Editing Constantius Chlorus (section)

==Life==

===Early career===
Constantius's birthday was 31 March; the year is unknown, but his career and the age of his eldest son imply a date no later than c. 250.<ref name=barnes>{{cite book |last=Barnes |year=1982 |first=Timothy D. |title=The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine |publisher=Harvard University Press |doi=10.4159/harvard.9780674280670 |place=Cambridge, MA |isbn=0-674-28066-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/barnes-new-empire|pages=4, 35}}</ref> Constantius was an [[Illyrians|Illyrian]].{{sfn|Odahl|2010|p=40}}<ref name="Murray221">{{harvnb|Murray|1999|p=221}}</ref>{{efn|On the other hand, [[Timothy Barnes (classicist)|Timothy Barnes]] argues that when ancient writers used the words [[Illyria|Illyricum]] and [[Thrace]]/[[Thracians]] to describe where Constantius came from, they were speaking of broad geographic terms rather than precise origins.{{sfn|Barnes|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MwIiAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA30 30]}}}} He was born in [[Moesia Superior]] (later [[Dacia Ripensis]]),<ref name="ODB">{{Citation|last=Gregory|first=Timothy E.|author-link=Timothy E. Gregory|title=Constantius Chlorus|date=1991|url=https://archive.org/details/odb_20210521/page/524/mode/1up|work=[[Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]]|editor-last=Kazhdan|editor-first=Alexander P.|editor-link=Alexander Kazhdan|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/acref/9780195046526.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-504652-6|pages=524–525}}</ref>{{sfn|Barnes|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MwIiAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA30 30]}} a [[Roman province#Late Antiquity|Roman province]] on the south bank of the [[Middle Danube]]. According to the unreliable ''[[Historia Augusta]]'' he was the son of Eutropius, a [[nobility|nobleman]] from the province of [[Moesia Superior]], and [[Claudia (mother of Constantius)|Claudia]], a niece of the emperors [[Claudius Gothicus]] and [[Quintillus]].<ref>''[[Historia Augusta]]'', ''Life of Claudius'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Claudius*.html#13 13]. [[LacusCurtius]].</ref> The same source also gives Claudius the nomina "[[Flavia gens|Flavius]] [[Valeria gens|Valerius]]" to strengthen his connection to Constantius.<ref>''[[Historia Augusta]]'', ''Life of Claudius'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Claudius*.html#13 1 (note 1)]. [[LacusCurtius]].</ref> Modern historians suspect this maternal connection to be a genealogical [[Lie#Fabrication|fabrication]] created by his son [[Constantine I (emperor)|Constantine I]],<ref>Southern, p. 172</ref> and that his family was of humble origins.{{sfn|Jones|Martindale|Morris|p=227}}<ref name="ODB" />{{efn|His family probably adopted the name "Flavius" after being granted citizenship by one of these emperors, as it was common for "new Romans" to adopt the names of their former masters.<ref name="names"/>}} Constantine probably sought to dissociate his father's background from the memory of Maximian.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|last1=Bond|first1=Sarah|title=Constantius I|url=https://research.vu.nl/files/248046167/Oxford_Dictionary_of_Late_Antiquity_cosmology.pdf|work=The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity|year=2018|editor-last=Nicholson|editor-first=Oliver|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-866277-8|access-date=25 August 2020|last2=Nicholson|first2=Oliver|url-access=}}</ref>

[[File:Bronze-Flavia Maximiana Theodora-trier RIC 65.jpg|thumb|250px|Coin showing the ''Augusta'' Flavia Maximiana Theodora, Constantius's second wife, with the goddess ''[[Pietas (goddess)|Pietas]]'' on the reverse]]
Constantius was a member of the ''[[Protectores Augusti Nostri]]'' under the emperor [[Aurelian]] and fought in the east against the secessionist [[Palmyrene Empire]].<ref name="Potter, pg. 288">Potter, p. 288</ref> While the claim that he had been made a ''[[dux]]'' under the emperor [[Marcus Aurelius Probus|Probus]] is probably a fabrication,{{sfn|Jones|Martindale|Morris|p=228}}<ref>''[[Historia Augusta]]'', ''Life of Probus'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Probus*.html#22 22:3]. [[LacusCurtius]].</ref> he certainly attained the rank of ''[[tribunus]]'' within the army, and during the reign of [[Carus]] he was raised to the position of ''[[praeses]]'', or governor, of the province of [[Dalmatia (Roman province)|Dalmatia]].<ref>Odahl, Charles Matson. Constantine and the Christian Empire. New York: Routledge, 2004. p. 16</ref> It has been conjectured that he switched allegiances to support the claims of the future emperor [[Diocletian]] just before Diocletian defeated [[Carinus]], the son of Carus, at the [[Battle of the Margus]] in July 285.<ref>Potter, p. 280</ref>

