History. From A. D. to A. D. Sons of Constantine Hannibalia CONSTANTINUS II., CONSTANS, AND CONSTANTIUS. Upon the death of Constantine, the army, and sub323. sequently the Senate, expressed their determination to acknowledge no other Emperors than his sons, although Dalmatius Cæsar and Hannibalianus his nephew had 361. received from the late Monarch a share in the parThe three tition of the Empire. About four months afterwards, the three brothers assumed the title, to which their proclaimed claim had been so readily admitted. A scene of blood* Emperors, then followed. A tumultuous soldiery destroyed in Massacre of indiscriminate massacre Julius Constantius, the deDalmatius, ceased Emperor's brother, Dalmatius and Hannibalianus, the Patrician Optatus, who had married the sister mus, &c. of Constantine, five of his nephews, one of whom was the eldest son of Julius Constantius, the Præfect Ablavius and others, who, having been Ministers in the late reign, excited either resentment or suspicion. The numerous family of Constantine was thus reduced to his three sons and two nephews, Gallus and Julian, the youngest children of Julius Constantius. Gallus, who was then twelve years old, owed his safety to a sickly state of health, from which it was not expected he would recover: Julian, who was but six, to his exDivision of treme youth. The murder of Dalmatius and Hannie Empire, balianus was succeeded by a division of their dominions. For this purpose the three brothers, Constantine, Constans, and Constantius, met in Pannonia. Constantine, the eldest, who fixed his Imperial seat at Constantinople, had Thrace, and Constans, Greece and Macedonia. Each of them retained the territories which had been assigned by the late Emperor during his lifetime. Constantine kept Gaul, Spain, and Britain; Constantius, Asia, Syria, and Egypt; and Constans, Illyricum, Italy, and Africa. Constantine appears to have ceded, this same year, Thrace to Constantius, and Constans Africa to Constantine. When they assumed the Purple, the eldest of the brothers was twenty-one, the second twenty, and the third only seventeen years of age. laration of The throne of Persia was at this time occupied by Sapor, an able and enterprising Prince, who had long desired to circumscribe the Eastern possessions of Rome, but had hitherto been deterred from the prosecution of his ambitious schemes by the fame and power of Constantine. No sooner, however, was the object of his fears removed, than he invaded and ravaged the Roman dominions, and made himself master of several of the strong holds of Mesopotamia. He received support from the Armenians, who revolted, drove their King, who favoured the Romans, into exile, and destroyed or expelled the Priests of the Christian Religion, which, through the instrumentality of their late King, Tiridates, had been established in Armenia. Frequent irregular inroads spread continual alarm and desolation. Nine battles were fought, in which the Persians were generally successful. A signal engagement at length took place at Singara, a city of Mesopotamia. Sapor passed the Tigris over three bridges, and, * Constantius is charged with the guilt of this massacre by Julian. (Ad S. P. Q. Athen. p. 270.) So also Athanasius (Solit. p. 856.) and Zosimus. (p. 692.) But Eutropius (p. 558.) and Socrates say he rather permitted than commanded it. Euseb. Vit. Const. lib. iv. c. 68. Zosim. lib. ii. Julian, Ep. ad Athen. Socrat. lib. iii. c. 1. Ammian. nus II. Constans. Constantius From having fixed his camp near the village of Hilleh, Constantifortified it with a deep ditch and high ramparts, on which, as well as on the adjacent eminences, he placed numerous bodies of archers. The banks of the river and a plain stretching out above twelve miles, were likewise covered with his forces. The Romans, eager to begin the conflict, urged Constantius to lead them up to the camp, which they attacked with the utmost vigour, in despite of the arrows which were thickly poured down upon them from the heights and the resistance which was offered to their progress. A. D 323. to A. D. 361 348. The Persians, perhaps merely as a feint, fled in con- Battle of fusion. The Romans pursued with an imprudent ar- Singara. dour, which Constantius endeavoured ineffectually to A. D. check. Having soon filled up the ditch and destroyed the rampart, they dispersed themselves through the camp, and prepared at night, without suspicion of danger, to rest from the fatigues of the day or to enjoy the fruits of their victory. Sapor observed their movements and immediately seized the advantages which their false security presented. Under cover of darkness large bodies of his army, who had viewed the engagement in safety, descended from the eminences on which they had been stationed, and his Persian archers suddenly poured their arrows on the defenceless bands, which were sunk in careless revelry.