Decline and Fall

Alright, fellow Americans.  Are you guys ready for a lack of civility?  Are you prepared for strife and turmoil?  For chaos and ruin?  For division and bloodshed?  Are you ready for the collapse of civilization..?

Good!  Because, this week, we're continuing in our survey of the Emperors of Rome, and we're drawing closer and closer to the Fall of the (Western) Roman Empire!

If you follow Edward Gibbon's conclusions (from his History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire), you'll note that the decline of the Roman Empire began with the ascension of Commodus towards the end of the 2nd Century CE.  And if you agree with him on this point, you'll also note that the period between the decline and the fall took rather a long time (from 180 to 476 CE).  Rome hit many peaks and valleys on its way out.  After the death of Constantine in 337CE, the peaks were lower and the valleys were deeper...

Constantine had three adult sons.  When Constantine died, he left the empire to these three sons and two of their cousins (Dalmatius and Hannibalianus).  The two cousins were killed off almost immediately and... you know what, let's just take this one emperor at a time.  Let's start with the oldest son.

Constantine II  337-340

Constantine II held power in Spain, Britain, and Gaul.  As the firstborn son, he believed he had the right to rule the Roman Empire all by himself.  He was the guardian of Constans and held great sway over him until Constans came of age and demanded greater autonomy.  Constantine II found Constans' new sense of freedom offensive, so he gathered his army together and invaded his brother's territory.  Things did not go well for Constantine II and he ended up being killed in an ambush in 340.

Constans I 337-350

Constans I was the middle son.  When Constantine died, Constans I ruled the Western half of the Roman Empire.  In his personal life he was a Christian who favored the Nicene orthodoxy over Arianism (his other brother, Constantius II, was into Arianism and the two men were violently opposed to one another).  Constans I was supposedly a practicing homosexual but he passed strict laws against homosexuality.  Eventually, his top general, a man named Magnentius, declared himself emperor and led a rebellion against him.  Constans was killed in the year 350.

Constantius II 337-361

Constantius II was the youngest son.  He was also the most ruthless.  He ruled over all of the provinces in the East.  When Constantine died in 337, Constantius II killed about a dozen or so members of his own family, including the aforementioned Dalmatius and Hannibalianus, and doesn't seem to have suffered any blowback from his brothers Constantine II and Constans.  Probably because they both benefited from the massacre.

Constantius did not recognize the legitimacy of Magnentius, (the killer of his brother Constans) and, as such, he fought against the man several times between 351 and 353, eventually driving the upstart general to suicide.

The empire was once again under the authority of a single supreme leader, albeit a boorish and selfish one (according to the accounts of his contemporaries).  Constantius was married three times, once to his own cousin (or half-cousin, technically), and he held steadfastly to an unusual form of Arianism that was deemed heretical by the orthodox church. Much of his reign was spent fighting against various would-be usurpers and invaders along the northern frontiers.

Toward the end of his reign, he elevated Julian (the only male relative that survived Constantius' earlier massacre) to be his junior emperor and set him up with an army in Gaul.  Before long, Julian's troops declared Julian emperor and turned against Constantius II.  Constantius marched against Julian and his army, but he succumbed to an illness and died before any battle could take place.



That's probably good enough for today.  Be sure and come back next time when we discuss the brief, yet memorable reign of Julian the Apostate.

Cheers.