Person Page 16

Mualeleth died.

Rashujal died.

Adam was born in 4004 BCE. He died.

Eve was born in 4000 BCE. She died.

Cain died.

Abel died.

Zelekha died.

Amenemhet ("Pharaoh of Egypt") III Pharaoh of Egypt died.

Senusret ("Pharaoh of Egypt") III Pharaoh of Egypt died in 1841 BCE.

Mereret died.

Senusret ("Pharaoh of Egypt") II Pharaoh of Egypt died.

Nofret died.

("Priest of On") Potiphera Priest of On died.

Amenemhet ("Pharaoh of Egypt") II Pharaoh of Egypt died.

Keminebu died.

Senusret ("Pharaoh of Egypt") I Pharaoh of Egypt died in 1926 BCE.

Nefru died.

Amenemhet ("Pharaoh of Egypt") I Pharaoh of Egypt died.

Cadwalladr ("Prince of Wales") Cadvan, Prince of Wales, was born about 170 in Cambria, Wales. He died in 220, at age ~50.

Eutropius of Dardania was born about 215 in Naissus, Niø, Serbia. He died.

Flavius Julius Constantius II was born on 7 August 317 in Sirmium, Pannonia, Italy. He died on 3 November 361, at age 44.

Constantius II, full name Flavius Julius Constantius (317-61), Roman emperor (351-61), second son of Constantine the Great. On his father's death (337) Constantius was given the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire and became involved in a war with Shapur II, Sassanid king of Persia. When his brother, the Western emperor Constans I, was murdered by a usurper, Magnentius, in 350, Constantius led an army into the Balkans, where he defeated Magnentius at the Battle of Mursa (modern Osijek, Croatia) and became (351) sole ruler of the empire. After campaigning against the Germans and Sarmatians onthe Danube River in 357, he returned to the East, where he continued the war against the Sassanids until his death. Constantius favored the Arian form of Christianity, and was an opponent of St. Athanasius, the orthodox bishop of Alexandria.

Encarta® 98 Desk Encyclopedia © & 1996-97 Microsoft Corporation.
All rights reserved.

Constantius II, Roman Emperor (7 August 317 - 3 November 361, reigned 337 - 361), was the middle of the three sons of Constantine I the Great and Fausta.

He was born in Sirmium (city in Illyricum) and named Caesar or Junior Emperor. When his father died in 337, he led the massacre of his relatives decended from the second marriage of Constantius I Chlorus and Theodora, leaving himself, his older brother Constantine II, his younger brother Constans and two cousins (Julian "the Apostate" and his brother Gallus) as the only surviving adult males related to Constantine the Great. The three brothers divided the Roman Empire between them according to their father's will. Constantine II received Britain, Gaul and Spain; Constans ruled Italy, Africa, and the Illyrian provinces; and Constantius ruled Constantinople and the East.

This division changed when Constantine II died in 340, trying to overthrow Constans in Italy, and Constans become sole ruler in the Western half of the empire. The division changed once more in 350 when Constans was killed in battle by forces loyal to the usurper Magnentius. Until this time Constantius was preoccupied with fighting the Persian Empire, and he was forced to elevate his cousin Gallusto Caesar to assist him while he turned his attention to this usurper.

Constantius eventually met and crushed Magnentius in battle at Mursa Major, one of the bloodiest battles in Roman history, in 351. Magnentius committed suicide in 353, and Constantius soon after put his cousin Gallus to death. However, he still could not handle the military affairs of both the Eastern and German frontiers by himself, so in 355 he elevated his last remaining relative, Julian, to Caesar. As Julian was hailed Augustus by the army in Gaul, Constantius saw no alternative but to face the usurper with violent force. As the two armies sought engagement, Constantius died from a fever near Tarsus on November 3, 361, and Julian was hailed Augustus in the whole of the Roman empire.

Constantius took an active part in the affairs of the Christian church, frequently taking the side of the Arians.

Source: Wikipedia

Constantius II

Constantius II, 317?61 , Roman emperor, son of Constantine I. When the empire was divided (337) at the death of Constantine, Constantius II was given rule over Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt, while hisbrothers, Constans I and Constantine II, received other portions. He gained prestige by fighting successfully against the Persians. When in 350 the murder of Constans I threw the West into disorder, Constantius II defeated the usurping Magnentius, a German who had been a commander under Constans I, and became sole emperor. He delegated much power to his cousin Julian (Julian the Apostate ) in Gaul. When a new dispute erupted with the Persians, Constantius ordered Julian to the East, but Julian's men revolted and proclaimed (360) Julian emperor in the West. Constantius died in the Persian campaign in Cilicia, naming Julian as his successor. A confirmed Arian, Constantius vigorously repressed paganism and was involved in a struggle with St. Athanasius.

********************************************************************************

Constantine II, (February 317 - 340), was Roman Emperor (337 - 340). The eldest son of Constantine I the Great and Fausta, he was born at Arles in present day South of France.

Following the death of his father in 337, Constantine II became joint Emperor with his brothers Constantius II and Constans.

His section of the Empire was Gaul, Britain, Spain and part of Africa. In 340 he marched against Constans, in an attempt to take Italy, but was defeated at Aquileia and died in battle. Constans came to control his deceased brother's realm.