* After having caused dreadful havoc among the Romans, the Persians retired at daybreak beyond the Tigris, and broke down the bridges to prevent the pursuit of a foe, on whom they had executed such signal vengeance. The loss on both sides was considerable. Among the captives taken by the Romans was the son and heir of Sapor. He was publicly scourged, tortured, and put to death-an act of inhumanity which stamps indelible disgrace on the character of his victor.† Nisibis. 350 Sapor was aware that victories in the field, however brilliant, were not sufficient to effect the attainment of his object, unless he could obtain possession of the strong holds of Mesopotamia. The capture of the important city of Nisibis, which was considered the bulwark of the East, was the principal object of his attention. After having besieged it at two different periods, the first time during sixty-three days, the second during Siege of three months, he made one more vigorous, though A. D. equally unsuccessful, attack. Animated by the prayers 338. 346 of James their Bishop, directed by the experience and bravery of Lucilianus, and encouraged by the result of the two former sieges, the inhabitants defended themselves with the most determined courage. The engines which were brought to batter and to undermine the walls, proved, through the skilful measures of the Romans, entirely ineffectual. Thus baffled, Sapor had recourse to a novel expedient. He caused the course of the river Mygdonius, which flowed through Nisibis. to be stopped below the town, and its waters to be confined by huge moles of earth, by which means the surrounding country was deluged, and the city presented the appearance of an island in the midst of the sea. On this sheet of water, thus suddenly and artificially raised, an immense number of ships and boats, advancing forth, armed with troops, and various kinds of military engines, attackea, nearly on a level, the forces assembled upon the ramparts. The violent rush and From A. D. 323. to A. D. 361. History. pressure of the waters broke down a part of the wall and opened a breach of a hundred and fifty feet. The Persians, imagining that the capture of the place was now within their grasp, pressed on with loud shouts to the assault. Their efforts, however, even at this apparently favourable moment, were unavailing. The cavalry, encumbered with heavy armour, were clogged and impeded in the deep mud, and great numbers were lost in hidden holes which the bursting waters had filled up. The wounded elephants, furious and ungovernable, trampled the archers under foot. The Persian King, a spectator of this confusion and disorder, gave the signal of retreat, and suspended for some time the assault. The inhabitants availed themselves of this respite, and at the dawn of the next day, Sapor saw with surprise a new wall of six feet in height already raised, where the breach had seemed to open to him the prospect of success. He adhered, however, with surprising pertinacity to the prosecution of the attack, notwithstand ing continual repulses, and it is uncertain how long he would have struggled to accomplish a design, on which all the energies of his mind seem to have been bent, had not an invasion of the Massagetæ* induced him, after the loss of more than twenty thousand men,† to abandon in haste a siege, which had lasted almost four months, and to make a truce with the Roman Emperor. Constantine About three years after the division of the Empire, invades the Constantine, the eldest brother, dissatisfied with his dominions share, after having ineffectually attempted to obtain of Constans the cession of the whole or at least of some part of Italy, placed himself at the head of a tumultuous host, marched from Gaul, and, entering into his brother's territories by the Julian Alps, first exercised his vengeance on the country round Aquileia. Constans, who was then in Dacia, immediately detached a chosen portion of his forces, by whose skilful artifices the imprudent Constantine, having been drawn into an ambuscade, was encircled and slain. His body, which had been thrown into the river Ansa, at a small distance from Aquileia, was afterwards discovered and removed to Constantinople, where it was interred near the tomb of his father. In consequence of this event, Constans, who refused to transfer to Constantius any part of the dominions of the deceased Prince, became sole master of the Provinces of the West, and remained in possession of upwards of two-thirds of the Roman Empire. of Constans and is sur prised and slain. A. D. 340. Revolt of A. D. Ten years after the death of his brother, Constans Maguentius himself experienced a fate no less sudden and disastrous. and murder While the want of activity and talent which he betrayed of Constans. had exposed him to universal contempt, the marked favour, which, it is said,§ his depraved passions led him 35.0. to show towards some German captives, naturally excited scandal and disaffection. The rapacity and oppression of his favourites and Ministers must have contributed deeply to increase this alienation. Magnentius, a soldier of Barbarian extraction, but of a