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28-505: Gallus was a son of Julius Constantius and his first wife Galla , who seems to have died at some point prior to 331/2. Gallus' paternal grandparents were the emperor Constantius Chlorus and his second wife Flavia Maximiana Theodora . Julius Constantius was a paternal half-brother of the emperor Constantine I, which, in turn, meant Gallus was a half-first cousin of Constantine's sons, Constantine II , Constantius II and Constans . Gallus had three siblings: his elder sister, of unknown name,

56-682: A chariot race in Constantinople's Hippodrome and crowned the victor, an honor reserved only for an Augustus. This insolence enraged Constantius. In an attempt to further isolate Gallus from any form of military protection, Constantius had the garrisons removed from the towns in Gallus's path. When Gallus arrived at Poetovio in Noricum , Barbatio , an officer who had been supporting Gallus' dismissal within Constantius' court, surrounded

84-677: A representative in the East, so he called Gallus at Sirmium , raised him to the rank of caesar (15 March 351), gave him the name Constantius , and strengthened the bonds with his cousin by allowing Gallus to marry his sister Constantina . The two set up residence in Antioch . During his rule, Gallus had to deal with a Jewish rebellion in Judea / Palestine (see Jewish revolt against Gallus ) led by Patricius and Isaac of Diocesarea . The rebellion, possibly started before Gallus' elevation to Caesar,

112-458: Is debate over where Gallus spent his youth. One view is that he lived with Julian in Nicomedia under the care of bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia until 340. At that point, Eusebius was made bishop of Constantinople , which necessitated Gallus and Julian following him there. It is believed that, after the death of Eusebius in 341, Constantius then sent Gallus and Julian to continue their studies at

140-604: The comes Orientis , Nebridius, against the Isaurians , who had been raiding the coastal provinces, and were now besieging Seleucia on the Calycadnus . They dispersed on his approach. As a consequence of the need to gather food for the troops for a Persian campaign or because of drought, the grain supply in Antioch decreased. In order to counter the higher price of grain, Gallus forced the passage of some laws regardless of

168-497: The quaestor Montius Magnus who had come to his aid, and that the two officers were killed. The arrest of Montius Magnus led to the discovery of what seems to be a plot to usurp Gallus' position. The conspirators had the support of two tribuni fabricarum (officers of the weapons factories) who had promised the weapons for an uprising (Ammianus Marcellinus, 14.7.18 ), and probably of the troops in Mesopotamia, as well as of

196-478: The Sassanid Empire and the nomadic tribes gave it exceptional military importance. The capital of the diocese was at Antioch , and its governor had the special title of comes Orientis ("Count of the East", of the rank vir spectabilis and later vir gloriosus ) instead of the ordinary " vicarius ". The diocese was established after the reforms of Diocletian (r. 284–305), and was subordinate to

224-636: The Sassanids . Other sources, basing their views on an almost-peaceful situation between the Sassanids and Romans while Shapur II was engaged in a campaign against the Huns in the east, dismiss this claim. Ammianus relays an abortive scheme of Nohodares, Shapur's lieutenant in Mesopotamia , to surprise the town of Batnae , which was betrayed by some in his own army, in 353. In the same year, Gallus sent

252-527: The praetorian prefecture of the East . The diocese included originally all Middle Eastern provinces of the Empire: Isauria , Cilicia , Cyprus , Euphratensis , Mesopotamia , Osroene , Syria Coele , Phoenice , Palaestina Prima , Palaestina Secunda , Arabia , and the Egyptian provinces Aegyptus , Augustamnica , Thebais , Libya Superior and Libya Inferior , which were grouped into

280-541: The East , also called the Diocese of Oriens , ( Latin : Dioecesis Orientis ; Greek : Διοίκησις Ἑῴα ) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire , incorporating the provinces of the western Middle East , between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia . During late Antiquity , it was one of the major commercial, agricultural, religious and intellectual areas of the empire, and its strategic location facing

308-679: The confiscation of their wealth. The same source claims that Gallus walked anonymously in Antioch by night, asking passers-by for their opinion on their caesar , while Julian records the great amount of time spent by Gallus at the Hippodrome, probably to obtain popular support. Doubting his cousin's loyalty, Constantius reduced the troops under Gallus, and sent the Praetorian Prefect Domitianus to Antioch to urge Gallus to go to Italy. Different sources tell different stories, but all agree that Gallus arrested Domitianus and

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336-502: The emperor later changed his mind, and ordered Gallus spared, but Eusebius prevented the order from reaching the executioners. Emperors are shown with a rounded-corner border with their dates as Augusti , names with a thicker border appear in both sections 1: Constantine's parents and half-siblings 2: Constantine's children [REDACTED] Media related to Gallus Caesar at Wikimedia Commons Julius Constantius Flavius Julius Constantius (died September 337 AD)

364-652: The former diocese came under Sassanid Persian occupation in the 610s and 620s, during the Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628 . Shortly after the Byzantine victory in the war and the recovery of the region, it was again lost, this time permanently except Cilicia and most of the Levantine coasts later reconquered, to the Muslim conquests : by the 640s, Cilicia formed the border ( Al-Awasim ) between Byzantium and

392-509: The imperial household in Macellum, Cappadocia . An alternative view claims that hints in the sources suggest that Gallus was sent to Ephesus to study, then to a type of exile in Tralles and from there to the imperial household in Macellum. In 350, Magnentius rebelled and killed the emperor Constans , claiming the purple. Constantius II prepared to move against the usurper, but needed