Source: Wikipedia.

Crispus Commodus Lucius Aurilius was born about 200 in Sirmium, Pannonia, Italy. He died.

Crispus Commodus Lucius Aurilius was born about 200.

Constantine I The Great ("Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus") was born on 27 February 272 in Naissus, Niø, Moesia (Serbia.) He died on 22 May 337, at age 65, in Constantinople, Turkey. He was buried in Church of Holy Apostles, Constantinople.

Constantine the Great (Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus)

Constantine received only a meager education. He took up soldiering early, and proved his valor in the wars against Egypt and Persia. He was of British birth and education, and is known as the first Christian Emperor. He fought with his father in the Boulogne campaign and shared in a British campaign. The Gallic army, deeply loyal to the humane Constantius, came to love his handsome, brave, and energetic son; and when the father died at York in 306, the troops proclaimed Constantine not merely as "Caesar" but as Augustus - emperor. He accepted the lesser title, excusing himself on the groundsthat his life would be unsafe without an army at his back. Consequently Constantine fought successfully against the invading Franks. Later, with a British army he set out to put down the persecution of Christians forever. The greatest of all Roman Emperors, he annexed Britain to the Roman Empire and founded Constantinople. In the year 321 he decreed that the Christian Sunday be truly observed as aday of rest. In 325 he assembled the Council of Nicea in Bithynia, Asia Minor, which he attended in person. This Council formulated the Nicene Creed. The following edict of Constantine sets forth thestandards of his life: "We call God to witness, the Savior of all men, that in assuming the government we are influenced solely by these two considerations - the uniting of the empire in one faith, and the restoration of peace to a world rent in pieces by the insanity of religious persecution."

notes or source:
ancestry.com & HBJ

Constantine the Great (Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus), born 265, died in May, 336 or 337, buried in the church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. He was of British birth and education, and is known as the first Christian Emperor. With a British army he set out to put down the persecution of Christians forever. The greatest of all Roman Emperors, he annexed Britain to the Roman Empireand founded Constantinople. In the year 321 he decreed that the Christian Sunday be truly observed as a day of rest. In 325 he assembled the Council of Nicea in Bithynia, Asia Minor, which he attended in person. This Council formulated the Nicene Creed. The following edict of Constantine sets forth the standards of his life: "We call God to witness, the Savior of all men, that in assuming the government we are influenced solely by these two considerations - the uniting of the empire in one faith, and the restoration of peace to a world rent in pieces by the insanity of religious persecution."By his first wife (1) Minervina he was father of Flavius Valerius Crispus Caesar. He married (2) Fausta, sister of his step-mother, Theodora. Fausta and Theodora and their brother Maxentius were children of Maximinus, Roman Emperor (286-305). One writer, Brewer, said he was a giant, eight feet, six inches tall! His son Maxentius, Emperor (310-311), married Valeria, daughter of Galerius, Emperor (310-311), and his wife, Valeria, who was daughter of Diocletian, Emperor (284-305). Fausta and Constantine the Great had three sons: Constantine II., Constantius II., and Constants I., and a daughter,Helen, wife of Julian the Apostate.

Constantine dreamed that Jesus Christ appeared to him. The next day Constantine saw a cross superimposed on the sun and the words "in this sign you will be the victor." He then won the battle. Thus, Constantine now looked upon the Christian deity as a bringer of victory. Persecution of the Christians was ended, and Constantine's co-emperor, Licinius, joined him in issuing the Edict of Milan (313),which mandated tolerance of Christians in the Roman Empire.
A struggle for power soon began between Licinius and Constantine, from which Constantine emerged victorious in 324. The army was reorganized, and the separation of civil and military authority was completed. The central government was run by Constantine and his council, while the Senate regained the powers that it had lost in the 3rd century. Constantine presided over the Council of Nicaea in 325.He also began the building of Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in 326 on the site of ancient Greek Byzantium, and he built churches in the Holy Land. The emperor was baptized shortly before hisdeath.

Encarta® 98 Desk Encyclopedia © & 1996-97 Microsoft Corporation.
All rights reserved.

Flavius Valerius Constantinus (February 27, 272?May 22, 337), commonly known as Constantine I or Constantine the Great, was proclaimed Augustus by his troops on July 25, 306 and ruled an ever-growingportion of the Roman Empire to his death. Constantine is famed for his refounding of Byzantium as "Nova Roma" (New Rome) ,which was always popularly called "Constantine's City"? (Constantinopolis, Constantinople). With the "Edict of Milan" in 313, Constantine and his co-Emperor Licinius removed all onus from Christianity. By taking the personal step of convoking the Council of Nicaea (325) Constantine began the Roman Empire's unofficial sponsoring of Christianity, which was a major factor in that religion's spread. His reputation as the "first Christian Emperor" was promulgated by Lactantius and Eusebius of Caesarea, gaining ground in the succeeding generations.