daring February. Zonar. tom. ii. lib. xiii. p. 11. Julian, Orat. ii. Thesphan. p. 33. Zonar. Vict. Epit. Eutrop. &c. Constantine is described by his panegyrist as an accomplished and pious Prince. (Monod. seu Orat. in Constant. Junior. Mort. p. 7. &c.) His unprovoked and ill-contrived invasion of his brother's dominions is not calculated to increase our idea either of his probity or of his abilities. Aur. Vict. p. 527. Zos. lib. ii. R. 692. Zouar. p. 11. Libanius, however, extols his continence. Lib. Oral. iii. p. 212. Vict. Epit. p. 544. Eutrop. p. 588. Constantius. From A. D. 323. to A. D. 361. spirit, who commanded some forces, to which the de- Constantifence of the banks of the Rhine had been assigned, nus II. resolved to wrest the reins of Government from hands Constans. which were evidently too feeble to keep firm hold of them in any dangerous crisis. He communicated his project to Marcellinus, Count of the Sacred Largesses, and to some other Officers, who readily concurred in advancing his views. When the moment for executing the plot had arrived, Marcellinus, under pretence of celebrating the birthday of his son, gave a sumptuous entertainment to the chief Officers of the army, then resident near the city of Autun. The sentiments of the guests were elicited, and their passions inflamed by the freedom of enthusiasm. Convivial indulgence continued till the night was very far advanced. Magnentius, who had withdrawn for a short time, then returned arrayed in the Imperial robes, and invested with the ensigns of sovereign power. Such of the party as were conspirators immediately saluted him with the title of Augustus. The rest, who seem not at first to have regarded the proceeding in a serious light, heated with wine, staggered with surprise, moved by vague hopes or fears, soon followed the example of the conspirators, and acknowledged by acclamation the title of the usurper. The guards having taken the oaths, he immediately took possession of the Imperial palace of Autun, distributed the treasure among the populace, and thus drew into his interest both the city and the neighbouring country. Anxious to seize Constans, before the indolent Prince could be apprized of the rebellion, Magnentius despatched Gaïso, a principal Commander of the army, to put him to death. Information, however, of the revolt having already reached him, he endeavoured, though deserted by his soldiery, to direct his flight towards Spain, but Gaïso, having learned the route which he had taken, pursued him closely with a select band of troops. He was overtaken near Helena,* a small village at the foot of the Pyrenees, and murdered with many wounds. Vetranio assumes th After the death of Constans, the title of Magnentius was soon recognised in Gaul, Italy, and the Western Provinces. To ensure assistance and support, he declared his brother Desiderius, and Decentius,† (who is, by some writers, called his brother, by others his cousin,) Cæsars. In Illyricum, the legions under the command of Vetranio prevailed upon him, after having manifested title of Em either real or apparent reluctance, grounded on his peror. gratitude and fidelity to the family of Constantine, to allow himself to be invested with the Imperial dignity. Constantina herself, the wife of the unfortunate Hannibalianus, placed the diadem on his head. Vetranio, a native of Upper Mæsia, descended from obscure parents, was now far advanced in years, after having served In the army from his infancy. His natural abilities were respected, but his deficiency in education was so great that it was after his elevation that he first learned to read. His integrity and affability, however, joined to the success which had uniformly attended his arms, Nepotian rendered him universally beloved by his forces.§ A takes the third aspirant arose, either exasperated at the sight of a So called by Constantine, from his motners name. called Illiberis, now Elne. title of E peror and seizes Ro Before † Decentius assumed also the names of Magnentius and Magnus. He is likewise distinguished by the unusual title of Fortissimus. Zosim. lib. i. ¡ Eutrop. p. 588. to A. D. 361. terms of Peace pro History. successful Barbarian as master of the West, or dazzled by the seductive lustre which conceals the dangers of From Imperial, and more especially of usurped power. A. D. Nepotianus, the youthful son of Eutropia, sister to the 323. great Constantine, having drawn together a company of gladiators and other desperate men, assumed the Purple, and took possession of Rome, on which he wreaked his vengeance, and slaughtered among others the Præfect Anicetus, who, having been appointed by Magnentius to command in the city, had made against him an unsuccessful sally. His hopes were destined to be soon blasted. Marcellinus was despatched against him by Magnentius. A bloody battle was fought, but Nepotianus being betrayed by a Senator named HeraHis death, clitus, his men were routed, and himself slain, after having reigned during the short period of twenty-eight days.