In 286, Diocletian elevated a military colleague, [[Maximian]], to the throne as co-emperor of the western provinces,<ref name="Southern, pg. 142">Southern, p. 142</ref> while Diocletian took over the eastern provinces, beginning the process that would eventually see the division of the [[Roman Empire]] into two halves, a [[Western Roman Empire|Western]] and an [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern]] portion. By 288, his period as governor now over, Constantius had been made [[praetorian prefect]] in the west under Maximian.<ref name="DiMaio, Constantine I Chlorus"/> Throughout 287 and into 288, Constantius, under the command of Maximian, was involved in a war against the [[Alamanni]], carrying out attacks on the territory of the [[barbarian]] tribes across the [[Rhine]] and [[Danube]] rivers.<ref name="Southern, pg. 142">Southern, p. 142</ref> To consolidate the ties between himself and Emperor Maximian, Constantius married the emperor's daughter, [[Flavia Maximiana Theodora|Theodora]].<ref name="Potter, pg. 288"/>

===Elevation as Caesar===
[[File:Argenteus-Constantius I-antioch RIC 033a.jpg|250px|thumb|On the reverse of this [[argenteus]] struck in [[Antioch]] under Constantius Chlorus, the [[tetrarchy|tetrarchs]] are sacrificing to celebrate a victory against the [[Sarmatia]]ns.]]
By 293, [[Diocletian]], conscious of the ambitions of his co-emperor for his new son-in-law, allowed Maximian to promote Constantius in a new power sharing arrangement known as the [[Tetrarchy]]. The eastern and western provinces would each be ruled by an [[Augustus (honorific)|''augustus'']], supported by a [[Caesar (title)|''caesar'']]. Both ''caesares'' had the right of succession once the ruling ''augustus'' died.<ref name="Southern, pg. 145">Southern, p. 145</ref>

At [[Mediolanum]] ([[Milan]]) on 1 March 293, Constantius was formally appointed as Maximian's ''caesar''.<ref>Birley, p. 382</ref> He adopted Diocletian's ''[[Roman naming conventions|nomen]]'' (family name) "Valerius", and, being equated with Maximian, also took on "Herculius".<ref name="Southern, pg. 147">Southern, p. 147</ref>  His given command consisted of [[Gaul]], [[Roman Britain|Britannia]] and possibly [[Hispania]]. [[Diocletian]], the eastern ''augustus'', in order to keep the balance of power in the ''imperium'',<ref name="Southern, pg. 145">Southern, p. 145</ref> elevated [[Galerius]] as his ''caesar'', possibly on 21 May 293 at [[Philippopolis (Thrace)|Philippopolis]] ([[Plovdiv]]).<ref name="Potter, pg. 288">Potter, p. 288</ref> Constantius was the more senior of the two ''caesares'', and on official documents he always took precedence, being mentioned before Galerius.<ref name="Southern, pg. 147">Southern, p. 147</ref> Constantius's capital was to be located at [[Augusta Treverorum]] ([[Trier]]).<ref>{{Citation|last1=Woolf|first1=Greg|title=The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Roman World|year=2003|editor-last=Nicholson|editor-first=Oliver|publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qO54sAEvDL4C&pg=PA224|isbn=9780521827751|page=224}}</ref>

Constantius's first task on becoming ''caesar'' was to deal with the [[Roman usurper]] [[Carausius]] who had declared himself emperor in Britannia and northern Gaul in 286.<ref name="Potter, pg. 288"/>  In late 293, Constantius defeated the forces of Carausius in Gaul, capturing Bononia ([[Boulogne-sur-Mer]]).<ref>Birley, p. 385</ref> Carausius was then assassinated by his ''[[rationalis]]'' (finance officer) [[Allectus]], who assumed command of the British provinces until his death in 296.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | last = Schmitz | first = Leonhard | author-link = Leonhard Schmitz | title = Allectus | editor = William Smith | editor-link = William Smith (lexicographer) | encyclopedia = [[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]] | volume = 1 | pages = 132 | publisher = [[Little, Brown and Company]] | location = Boston | year = 1867 | url = http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=moa;cc=moa;idno=acl3129.0001.001;q1=demosthenes;size=l;frm=frameset;seq=147}}</ref>

