Editing Constans (section)

==Death==
[[File:Constans RIC VIII 135.jpg|thumb|300x300px|''Solidus'' of Constans, ''[[Decennalia]]'' issue of 347/348]]
On 18 January 350,{{sfn|Jones|Martindale|Morris|p=532}} the general [[Magnentius]] declared himself emperor at Augustodunum ([[Autun]]) with the support of a number of court officials such as [[Marcellinus (magister officiorum)|Marcellinus]], Constans' [[comes rerum privatarum]], as well as [[Fabius Titianus]], who had previously served as the praetorian prefect of Gaul.{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=10}} At the time, Constans was distracted by a hunting trip.{{sfn|Harries|2012|p=195}} As he was trying to reach [[Hispania]], supporters of Magnentius cornered him in a fortification in Helena ([[Elne]]) in the eastern [[Pyrenees]] of southwestern [[Roman Gaul|Gaul]], where he was killed after seeking sanctuary in a temple.<ref name="ReferenceA" />{{efn|While it has sometimes been assumed that Constans had to flee for his life,<ref name="ReferenceA" />{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=11}}{{sfn|Barnes|1993|p=101}} Harries has disputed this, believing that the location of Constans' death indicates he was unaware of the revolt.{{sfn|Harries|2012|pp=195–196}}}} An alleged [[prophecy]] at his birth had said Constans would die "in the arms of his grandmother". His place of death happens to have been named after [[Helena (empress)|Helena]], mother of [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]] and his own grandmother, thus realizing the prophecy.{{sfn|Baker-Brian|2022|p=208}} Constans' name would later be [[damnatio memoriae|erased from inscriptions]] in places that recognized Magnentius as emperor.{{sfn|Usherwood|2022|p=236}}

Regarding possible motives for Constans' overthrow, ancient sources assert that he was widely unpopular,{{sfn|Barnes|1993|p=101}}{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=10}}{{sfn|Baker-Brian|2022|p=163}} and attribute his downfall to his own failings. Along with the accusation of corruption, he is also accused of neglecting portions of the empire{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=10}} and treating his soldiers with contempt.{{sfn|Harries|2012|p=190}}{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=67}} Ammianus lamented the emperor's failure to listen to wise counsel,{{sfn|Hunt|1998|p=10}} referencing one man he believed could have saved Constans from his own faults.{{sfn|Woudhuysen|2018|p=160}}

However, some modern scholars have questioned this portrayal. According to historian [[Jill Harries]], "The detail that Constans was in the habit of making journeys with only a small escort may account for his vulnerability in 350."{{sfn|Harries|2012|p=190}} Based on several factors - the small number of people behind the plot, how the setting for Magnentius' coup was not a military centre,{{sfn|Harries|2012|p=195}} [[Vetranio]]'s proclamation as emperor in opposition to Magnentius,{{sfn|Harries|2012|pp=196–197}} and Julian's report that the usurper had to murder several of Constans' generals to take control of the Gallic army{{sfn|Harries|2012|pp=194–195}} – she concluded that Magnentius' revolt was "the result of a private grudge on the part of an apprehensive official and not the outcome of widespread discontent among the military or the wider population."{{sfn|Harries|2012|p=196}} This view is supported by Peter Crawford, who considered the explanation from the ancient sources to be a misconception caused by the rapid success of the coup.{{sfn|Crawford|2016|p=72}}

Harries does, however, acknowledge how the Gallic army accepted Magnentius seemingly without difficulty, and how according to [[Zosimus (historian)|Zosimus]], Constantius' official Philippus emphasized Constantine, rather than Constans, when addressing Magnentius' troops.{{sfn|Harries|2012|p=222}} On speculating the basis for Constans' overthrow, she suggested that one reason may have been regarding financial difficulties in Gaul by the end of his reign, which could have been related to the finance officer Marcellinus' support of him.{{sfn|Harries|2012|pp=194–195}} After Magnentius took power, he levied taxes, sold imperial estates in Gaul and debased the coinage.{{sfn|Harries|2012|p=194}} Nicholas Baker-Brian also observed how Magnentius sent his brother [[Decentius]] to defend the region after Constans had neglected it, writing that, "it is apparent that among the reasons for Magnentius' rebellion was a desire to remedy Constans' governmental failings in Gaul."{{sfn|Baker-Brian|2022|pp=260–262}}