* Marcellinus caused his head to be carried through the city on the point of a spear, put to death such as had espoused his cause, and involved in a general massacre all who were in any way related to the family of Constantine. Among those who fell victims in this scene of butchery, was Eutropia, the mother of Nepotianus.† Constantius Magnentius having, by the most cruel and oppressive rejects the means, raised such sums as might enable him to meet the expenses of Civil war, assembled a considerable posed by army. Aware, however, of the uncertainty of the field, Magentius. he resolved to try the effect of negotiation. Constantius A. D. was then at Antioch, in which city, on receiving intel350. ligence of the death of his brother, he had asserted his claim to the Empire of the West, and prepared to support it with a considerable army and a very powerful fleet. Leaving Antioch about the beginning of autumn and proceeding through Constantinople, he arrived at Heraclea, in Thrace, where he gave audience to the ambassadors of Magnentius and Vetranio, who had joined for their mutual support. The conditions proposed were, that they would assist him in the prosecution of the war against the Persians and other Barbarians, and also acknowledge his preeminence in point of rank as Emperor of the East, provided he conceded to them the uninterrupted enjoyment of their titles. They further proposed, with a view to cement their alliance, two marriages, one between Constantius and the daughter of Magnentius, and the other between Magnentius and Constantina, the widow of Hannibalianus.§ Constantius deferred his answer till the next day, when, having doubtless considered the most effectual method of inspiring the people with feelings correspondent to his own, he declared to them that on the preceding night the shade of his father Constantine had appeared to him in a vision, and, presenting the corpse of the slaughtered Constans, had warned him to revenge his murder, and assured him that in so just a cause his efforts would be crowned with success. The terms of accommodation were then indignantly rejected. One of the deputies was sent to communicate his resolution; the remainder, without regard to the law of nations, were thrown into confinement. Constantius advanced with the utmost speed from Heraclea to Sardica. Anxious, however, to avoid being engaged with two enemies at once, he offered to contract a separate Treaty with Vetranio, whose conduct he seemed not disposed to regard with From A. D. 323. to A. D. 361. harshness and severity. Constantius acknowledged him Constantius. as lawful Emperor, on condition that he would abandon his coalition with Magnentius, and fix upon some place where they might meet together to confirm their reconci liation by fitting solemnities. Accordingly, Vetranio proceeded to Sardica with his numerous troops. A scene, artfully contrived to ascertain the feelings and to work upon the passions of the people, took place. The conjoined armies assembled in a large plain, in the centre of which a tribunal, from which the two Princes might address them on the aspect of public affairs, was erected. The wily Constantius, who, in consequence of his birth, was the first speaker, made a very eloquent, ingenious, and seductive speech. He dwelt on the bounties which they had received from his father, the oaths of fidelity which they had taken to his sons; he lamented, in pathetic language, the inhuman murder of Constans, and at the same time skilfully urged that a brother should succeed a brother, not a stranger, much less an enemy of the Imperial House.* The speech was apparently directed against Magnentius alone, but the soldiery, crowds of whom encircled the tribunal, instigated by those who were instructed how to conduct this singular proceeding, immediately applying it to Vetranio amid loud shouts and Vetranio clashing of arms, cried out that they would fight under deposed. none but the son of Constantine. The aged Vetranio, stunned with astonishment and overpowered by the fearful opposition which seemed to rise around him in all quarters, took the diadem from his head and threw himself at the feet of Constantius. The Emperor treated him with great mildness and indulgence. Raising him from his suppliant posture, he embraced him and addressed him by the affectionate and respectful name of father. A suitable maintenance was allowed him, and Prusa, in Bithynia, was assigned as his residence. Vetranio, who was remarkable for his simplicity of character, there calmly spent the six remaining years of his life in acts of devotion and charity, without engaging in the slightest degree in public affairs. Frequently, it is said, he wrote to Constantius to express his gratitude for the kindness which had released him. from the cares and troubles of sovereign power, and enabled him to obtain the happiness and content which attended the tranquil obscurity of his retirement.