Constantius II

317–361

Constantius II was a Roman emperor and son of Constantine the Great. His reign was dominated by dynastic conflict, theological controversy, defence of the Danube and eastern frontiers, and repeated war with the Sasanian king Shapur II.

Constantius II was born in Sirmium and died in Cilicia. Constantius II also held the offices or ranks of Byzantine emperor. Constantius II belonged to the Constantinian dynasty and operated within Ancient Rome; Byzantine Empire.

Michael Curtis Ford’s Gods and Legions presents Constantius II through the dangerous career of his cousin Julian, whose military success on the Rhine turns him from subordinate into a political rival. Gore Vidal’s Julian makes Constantius’s court the threatening environment in which Julian survives the massacre of his family, the execution of Gallus and years of closely supervised service. Gordon Doherty’s Eagles in the Desert sets a trapped Roman column against the Persian frontier pressures that dominate Constantius’s eastern reign. Ammianus Marcellinus’s The Later Roman Empire supplies the contemporary historical account, covering Constantius’s government, court politics, the rise of Julian and the wars with Persia.

Periods

Periods linked to Constantius II

Roman–Sasanian Wars224–628 CE

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Constantius II (1 series)

Legionary in Order

by Gordon Doherty 11 books 4.4(14,164)

The Legionary series follows Numerius Vitellius Pavo from slavery into the ranks and command of the XI Claudia during the late fourth-century crisis of the Roman Empire. Its main sequence begins on the Danube in 376 CE and carries Pavo through the Gothic War, the disaster at Adrianople,…