420-626: The instigation of Constantine's mother Helena, Julius Constantius did not live initially at the court of his half brother, but together with Dalmatius and Hannibalianus in Tolosa , in Etruria , the birthplace of his son Gallus, and in Corinth . It was only after Helena’s death that he was called to Constantinople, and was able to build a good relationship with Constantine. Constantine favoured his half-brother, appointing him patricius and Consul for

448-615: The occasion for a revolt and the usurpation of his own son. Next, Constantius summoned Gallus and Constantina to Mediolanum . Constantina left first, in order to gain some of her brother's trust, but suddenly died from a fever at Caeni Gallicani in Bithynia . Gallus, whose bonds to Constantius had been weakened, stayed in Antioch. Constantius tried to lure Gallus, sending the tribunus scutariorum Scudilo to tell Gallus that Constantius wanted to raise him to Augustus . Gallus took Constantius's bait and left Antioch to meet him. Gallus staged

476-484: The opinion of the Senate, thus alienating the senatorial class of Antioch. Ammianus Marcellinus , a pro-senatorial writer, tells how the anger of the people of Antioch for the famine was diverted by Gallus towards the consularis Syriae Theophilus, who was killed by the mob. Ammianus reports also that Gallus and Constantina brought a number of wealthy people to trial for magic, ending in the execution of innocents and in

504-531: The palace of the Caesar and arrested him, stripping Gallus of the imperial robes, but assuring him that no harm would come to him. Gallus was led to Pola , Istria (now Pula, Croatia). Here he was interrogated by some of the highest officials of Constantius' court, including the eunuch praepositus sacri cubiculi Eusebius and the agens in rebus Apodemius . Gallus tried to put the blame for all of his actions on Constantina, but Constantius sentenced him to death;

532-473: The purges that occurred in the imperial family after the death of Constantine I in 337. Gallus himself was one of the only imperial males – besides the three sons of Constantine I and Fausta – who were not killed; the others being Gallus' younger half-brother, Julian, and their cousin, Nepotianus , each of whom was very young at the time. Gallus was said by Ammianus Marcellinus to have been very good looking, making particular note of his soft blond hair. There

560-626: The rector of the province of Phoenice. All suspected in connection with the plot, including many innocents, were put to death by order of the Caesar. Constantius was informed of the treason trials in Antioch during a campaign against the Alamanni . After concluding a peace treaty with the Germanic tribe, Constantius decided to settle the matter with his cousin. First he summoned Ursicinus to the West, whom he suspected of inciting Gallus in order to create

588-480: The reign of Justinian I (r. 527–565), when Theodorias , the region around Laodicea , was split off from Syria I. At about the same time, Cyprus was split off and became part of a new super-province, the quaestura exercitus . In 535, as part of his administrative reforms, Justinian I abolished the diocese, and the comes Orientis became the provincial governor of Syria I, while retaining his previous rank of vir spectabilis and his salary. The entire area of

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616-409: The separate Diocese of Egypt under Valens (r. 364–378). During the course of the 4th century, several provinces were split, resulting in the new provinces of Cilicia I and Cilicia II, Syria I and Syria II Salutaris, Phoenice I and Phoenice II Libanensis (east of Mt. Lebanon), Palaestina I , Palaestina II and Palaestina Salutaris (or Palaestina III). The last creation of a new province dated in

644-546: The year 335, together with Ceionius Rufius Albinus . However, after the death of Constantine in 337, several male members of the Constantinian dynasty were killed on the orders of Constantius II, among them Constantius (whose property was confiscated) and his eldest son; his two younger sons, however, survived, because in 337 they were still children. They would later be elevated to the rank of caesar and augustus , respectively. Comes Orientis The Diocese of

672-559: Was a member of the Constantinian dynasty , being a son of Emperor Constantius Chlorus and his wife Flavia Maximiana Theodora , a younger half-brother of Emperor Constantine the Great and the father of Emperor Julian . Julius Constantius was the son of Constantius Chlorus and his wife Theodora . He had two brothers, Dalmatius and Hannibalianus, and three sisters, Constantia , Anastasia and Eutropia . Emperor Constantine I

700-416: Was crushed by Gallus' general, Ursicinus , who ordered all the rebels slain. Gallus was saved from an assassination plot by a woman, who revealed that some members of her household were planning the murder. Some sources, among whom are Joannes Zonaras , claim that this plot had been organized by Magnentius in order to distract Constantius. Philostorgius claims that Gallus' generals won a campaign against

728-506: Was his half-brother, as he was the son of Constantius and Helena . Julius Constantius was married twice. With his first wife, Galla , sister of the later consuls Vulcacius Rufinus and Neratius Cerealis , he had two sons and a daughter. His eldest son, whose name is not recorded, was murdered in 337 together with his father. His second son Gallus , would later be appointed Caesar by Gallus’ cousin Constantius II . His daughter

756-506: Was the first wife of Constantius II , and his elder brother, also of unknown name, died in the purges after the death of Constantine I. His younger half-brother, by his father's second marriage to Basilina , was Flavius Claudius Iulianus, commonly known as Julian . Gallus was born in Massa Veternensis , Italia , after his father had been recalled from exile. Gallus' father and his elder brother were amongst those killed during

784-428: Was the first wife of Constantius II. It has been proposed that Galla and Julius had another daughter, who may have been the mother of the empress Justina . After the death of his first wife, Julius Constantius married a Greek woman Basilina , the daughter of the governor of Egypt, Julius Julianus . Basilina gave him another son, the future emperor Julian , but died before her husband in 332/333. Allegedly at

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