† A. D. 350. Dec. 25: terms of A. D. 351. Magnentius was an enemy far more formidable than Magnentius Vetranio. He assembled a considerable army, con- rejects all sisting of Gauls, Spaniards, Franks, and Saxons, Peace. marched from Italy, and having passed the Alps that divide it from Noricum, he entered the plains of Pannonia, where Constantius had assembled his forces. Magnentius invited his antagonist to decide the validity of their claims on the plain of Sciscia, on the Save: the challenge was accepted; but the troops of Constantius advancing in confusion, fell into an ambuscade and were routed with great loss. Magnentius afterwards took Sciscia by assault, and rased it to the ground. He then wasted the country which lies on the Save, which he had unsuccessfully attempted to pass, and attacked Sirmium, the metropolis of Illyricum. His superiority in the field during the greater part of the summer was manifest. The forces of Constantius were disheartened, and his fame had suffered considerable diminution. His pride seemed broken down. In these * Julian, Orat. ii. Zosim. lib. ii. Athan. Solit. Zonar. p. 14. Socrat. lib. ii. c. 28. Zosim. lib. ii. From 323. A. D. 361. Battle of A. D. 351. Sept. 28. History. circumstances, the Emperor proposed by Philip, his ambassador, an eloquent man, to yield to the usurper Gaul, Spain, and Britain, and to acknowledge his title of Emperor, on condition that he relinquished Italy. Magnentius, utterly regardless of the proffered terms, detained Philip, and sent Titianus, a Roman Senator, to advise Constantius, as the condition of pardon, to relinquish the Purple, and to spend the remainder of his life in retirement. To this arrogant message, and to the reproachful insults which the deputy vented against Constantine and his children, the Emperor was content to reply, that he trusted Heaven would support his cause and revenge the blood of his brother on his murderers.* It was some encouragement at this dispiriting crisis, that Sylvanus, the Frank, an able General, deserted from Magnentius, and joined the Emperor with a large body of cavalry which was under his command. Magnentius, unable to reduce Sirmium, proceeded to attack the important town of Mursa. This step immediately induced Constantius to quit his station at Cibalis, where he had professed a desire to encounter the enemy, hoping that his forces would be inspired with courage at the remembrance of the victory which, on the same field, his father had formerly gained over Licinius. On his advance, having received information that Magnentius had posted four thousand Gauls in a neighbouring wood, to fall upon the rear of his army at the moment of engagement, he made himself master of the avenues which led to the place of ambuscade, and cut off the Body of troops which was intended for his destruction. Having removed this obstacle, Constantius advanced to Mursa, and drew up his army on the naked plain which adjoins it. The river Drave, on which Mursa stood, was on his right, while his left stretched on beyond the right flank of Magnentius. Thus ranged in order of battle, the two armies remained in the presence of each other during the greatest part of the morning. Constantius then encouraged his troops, and having, if we may believe the account, retired into a neighbouring church, there waited the issue of the memorable battle which ensued. The onset was marked by the utmost fury. The centre of Magnentius was soon thrown into confusion by the left wing and cavalry of Constantius.† But the Gauls and Barbarians, commanded by men of courage and experience, although broken, frequently rallied; and, notwithstanding the determined attacks of the successful army, maintained their ground till a very late hour of the night. Some, under cover of the darkness, effected their escape: but by far the greater number was slaughtered or precipitated into the Drave, and drowned. This decisive, though long doubtful victory, is ascribed to the cavalry of Constantius, which, locked in complete armour, and armed with enormous lances, were calculated to overpower the ill-protected bodies of the Barbarian hosts. The number of slain on both sides was very considerable: Magnentius lost twenty-four thousand men, and Constantius, it is said, thirty thousand, ‡ a proof of the extreme obstinacy and long fluctuations of a battle, which was regarded as one of the most deplorable calamities which had befallen the Empire ;§ the forces, by their numbers, their discipline and their valour, capable of contributing, in an eminent degree, to the security and the triumphs of Rome, being fatally consumed in Civil war. From A. D. 323 to A. D. 361. Magnentius, it is pretended,* no sooner saw the disorder Constantins, of his troops at the beginning of the contest, than he abandoned his standard and betook himself to a disgraceful flight. But, according to different and far more credible accounts,† he continued in the field till the defeat of his army was entire, and narrowly escaped being taken captive. It is added that he turned his horse loose, adorned with the Imperial trappings, that the