Constantius spent the next two years neutralising the threat of the [[Franks]] who were the allies of Allectus,<ref name="Southern, pg. 149">Southern, pg. 149</ref> as northern Gaul remained under the control of the British usurper until at least 295.<ref>Birley, p. 387</ref> He also battled against the [[Alamanni]], achieving some victories at the mouth of the [[Rhine]] in 295.<ref>Birley, pp. 385–386</ref> Administrative concerns meant he made at least one trip to Italy during this time as well.<ref name="Southern, pg. 149"/> Only when he felt ready (and only when Maximian finally came to relieve him at the Rhine frontier)<ref name="Southern, pg. 150">Southern, p. 150</ref> did he assemble two invasion fleets with the intent of crossing the [[English Channel]]. The first was entrusted to [[Julius Asclepiodotus]], Constantius's long-serving [[Praetorian prefect]], who sailed from the mouth of the [[Seine]], while the other, under the command of Constantius himself, was launched from his base at Bononia.<ref>Birley, p. 388</ref> The fleet under Asclepiodotus landed near the [[Isle of Wight]], and his army encountered the forces of Allectus, resulting in the defeat and death of the usurper.<ref>[[Aurelius Victor]], ''Liber de Caesaribus'', [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/victor.caes.html#39 39]</ref> Constantius in the meantime occupied [[Londinium]] ([[London]]),<ref>Potter, p. 292</ref> saving the city from an attack by [[Franks|Frankish]] mercenaries who were now roaming the province without a paymaster. Constantius massacred all of them.<ref name="Southern, pg. 150">Southern, p. 150</ref>
[[File:Bust of Constantius Chlorus - Altes Museum - Berlin - Germany 2017.jpg|alt=Portrait head of Constantius Chlorus.|thumb|Portrait head of Tetrarch, most likely Constantius Chlorus.<ref>[http://laststatues.classics.ox.ac.uk/database/discussion.php?id=1227 http://laststatues.classics.ox.ac.uk, LSA-855 ((K. Dahmen, M. Maischberger, C. Blümel)]</ref>]]
Constantius remained in Britannia for a few months, replaced most of Allectus's officers, and the British provinces were probably at this time subdivided along the lines of Diocletian's other administrative reforms of the Empire.<ref>Birley, p. 393</ref> The result was the division of [[Britannia Superior]] into [[Maxima Caesariensis]] and [[Britannia Prima]], while [[Flavia Caesariensis]] and [[Britannia Secunda]] were carved out of [[Britannia Inferior]]. He also restored [[Hadrian's Wall]] and its forts.<ref>Birley, p. 405</ref>

Later in 298, Constantius fought in the [[Battle of Lingones]] ([[Langres]]) against the [[Alemanni]]. He was shut up in the city, but was relieved by his army after six hours and defeated the enemy.<ref>Eutropius, ''Breviarum'' {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20031222152525/http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/eutropius/trans9.html#23 9.23]}}</ref> He [[Battle of Vindonissa|defeated them again at Vindonissa]]<ref>[http://www.unrv.com/military/battles-of-the-third-century.php UNRV History: Battle of the Third Century AD]</ref> thereby strengthening the defences of the [[Rhine]] frontier. In 300, he fought against the [[Franks]] on the Rhine frontier,<ref name="Southern, pg. 152">Southern, pg. 152</ref> and as part of his overall strategy to buttress the frontier, Constantius settled the Franks in the deserted parts of [[Gaul]] to repopulate the devastated areas.<ref>Birley, p. 373</ref>  Nevertheless, over the next three years the Rhine frontier continued to occupy Constantius's attention.<ref name="Southern, pg. 152"/>