Early life

Bronze statue of Constantine I outside York Minster, near where he was acclaimed Emperor in 306He was born at Naissus, (today's Ni?, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro) in Upper Moesia, to Constantius I Chlorus and an innkeeper's daughter, who at the time was an adolescent of only 16 years, Flavia Iulia Helena. His father left his mother c. 292 to marry Flavia Maximiana Theodora, daughter or step-daughter of Western Roman Emperor Maximian. Theodora would give to six half-siblings of Constantine, including Julius Constantius.

Constantine was well educated and served at the court of Diocletian in Nicomedia as a kind of hostage after the appointment of his father, a general, as one of the two caesares or junior emperors in the Tetrarchy in 293. In 305, the Augustus, Maximian, abdicated, and Constantius succeeded to the position. However, Constantius fell sick during an expedition against the Picts and Scots of Caledoniaand died on July 25, 306. Constantine managed to be at his deathbed in Eboracum (York) of Roman Britain, where troops loyal to his father's memory proclaimed him an Augustus ("Emperor"). For the next18 years, he fought a series of battles and wars that left him first the Western Roman Emperor in co-rule with an Eastern Roman Emperor, and then the supreme ruler of the Roman Empire.

Constantine and Christianity
Constantine is perhaps best known for being the first Roman Emperor to freely allow Christianity, traditionally presented as a result of an omen ? a chi and rho in the sky, with the inscription "By this sign shalt thou conquer" ? before his victory in the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312, when Constantine is said to have instituted the new standard to be carried into battle, called thelabarum. There are at least 3 different surviving ancient versions of this battle in greater detail. See: Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died, Chapter 44, by Lactantius, The Life of Constantine, Chapters 24-31, by Eusebius of Caesarea, and New History, Book 2 43,44 by Zosimus; this version seems to have numerous owls as an omen of victory.

Christian historians ever since Lactantius have adhered to the view that Constantine "adopted" Christianity as a kind of replacement for the official Roman paganism. Though the document called the "Donation of Constantine" was proved a forgery (though not until the 15th century, when the stories of Constantine's conversion were long-established "facts") it was attributed as documenting the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity for centuries. Even Christian skeptics have accepted this formulation, though seeing Constantine's policy as a political rather than spiritual move.

By the end of the 4th century, Christian communities and their bishops had become a force to contend with, in urban centers especially. Christians were preferred for high government positions; the Church was granted various special privileges; and churches like the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem were constructed. Christian bishops took aggressive public stances that were unknown among other cult leaders, even among the Jews. Proselytism had had to be publicly outlawed, simply to maintain public decorum. In the essential legions, however, Christianity was unpopular because it accepted women , and the soldiers followed Mithras and Isis. Since the Roman Emperors ruled by "favor from the Gods" and stayed in power through the support of thelegions, it was important for them to be seen visibly aiding the cause of religion. The insolence of the Christians consisted in their public refusal to "sacrifice and build idols" which some modernwriters see an oath of allegiance. Refusal might easily bring upon all the Roman people the loss of the Gods' support; such were the usual justifications for the murder and mutilations of Christians by Roman soldiers, the fare of many martyrologies that described Christian agonies in inspiring and inflammatory detail. (See: Diocletian's Edicts against the Christians and Lactantius' Of the Manner in which the Persecutors Died)

Constantine and Licinius' Edict of Milan (313) neither made paganism illegal nor made Christianity a state-sponsored religion. What it did was legalize Christianity, return confiscated Church property, and establish Sunday as a day of worship. Though the church prospered under Constantine's patronage, its controversies, which had been lively within the Christian communities since the mid-2nd century, now flared in public schisms accompanied by riotous violence; one of the most vehement was the African Donatist schism which began in 311 A.D. Constantine evinced no personal opinion but quallingdisorder was the emperor's duty; he called the First Council of Nicaea (May 20 - July 25, 325) to settle the problem of Arianism, a dispute about the personhood and godhood of Jesus. It produced the Nicene Creed, which favoured the position of Athanasius of Alexandria, Arius' major opponent, and became official doctrine.

"[Constantine] diminished none of the privileges of the sacred virgins, he filled the priestly offices with nobles, he did not refuse the cost of the Roman ceremonies, and following the rejoicing Senate through all the streets of the eternal city, he contentedly beheld the shrines with unmoved countenance, he read the names of the gods inscribed on the pediments, he enquired about the origin of the temples, and expressed admiration for their builders. Although he himself followed another religion, he maintained its own for the empire, for everyone has his own customs, everyone his own rites. The divine mind has distributed different guardians and different cults to different cities. As souls are separately given to infants as they are born, so to peoples the genius of their destiny." (Possible Christian insertion in italics.)

Medieval sourcebook: (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/ambrose-sym.html) The Memorial of Symmachus, prefect of the City. (The Memorial has been emended to address three emperors, Valentinian II (died 392), Theodosius I, and Arcadius. Arcadius was named co-ruler of his father and Augustus in January, 383. So the adress to the three Augusti could have been written anywhere between 383 and 392.There may be Christian adulterations of the text. The reply of Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, is appended, which is highly revealing in the character of his argument in rebuttal.)