enemy, supposing the rider to have been slain, might desist from the pursuit. Such, however, was not the result. He was constantly followed, yet he contrived, though with difficulty, to reach the foot of the Julian Alps. In this battle, Marcellinus, who had contributed in so great a measure to the accomplishment of these events, displayed his courage, but was never afterwards heard of;‡ a circumstance which repders it probable that he was one of the numbers who were destroyed in the rapidly flowing waters of the Drave. As the day arose, Constantius, viewing from an adjacent height the field bestrewed and the river choked up with the bodies of the dead, is said to have been unable to refrain from tears. He ordered the slain to be honourably buried, the wounded to be carefully treated, and a general pardon to be extended to all who had taken up arms against him, with the exception of such as were involved in the murder of Constans. The exhausted state of his army probably induced Constantius to suspend the prosecution of the war, and winter, which had now approached, afforded a plausible reason for this delay. Magnentius remained at Aquileia, having previously fortified the passes of the Alps. Constantius, however, when the season became more favourable to conduct his operations, having taken by surprise a strongly-guarded castle on those mountains, and having showed his intention of forcing the rest, Magnentius, doubtless aware that he had no share in the affections of the people, abandoned the possession of Italy, and though he defeated his pursuers at Pavia, finally retired with his forces into Gaul. death of Magnentiu A. D. 359. Aug. 10. Constantius, now master of Rome, despatched the Imperial fleet to Africa and Carthage, which yielded a ready submission. Their example was soon after followed by Sicily and Spain. In Gaul, also, several cities, no longer able to endure his oppressive measures, revolted from Magnentius; among the rest, the important city of Treves shut its gates against Decentius, who had Defeat and been invested by his brother with the title of Cæsar or of Augustus. Magnentius, dispirited by his misfortunes, despatched a Senator, and afterwards some Bishops, with the offer of resigning the Sovereignty, on condition that the Emperor would allow him to spend the remainder of his life in some honourable service. Constantius received the Senator as a spy, and dismissed the Bishops without an answer. Magnentius, now convinced that his situation was desperate, vigorously prepared to sustain the impending blow. But the signal rout and defeat of his troops in the Cottian Alps, near a castle called Mount Seleucus, forced him to take shelter in Lyons. The few forces who attended him resolved to gratify his successful enemy by an act of treachery. His house was surrounded: his escape cut off. When he advanced to address them, he was interrupted by the unanimous cry, "Long live Constantius Augustus!" The usurper, who easily saw that they designed to purchase their * Julian, Orat. ✦ Zos. lib. ii. Zonar. p. 15. &c. Julian, Orat. ii. From A. D 323. to A. D. 361 History, own safety or advancement by delivering up the object of the Emperor's inflexible resentmert, closed his existence by falling on his sword. Before his death, (if the account deserves credit,) he slew with his own hands his mother, his brother Desiderius, and such of his friends and relations as were with him in that moment of fury and despair.* Decentius, then at Sens, and enclosed on all sides by hostile forces, strangled himself on receiving intelligence of his brother's death. The panegyrists of Constantius describe his conduct as having been marked by the most admirable lenity towards those whose former outrages he had experienced, or whose future fidelity he had reason to suspect. But Historians represent him as giving scope to a proud and inhuman disposition. Many persons, both in Civil and military capacities, charged with having rendered services to the usurper, were dragged in chains to the Imperial tribunal and sentenced to death; some lost their estates by confiscation; others were banished to desert islands; sometimes on the accusation of inimical or unprincipled witnesses, sometimes upon mere suspicion; nor was the rack unemployed to precede and aggravate the miseries of exile. By this indiscriminate severity many innocent subjects were wantonly sacrificed. Informers, the constant attendants of suspicious and timid tyranny, soon abounded. The most notorious, Paulus, (surnamed Catena, or Chain, from the fearful facility with which he linked together a series of accusations,) was sent to perform his horrid occupation in Britain. His injustice and inhumanity roused the indignation of Martinus, a man of known probity, Vicepræfect of the Island. As he nobly interposed to save the innocent, Paulus threatened to send him as a traitor in chains to the Emperor. Aware of the consequences of his conduct, Martinus drew his sword against the informer, who, by a dexterous movement, received but a slight wound. Martinus then buried the weapon in his own breast.