78}} Some modern historians, trying to make sense of Zosimus's confusion, have suggested that instead it was Constantine who claimed to be assisting Constantius II.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=5}}{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=64}}{{sfn|Baker-Brian|2022|p=145}}}} Constans then took control of his brother's realm, whose inhabitants seem to have been largely unaffected by their change in ruler.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|pp=5-6}} 

After his death, Constantine was subjected to ''[[damnatio memoriae]]''.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=5}} Constans issued legislation repealing Constantine's acts shortly after his death, where the deceased emperor was branded as "the public enemy and our own enemy."{{sfn|Lewis|2020|p=74}} Years later, when [[Libanius]] delivered a panegyric for both Constans and Constantius, Constantine was completely omitted from the narrative, as if he had never existed.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=5}}