Persian reaction
Beyond the limites, east of the Euphrates, the Sassanid rulers of the Persian Empire had usually tolerated their Christians. A Letter from Constantine to Shapur II of Persia (both lived and reigned from 310 to 379), supposed to have been written in 324 urged him to protect the Christians in his realm? With the edicts of toleration in the Roman empire, the followers of Christ would be regarded as allies of Persia's ancient enemy. The persecutions began. Shapur II wrote to his generals:

You will arrest Simon, chief of the Christians. You will keep him till he signs this document and consents to collect for us a double tax and double tribute from the Christians ? for we Gods have allthe trials of war and they have nothing but repose and pleasure. They inhabit our territory and agree with Caesar, our enemy. (quoted in Freya Stark, Rome on the Euphrates 1967, p. 375)
It was not an unreasonable demand in the circumstances. The Sassanids were perennially at war with Rome. Christians were now suspected for potential treachery. The "Great Persecution" of the Persian Christian churches occurred in a later period, 340 to 363, after the Persian Wars that reopened upon Constantine's death. In 344 came the martyrdom of Catholicos Shimun bar Sabbae, with five bishops and 100 priests.

Constantine's Christianity
The religion of Constantine the Great, while quite Christian in view of his many Christian qualities and acts later in life, is frequently attacked because of his sinful actions (not unlike Augustineof Hippo, whose early life was debauched, and twisted by ambition).

Bronze coins struck for emperors often reveal details of their personal iconography. During the early part of Constantine's rule, representations first of Mars and then (from 310) of Apollo as Sun godconsistently appear on the reverse of the coinage. Mars had been associated with the Tetrarchy, and Constantine's use of this symbolism served to emphasize the legitimacy of his rule. After his breach with his father's old colleague Maximian in 309?310, Constantine began to claim legitimate descent from the 3rd century emperor Marcus Aurelius Claudius Gothicus, the hero of the Battle of Naissus (September, 268). The Augustan History of the 4th century reports Constantine's paternal grandmother Claudia to be a daughter of Crispus. Crispus being a reported brother of both Claudius II and Quintillus. Historians however suspect this account to be a genealogical fabrication to flatter Constantine.

Gothicus had claimed the divine protection of Apollo-Sol. In mid 310, two years before the victory at the Milan bridge, Constantine reportedly experienced the publicly announced vision in which Apollo-Sol appeared to him with omens of success. Thereafter the reverses of his coinage were dominated for several years by his "companion, the unconquered Sol" -- the inscriptions read SOLI INVICTO COMITI. The depiction represents Apollo with a solar halo, Helios-like, and the globe in his hands. In the 320s Constantine has a halo of his own.

Another aspect of Constantine's life which these attacks employ is his execution of many. He had deposed Eastern Roman Emperor Licinius, his brother-in-law, strangled in 325. He had publicly promisednot to execute him upon Licinius' surrender in 324. In 326, Constantine executed first his eldest son Crispus and a few months later his own second wife Fausta. (Crispus was the only known son of Constantine by his first wife Minervina). There are rumours of step-mother and step-son having had an affair which caused Constantine's jealousy. The rumours were reported however by 5th century historianZosimus and 12th century historian Joannes Zonaras. Their sources are not stated.

Family influence is thought to account for a personal adoption of Christianity: Helena is said to be "probably born a Christian" though virtually nothing is known of her background, save that her mother was the daughter of an innkeeper and her father a successful soldier, a career that excluded overt Christians. Certainly Helena demonstrated extreme piety in her later life in her trip to Palestine, where she discovered the True Cross and established basilicas.

As the general custom, Constantine was not baptized until close to his death, when his choice fell upon the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia, who happened, despite his being an overt, scheming allyof Arius, to still be the bishop of the region. Also, Eusebius was a close friend of Constantine's sister; she probably secured his recall from exile.

The great staring eyes in the iconography of Constantine, though not specifically Christian, show how official images were moving away from early imperial conventions of realistic portrayal towards schematic representations: the Emperor as Emperor, not merely as this particular individual Constantine, with his characteristic broad jaw and cleft chin. The large staring eyes will loom larger as the4th century progresses: compare the early 5th century silver iconic imperial representation at the entry for Theodosius I.

Other achievements
His victory in 312 AD over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge resulted in his becoming Western Augustus, or ruler of the entire western half of the empire. He gradually consolidated his military superiority over his rivals in the crumbling Tetrarchy until 324, when he defeated the eastern ruler, Licinius, and became sole emperor.

Constantine rebuilt the ancient Greek city of Byzantium, naming it Nova Roma (New Rome), providing it with a Senate and civic offices similar to the older Rome. After his death it was renamed Constantinopolis (or Constantinople, "Constantine's City"), and gradually became the capital of the empire.

Constantine also passed laws making the occupations of butcher and baker hereditary, and more importantly, supported converting the coloni (tenant farmers) into serfs ? laying the foundation for European society during the Middle Ages.

Although he earned his honorific of "The Great" from Christian historians long after he had died, he could have claimed the title on his military achievements alone. In addition to reuniting the empire under one emperor, Constantine won major victories over the Marcomanni and Alamanni (306?308), the Vandals and Marcomanni (314?315), the Visigoths in 332 and the Sarmatians in 334. In fact, by 336,Constantine had actually reoccupied most of the long-lost province of Dacia, which Aurelian had been forced to abandon in 271. At the time of his death, he was planning a great expedition to put an end to raids on the eastern provinces from the Persian Empire by conquering that nation?something no Emperor since Trajan had contemplated.