§ Gallus de A. D. 351. March 5. When the revolt of Magnentius, now extinguished, clared Ca called forth the most vigorous exertions of Constantins in the West, intelligence was received that the Persians were preparing to attack the Roman Empire in its Eastern Provinces. In this emergency, the Emperor invested his cousin Gallus with the dignity of Caesar, and endeavoured to strengthen the bonds of political union by marriage with his sister Constantina, the widow of Hannibalianus. Gallus and Julian, saved as we have above related, in the massacre which ushered in the reign of the three sons of Constantine, had been placed first in Ionia and Bithynia, afterwards, during six years, when advance of age began to excite alarm, in the castle of Macellum, near Cæsarea. Experienced masters to direct their studies, and numerous attendants who, though careful to keep guard upon their persons, stood ready to comply with their commands, joined to the agreeableness of the site, rendered their residence as tolerable as the precariousness of their situation would allow. Gallus was now removed from a state of inactive confinement to a post of dignity and of danger. Not only the East, but even Thrace and Constantinople, were as signed to his care. Previously to his departure, he had Zos. lib. ii. See, however, Zonar. p. 16. Them. Orat. vi, &c. Zosim. lib. ii. Ammian. lib. xiv. Comp. Liban. Orat. ii. Ammian. lib. xiv. Aurel. Vict. Zos. lib. ii. Ammian. lib xiv. From A. D. 323. to A. D. 361. an interview with Constantius, and the two Princes took Constantius. a solemn oath, in the presence of the Bishops who were then at Court, to cherish mutual and unalterable fidelity.* Gallus, having fixed his residence at Antioch, undertook the administration of the Eastern Provinces, but soon evinced his incompetency for the task. Destitute of experience, he showed himself equally deficient in prudence and sagacity. The sudden reaction of pros- Cruel and perity on a mind long checked and fretted by ill fortune extravagant and the vague fears of solitary imprisonment, soon ma- conduct of nifested itself by a display of insupportable haughtiness Gallus. and arrogance, and by scenes of the utmost violence and extravagance. While some unimportant successes, exaggerated by the adulation of panegyrists, contributed to nourish his infatuation, his wife Constantina, whom the Historian stigmatizes with the appellation of the Megæra of her sex,† sharpened his natural cruelty, and stimulated him to acts of the most atrocious injustice. A necklace of great value was a sufficient bribe to obtain a death-warrant against a nobleman, whose only crime was his exemplary virtue. Spies and informers were encouraged, and multiplied. Mere suspicion was esteemed sufficient to justify peremptory punishment. Numbers, without even the form of trial, were hurried to execution or privately destroyed. Gallus himself, in order to discover new victims, often, in disguise, walked the streets at night, and mixed with the populace in public taverns. Innocence offered no security of person or of property. Confiscations and murders became fearfully familiar. The Imperial apartments presented the spectacle of instruments of death and torThe cities and Provinces were deluged with blood. Thalassus, then Præfect of the East, inveighed against his measures with more warmth and roughness than skill and prudence, and, by openly informing the Emperor of them in exaggerated language, only incensed the haughty Cæsar to increased excesses. conduct of Gallus, in short, resembled rather that of a man labouring under a partial aberration of mind, than that of any person, however capricious and inhuman, in full possession of his faculties. ture. The Constantius, who had affected to be ignorant of the disgraceful administration of the Eastern Provinces during the continuance of the Civil war, had no sooner brought it to a successful close, than he determined to institute a severe investigation of the proceedings of Gallus. A circumstance took place which was justly considered not only as barbarous in itself, but as an insult on the Emperor. The inhabitants of Antioch, having requested Gallus to give orders for the importation of foreign corn into their city, he replied, that if their supplies were not sufficient, the fault rested with Theophilus, Governor of Syria. The remark was not forgotten; and, at a moment when the price of provisions had increased, Theophilus, a man of a mild and unblemished character, was barbarously murdered by an enraged populace. By a special commission, Domitian, who had been appointed, on the death of Thalassus, Præfect of the East, and Montius, Quæstor of the Palace, were instructed to examine the state of these affairs, but at the same time to treat the Cæsar with all the deference and attention which his birth and station entitled him to receive. Domitian was not possessed of Philostorg. lib. iv. c. 1. † Ammian. lib. xiv. |