From 303 – the beginning of the [[Diocletianic Persecution]] – Constantius began to enforce the imperial edicts dealing with the [[Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire|persecution of Christians]], which ordered the destruction of [[Church (building)|churches]].<ref name=":0">{{Citation|last1=Bond|first1=Sarah|title=Constantius I|url=https://research.vu.nl/files/248046167/Oxford_Dictionary_of_Late_Antiquity_cosmology.pdf|work=The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity|year=2018|editor-last=Nicholson|editor-first=Oliver|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-866277-8|access-date=25 August 2020|last2=Nicholson|first2=Oliver|url-access=}}</ref> The campaign was avidly pursued by [[Galerius]], who noticed that Constantius was well-disposed towards the [[Christians]], and who saw it as a method of advancing his career prospects with the aging Diocletian.<ref>Potter, p. 338</ref> Of the four Tetrarchs, Constantius made the least effort to implement the decrees in the western provinces that were under his direct authority,<ref>Potter, p. 339; Southern, p. 168</ref> limiting himself to knocking down a handful of churches.<ref name="DiMaio, Constantine I Chlorus">DiMaio, ''Constantine I Chlorus''</ref> [[Eusebius]] denied that Constantius destroyed Christian buildings, but [[Lactantius]] records that he did.<ref name=":0" />

===Accession as Augustus and death===
[[File:Constantius I capturing London after defeating Allectus Beaurains hoard.jpg|thumb|Copy of a medal of Constantius I capturing [[Londinium]] (inscribed as LON) after defeating [[Allectus]]. The original was part of the [[Beaurains Treasure]] from [[Arras]], France.]]
Between 303 and 305, Galerius began maneuvering to ensure that he would be in a position to take power from Constantius after the death of Diocletian.<ref>Potter, p. 344</ref> In 304, Maximian met with Galerius, probably to discuss the succession issue and Constantius either was not invited or could not make it due to the situation on the Rhine.<ref name="Southern, pg. 152"/> Although prior to 303 there appeared to be tacit agreement among the Tetrarchs that Constantius's son [[Constantine I|Constantine]] and Maximian's son [[Maxentius]] were to be promoted to the rank of ''caesar'' once Diocletian and Maximian had resigned the purple,<ref>Potter, p. 340</ref> by the end of 304 Galerius had convinced Diocletian (who in turn convinced Maximian) to appoint Galerius's nominees [[Severus II|Severus]] and [[Maximinus Daza|Maximinus]] as ''caesares''.<ref name="Southern, pg. 152"/>

Diocletian and Maximian stepped down as co-emperors on 1 May 305, possibly due to Diocletian's poor health.<ref name="DiMaio, Constantine I Chlorus"/> Before the assembled armies at Mediolanum, Maximian removed his purple cloak and handed it to Severus, the new ''caesar'', and proclaimed Constantius as ''augustus''. The same scene played out at [[Nicomedia]] ([[İzmit]]) under the authority of Diocletian.<ref>Potter, p. 342</ref> Constantius, notionally the senior emperor, ruled the western provinces, while Galerius took the eastern provinces. Constantine, disappointed in his hopes to become a ''caesar'', fled the court of Galerius after Constantius had asked Galerius to release his son as Constantius was ill.<ref>Southern, p. 169</ref> Constantine joined his father's court at the coast of Gaul, just as he was preparing to campaign in Britain.<ref>Southern, p. 170; Eutropius, ''Breviarum'' {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20031019084032/http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/eutropius/trans10.html#1 10.1]}}; Aurelius Victor, ''[[Epitome de Caesaribus]]'' [http://www.roman-emperors.org/epitome.htm 39]; Zosimus, ''Historia Nova'' [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/zosimus02_book2.htm 2]</ref>

In 305, Constantius crossed over into Britain, travelled to the far north of the island and launched a military expedition against the [[Picts]], claiming a victory against them and the title ''Britannicus Maximus II'' by 7 January 306.<ref>Birley, p. 406</ref>  After retiring to [[Eboracum]] ([[York]]) for the winter, Constantius had planned to continue the campaign, but on 25 July 306 he died.<ref>''Consularia Constantinopolitana'' 306, in ''[[Monumenta Germaniae Historica]]'' ant. 11: ''[[iarchive:chronicaminorasa09momm/page/231/mode/1up|Chronica Minora]]'' Vol. 1 ([[Theodor Mommsen]] ed., 1892) p. 231. {{ISBN|978-0656631308}}</ref> As he was dying, Constantius recommended his son to the army as his successor;<ref>Potter, pg. 346</ref> consequently, [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]] was declared emperor by the legions at York.<ref>Eutropius, ''Breviarum'' {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20031019084032/http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/eutropius/trans10.html#1 10.1–2]}}</ref>