Constantine's pro-Christian policies also led to Anti-Judaism policies, the forerunner of the Persecution of the Jews during the Middle Ages.

He was succeeded by his three sons by Fausta, Constantine II, Constantius II and Constans, who secured their hold on the empire with the murder of a number of relatives and supporters of Constantine.The last member of his dynasty was his nephew and son-in-law, Julian, who attempted to restore paganism.

Geoffrey of Monmouth and a Constantine made British
The English chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, who offered a genealogy of British kings that linked them to the Fall of Troy and whose 12th century history is not considered a reliable source by modernhistorians, claimed that the Helena, Constantine's mother, was actually the daughter of "King Cole", the mythical King of the Britons. A daughter for King Cole had not previously figured in the lore,at least not as it has survived in writing, and this pedigree is likely to reflect Geoffrey's desire to create a continuous line of regal descent. It was indecorous, Geoffrey considered, that a king might have less-than-noble ancestors. Monmouth also said that Constantine was proclaimed "King of the Britons" at York, rather than Roman emperor.

Source: Wikipedia


next --------------------------------------------------------

In the meantime, and to go back, her divorced husband, Constantius Chlorus, was married to Theodora, step-daughter of Maximian, by whom he had six children, sons and daugh­ters. Almost immediately after the separation of Helena and Constantius, Maximian forced Helena to give up the training of her son, Constantine, and placed him under the domination of Galerius, her husband's rival.

Later on, he was thrown into every danger possible and they even tried to murder him, only to see him miraculously preserved each time by the power of God, conquering every­where and rising ever higher—a most magnificent figure in the history of his time.

That his father Constantius Chlorus, was never reconciled to his parting with Helena was shown in his final illness, when he sent to Galerius asking that his son, Constantine, be sent to him at once.Galerius ignored the request, but the boy, Constantine, was told of it by someone. Although watched on every side, he secretly made his plans and fled. He only man­aged to escape capture by those whopursued him by slaying every horse he used on his journey as he obtained another to carry him on. He reached his father just before the end, who promptly proclaimed him his successor, ignoring all ofTheodora's children.

For many years afterwards, the young Constantine's life was in deadly danger from the family and adherents of his father's second wife, as well as seven rivals, but he was given the insight to escapeevery time, although he had to fight many battles, and to consent to many of them being put to death, before he had any peace or safety. It was during this conflict that he saw the vision of the crossin the sky, with the words "In hoc signo vinces," which caused his conversion to Christianity at once.

For many years after he became Emperor, he was accom­panied on his travels by his mother, Helena, whom he loved divinely. He changed the names of many towns and places to others to do her and his father honor and many coins were struck, too in all parts of the Empire, for the same purpose, the Roman Empire having twenty mints in different places at that time.

So we have in Constantine the Great the grandson of Old King Cole, and the successor to his domain, as well as ulti­mately, through the will of God, the ruler over the entire Roman Empire. In the manydescendants of the name of Cole, and its variations, we have the descendants of his three children, part of whom come from Wales.

Constantine II was born in February 316 in Arles, Tolouse, Gascony, France. He died in 340, at age ~24.

Constantine II, (February 317 - 340), was Roman Emperor (337 - 340). The eldest son of Constantine I the Great and Fausta, he was born at Arles in present day South of France.

Following the death of his father in 337, Constantine II became joint Emperor with his brothers Constantius II and Constans.

His section of the Empire was Gaul, Britain, Spain and part of Africa. In 340 he marched against Constans, in an attempt to take Italy, but was defeated at Aquileia and died in battle. Constans came to control his deceased brother's realm.

Source: Wikipedia.

Flavius Valerius ("Emperor of Rome") Constantius I Emperor of Rome was born on 31 March 248 in Naissus, Niø, Serbia. He died on 25 July 306, at age 58, in Eboracum, York, England. He was buried in Rome, Italy.

Constantius I, full name Flavius Valerius Constantius, called Constantius Chlorus (AD 250?-306), Roman emperor (305-06). He was a general and administrator under Emperor Maximian, who adopted him andgave him the government of Gaul and the rank of caesar in 293. When his coemperors, Maximian and Diocletian, abdicated in 305, Constantius became emperor in the West and prepared to conquer the Pictsof Scotland. He died at Eboracum (modern York, England) during the campaign, after proclaiming his son Constantine the Great his successor as emperor.

Encarta® 98 Desk Encyclopedia © & 1996-97 Microsoft Corporation.
All rights reserved.

Constantius Chlorus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gaius Flavius Valerius Constantius (March 31, 250?July 25, 306) was an emperor of the Western Roman Empire (305?306). He was commonly called Chlorus (the Pale), an epithet given to him by Byzantine historians. He was the father of Constantine the Great.

Constantius was of Illyrian origin. Historia Augusta reports him being son of Eutropius and Claudia, daughter of Crispus. Crispus was reportedly a brother to Roman Emperors Claudius II and Quintillus.However, historians suspect this connection to be a genealogical fabrication created by his son Constantine, thus connecting his family to two rather highly regarded predecessors.

