Constantius II

Denomination: Solidus                                       

Date: 337-361 AD
                                        

Description: Constantius II, draped and cuirassed bust right / Roma (facing) and Constantinopolis (left) enthroned, holding a shield.

Flavius Julius Constantius, second son of Constantine I and Fausta, was born August 317 in Illyricum, and ruled the Roman Empire for 24 years, dealing with usurpers and external menaces.
He married three times, first to a daughter of Julius Constantius, then to Eusebia, and last to Faustina. Constantius spent a great deal of his reign on military campaigns.  When his father, Constantine I, died in 337, Constantius II led the massacre of his relatives, leaving himself, his older brother Constantine II, his younger brother and two cousins as the only surviving males related to Constantine. The three brothers divided the Roman Empire among them, according to their father\'s will. His younger brother Constans was killed in battle by forces loyal to the usurper Magnentius.  Constantius eventually met and crushed Magnentius in the Battle of Mursa Major, one of the bloodiest battles in Roman history, in 351.