The early years of Constantius' life are sketchy. Geoffrey of Monmouth writes in his Historia Regum Britanniae that Constantius was a Roman senator early in his career. The text states that early in his career, he forced Spain to submit to Roman rule and that he continued throughout his life to increase the power of Rome. Probably around 296, Constantius was sent to Britain to quell the rebellionscaused by various tribes. This account comes at odds with the story of King Cole, who was said to have stopped the rebellions before submitting to Rome. It is possible that their two reigns overlapped somewhat, since Cole gave Rome control over the island.

Nevertheless, Constantius made peace with the Britons and ruled them throughout the remainder of his life. At this point, a contradiction between the origin of Helena comes into play. Most sources cite her as the daughter of an innkeeper while Monmouth and the Welsh chronicles state she was Coel's daughter. Regardless, this Helen gave birth to Constantine.

Having distinguished himself by his military ability and his able and gentle rule of Dalmatia, he was, on March 1, 293, adopted and appointed Caesar by Maximian, whose step-daughter, Flavia MaximianaTheodora, he had married in 289 after renouncing his wife, Helena. In the distribution of the provinces, Gaul and Britain were allotted to Constantius.

In 298 Constantius overthrew the Alamanni in the territory of the Lingones (Langres) and strengthened the defenses of the Rhine frontier. During the persecution of the Christians in 303, he behaved with great humanity. He obtained the title of Augustus on May 1, 305, and died the following year in Eboracum (York) during an expedition against the Picts and Scots. He was succeeded by his son Constantine in the rule of Britain and Galerius in the rule of Rome.

Source: Wikipedia

*Constantius I (Flavius Valerius Constantius Chlorus) "the Pale", Emperor

Governor of Dalmatia, appointed Caesar to rule Gaul and Britain March 1, 293. He was the son of *Eutropious, a Dardanian nobleman descended from the *Gordiani, and his wife, *Claudia, daughter of *Claudius II (Marcus Aurelius Flavius Claudius Gothicus), a virtuous and worthy Roman Emperor (268-270), who was a soldier, statesman, and a distinguished officer. Born in Illyria 214, he was trained in the hard school of warfare on the Danube frontier, and died of the Plague in 270, aged 55, whereupon his brother Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus became Emperor. Constantius I became Emperor of Romein May 305, and in right of his wife, King of England. He was born in 242 and died at Eboracum (present day York, England) on July 25, 306. On becoming "Caesar," he was required by Diocletian to putaside *Helena and to take Maximian's stepdaughter, Theodora, as his wife. From the first union, *Helena and *Constantius I had an illegitimate son, *Constantine the Great. He married (2) Theodora, daughter of Maximinus, Roman Emperor.
Gibbon says *Claudia was the niece of *Claudius II (Marcus Aurelius Flavius Claudius Gothicus).
Encyclopedia Brittanica maintains Constantius I's descent from Claudius Gothicus was a fiction.

Constantius' Early Life and Marriage

Born March 31st, Emperor Flavius Valerius Constantius may have come into the world ca. 250. His family was from Illyricum. In the army he served as a protector, tribunus, and a praeses Dalmatiarum. During the 270s or the 280s, he became the father of Constantine by Helena, his first spouse. By 288 he was the Praetorian Prefect of the western emperor Maximianus Herculius.[[1]]
Constantius' Reign as Caesar

On 1 March 293 Diocletian appointed Galerius as his Caesar (junior emperor) in the east and Constantius as the Caesar of Maximianus Herculius. Caesar in the west. Both Caesars had the right of succession. In order to strengthen the dynastic relationship between himself and Herculius., Constantius put aside his wife Helena and married Theodora, the daughter, or perhaps stepdaughter, of Maximianus Herculius.. The union was fruitful and of it there were six issue: Flavius Dalmatius, Julius Constantius, Hannibalianus, Constantia, Anastasia, and Eutropia. To strengthen his bond with Galerius and Diocletian in the east, Constantius allowed Galerius to keep his son Constantine as a hostage for his good behavior.[[2]]

In the remainder of the time that he was a Caesar, Constantius spent much of his time engaged in military actions in the west. In the summer of 293 Constantius expelled the troops of the usurper Carausius from northern Gaul; after Constantius' attack on Bononia (Boulogne), Carausius was murdered. At the same time he dealt with the unrest of the Germans. In 296 he invaded Britain and put down the revolt of the usurper Allectus. Between 300 and 305 A.D. the Caesar campaigned successfully several times with various German tribes.[[3]] It is worth noting in passing, that while his colleagues rigidly enforced the "Great Persecution in 303," Constantius limited his action to knocking down a few churches.[[4]]
Constantius as Augustus and His Untimely Death

On 1 May 305 Diocletian, at Nicomedia, and Maximianus Herculius, at Mediolanum (Milan), divested themselves of the purple, probably because of the almost fatal illness that Diocletian contracted toward the end of 304. Diocletian forced Maximianus to abdicate. They appointed as their successors Constantius and Galerius, with Severus and Maximinus Daia as the new Caesars. The retired emperors then returned to private life. Constantius, as had his predecessor, ruled in the west, while Galerius and Daia ruled in the east.[[5]] Almost as soon as he was appointed Augustus, he crossed to Britain to face incursions by the Picts where he died at York on 25 July 306 with his son at his side.[[6]]
Bibliography

Barnes, T.D . Constantine and Eusebius,, Cambridge, 1980.
________. New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine. Cambridge, 1981.
DiMaio, Michael. Zonaras' Account of the Neo-Flavian Emperors, (Ph.D. diss., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1977).
Jones, A.H.M. J.R. Martindale, and J. Morris. "Fl. Val. Constantius 12." the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, (Cambridge, 1971), 1.227-228.
Kienast, Dietmar. Römische Kaisertabelle: Grundzüge einer römischen Kaiserchronologie. Darmstadt, 1990.
MacMullen, R. Constantine, New York, 1969.
Mattingly, Harold, and B.H. Warmington ."Constantius (Chlorus)." OCD.2 281-282.
Seeck, Otto. "Constantius 1." RE 4, col.1040ff.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------more -----------------------

Flavius Valerius Constantius, surnamed "Chlorus," was of imperial descent; his mother, Claudia, being niece of the Emperor, Claudius Gothicus. His father, a noble Lord of Illyria, was a native of Naissus, the capital of the Dardanian nation, which then consisted of a great part of Moesia, and there the childhood of Constantius was passed. (This is undoubtedly one reason for the persistent errors made by historians regarding the place where Helena was born, many of whom claim she was born at Naissus.)

It was at Naissus, too, that Constantius, at the age of fourteen, received the orders of the Emperor Aurelian under whom he first bore arms. For these reasons the city was, in after times, embellishedby the filial affection of his son, Constantine the Great, with many beautiful buildings. Aurelian never visited Britain in person, but was much in Gaul during the wars with the usurpers, and Constantius was there, too. Three years after Aurelian's accession, when Zenobia and Tetricus were being paraded in Rome in the triumphal proces­sion of Aurelian, Constantius was distinguishing himself, andobtained a great victory for the Romans at Vindomessa in Switzterland. He was afterwards known as "The Conqueror of Spain." He was received into the body-guard of Probus. On the defeat of Bonassus andProculus, by a singular coincidence we find Constantius, Carus, Diocletian and Maximian walking to­gether in triumphal procession into the Roman capital, each of whom afterwards became an Emperor. Constantius was placed in command of a legion and made Tribune and the Emperor Carus, who made him Governor of Dalmatia, had serious thoughts of naming him his successor instead of his worthless son.

After Carinus and Numericus, the two sons of Carus, the empire passed to Diocletian, A.D. 284. It was to oppose Carinus that Diocletian first created Maximian, Caesar; he later, after the death of theEmperor, made him his own partner and colleague in the imperial dignity, A.D. 286. (Butler; Gibbon.)

It is necessary that this should be made as clear as pos­sible in order to show what part King Coel later played in the same succession of events.

We have Platina as authority that, just about this time, Constantius obtained a great victory over Probus in Gaul, when several thousand German mercenaries were slain, through his bravery in renewingthe fight after an unsuccessful engage­ment; in consequence of which peace was restored to the prov­ince. About the same time, A.D. 281, Maximian Herculeus is said to have made himself master of Britain. Diocletian sent Maximian into Gaul to quell an insurrection about 290, two years before the creation of Constantius and Galerius as Ceasars, and he was afterwards created Augustus by Diocletian.

It was during the wars of the Empire against the usurp­ers in Gaul that Constantius paid his first visit to Britain. One of the most formidable enemies of Rome at this period was Carausius, a man of bravery, but of mean birth. He was em­ployed by the Empire to guard the frontiers of Britain against invasion. Maximian, associated with Dioocletian at this time, ordered that he be stationed at Boulogne. Soon finding, how­ever, that he had turned his power to his own advantage, he ordered that he be put to death. Carausius escaped to Britain, where, having many followers, he assumed the purple, and held himself proclaimed Emperor. Maximian was powerless to contend with him without a fleet. Meantime, Carausius boldly had a medal struck associating himself with Diocletian and Maximian, of whichthe legend was, "The peace of the three Augusti." After several years Allectus was sent to reduce him to submission to the Empire, but he turned traitor and killed him, ruling in his own behalf threeyears as Augustus. The Britons finally, oppressed by his tyranny, placed themselves under the command of Asclepiodatus, who, after slaying Allectus, assumed supreme power for a time, and in his turn was doomed to fall in a contest with Coel, father of Helena.

It seems strange that, through this little book, it should be given to the writer as a duty to blast eighteen centuries of political deceit and historical misrepresentation about Old King Coel and hisfamily. Now what was the truth about the King—his place in history, and the story of his descendants?

He was an hereditary king of Britain, with the blood of many powerful tribes in his veins, among them, the Saxons. As such, he and his ancestors had been left alone for a time by the Roman invaders ofthe Island. From Sir James Henry Ramsay, who obtained it from Caesar's writings, we are in­formed that the Britons at this time were a cultured race, although primitive, and that they had, even in those early days, a coinage of their own. From Hume we learn that they had that admixture of Saxon blood which established the foundation of law and order in Britain, and was, indeed, the foundation ofEngland's after laws.

The Roman Emperor after the death of Asclepiodatus due to King Coel, saw his opportunity to proceed against the King, and to that end sent troops under the command of Constantius Chlorus to besiege his capital, Colnacester, with all the power of the Roman Empire behind him. It is a matter for wonder that the King was able to withstand the siege for three years; a siege which, in the end, was settled between them by the King pledging the hand of his eldest daughter, Helena, in mar­riage to the General, who afterwards succeeded him on the throne. We are told that Constantius Chlorus "espoused her with great honor."

That it was a love affair between them cannot be doubted by anyone who follows the after history of both; and we know full well the significance of the Roman son-in-law of King Coel succeeding to thethrone on his death, instead of his own son, Conan ap Coel, who had to retire to his mother's inheritance in the North and in Wales, where he ruled instead.

After the death of King Coel, Constantius made his head­quarters at Colchester for years, during his union with Helena. They traveled all over the empire together with their infant son, and were knownas a most devoted pair. If their son, afterwards Constantine the Great, was born at Naissus, as he is reported to have been, it was because they were there at the time, it having been the birthplaceof Constantius, and the place where his relatives lived.

Some years later, Constantius was appointed Military Governor of Dalmatia. At this time the Roman Empire was under Diocletian and his Associate, Maximian, whom he had appointed himself.

Constantius so distinguished himself in his government of Dalmatia that in 292 he was offered adoption by Maximian, and the title of Caesar, on condition that he divorce Helena and marry his stepdaughter, Theodora. At the same time, a second Caesar was appointed, Galerius, and the territory of the Roman Empire was divided into four parts; Diocletian, being prior or Supreme Augustus, with Asia andAfrica as his domain; while Maximian Herculeus was over Italy and Spain; Galerius, as Caesar, was over Illyria, Thrace, Macedonia and Syria, and Constantius was to have Gaul and Britain. This was a plan mapped out by Diocletian himself. (The full significance of it will be understood when one remembers that Constantius Chlorus was a very brilliant man, whose many victories had given him the titleyears before of "Conqueror of Spain"; whose title to the Kingdom of his father-in-law, King Coel, was beyond dispute; and his son, Constantine, the legal heir to all his father's holdings.)

We are told that Constantius would never have consented to divorce Helena, had not Helena herself urged the sacrifice for his future greatness and that of their son, she never dream­ing that she wouldbe placing her son's life in jeopardy by the act. So this beautiful character withdrew practically to a cloistered life for a time, where she afterwards became a Christian, and in the end was one ofthe great lights leading others to Christ. She spent the latter years of her life estab­lishing and building churches all over the Empire, in which she was aided by her son, then Constantine the Great, and one she built on the site of the stable where Christ was born. Constantine, too, was a Christian at this time.

It was during these activities that the Empress Helena became especially famous as the finder of the cross on which Christ was crucified. The legend goes that she found it with the two others buried under a building which she had ordered torn down to facilitate the search. To decide which was the true cross, a piece of wood from each was placed against a sick person, who, while unaffected by the wood of two, was in­stantly healed when touched by the wood of the other. It is the emblem of this cross which appears in the arms of Colchester.

In the meantime, and to go back, her divorced husband, Constantius Chlorus, was married to Theodora, step-daughter of Maximian, by whom he had six children, sons and daugh­ters. Almost immediately after the separation of Helena and Constantius, Maximian forced Helena to give up the training of her son, Constantine, and placed him under the domination of Galerius, her husband's rival.

Later on, he was thrown into every danger possible and they even tried to murder him, only to see him miraculously preserved each time by the power of God, conquering every­where and rising ever higher—a most magnificent figure in the history of his time.

That his father Constantius Chlorus, was never reconciled to his parting with Helena was shown in his final illness, when he sent to Galerius asking that his son, Constantine, be sent to him at once.Galerius ignored the request, but the boy, Constantine, was told of it by someone. Although watched on every side, he secretly made his plans and fled. He only man­aged to escape capture by those whopursued him by slaying every horse he used on his journey as he obtained another to carry him on. He reached his father just before the end, who promptly proclaimed him his successor, ignoring all ofTheodora's children.

For many years afterwards, the young Constantine's life was in deadly danger from the family and adherents of his father's second wife, as well as seven rivals, but he was given the insight to escapeevery time, although he had to fight many battles, and to consent to many of them being put to death, before he had any peace or safety. It was during this conflict that he saw the vision of the crossin the sky, with the words "In hoc signo vinces," which caused his conversion to Christianity at once.

For many years after he became Emperor, he was accom­panied on his travels by his mother, Helena, whom he loved divinely. He changed the names of many towns and places to others to do her and his father honor and many coins were struck, too in all parts of the Empire, for the same purpose, the Roman Empire having twenty mints in different places at that time.

So we have in Constantine the Great the grandson of Old King Cole, and the successor to his domain, as well as ulti­mately, through the will of God, the ruler over the entire Roman Empire. In the manydescendants of the name of Cole, and its variations, we have the descendants of his three children, part of whom come from Wales.