Constantine II (317 - 340 AD)

Constantine II was born at Arelate (modern-day Arles, France), the eldest son of Constantine I and his second wife, Fausta. His date of birth is recorded as February 317 AD but this is doubtful as his younger brother, Constantius, was born in August the same year. It's possible that he was actually born a year earlier in 316 AD or, and this is entirely possible, Constantine II was illegitimate and not Fausta's son at all.

Constantine I was relentless when it came to securing power and status for both Constantine and his elder half-brother, Crispus. Less than a year after his birth, Constantine II had been elevated to the rank of Caesar and by 320 AD was a counsel, the highest political office in the Roman Empire. This shameless promotion of infants too young to sign their own names was a huge source of friction between Constantine I and his co-emperor, Licinius who was eventually deposed by Constantine I in 324 AD. 

A statue of Constantine II in Rome

Constantine I also made sure his sons held respected, but naturally ceremonial, military positions. At the tender age of seven, Constantine accompanied his father on campaigns against the Sarmatians in 323 AD and, three years later, was made Commander of Gaul after the death of Crispus. How Crispus died is unclear; he may have been executed for treason or adultery or even assassinated on the orders of Constantine I in order to clear the way for the succession of his three other sons. 

Constantine I died in 337 AD, leaving his three sons, Constantine II, Constantius and the teenage Constans, as co-emperors with their cousins, Dalmatius and Hannibalius, as Caesars. This arrangement, made two years earlier, collapsed as the three brothers swiftly arranged the slaughter of the rest of the family. The Roman Empire was split three ways with Constantine II taking control over Gaul, Britain and Hispania and acting as guardian for Constans who, at only fourteen years old, was too young to rule on his own.

Almost immediately, and perhaps inevitably, the brothers began to argue among themselves. Both Constantine II and Constantius got involved in the squabbling between the different sects of the early Christian church. Constantine started demanding a larger portion of the empire as the eldest son and was given the African provinces by Constans, who sought to maintain the fragile peace.

More squabbles followed when Constantine II, having got used to controlling large swathes of the empire, refused to relinquish control when Constans came of age. Understandably, Constans became increasingly unwilling to accept his elder brother as the senior emperor. Things came to a head when Constantine II declared war on his brother and marched his troops into Italy in 340 AD. Constans, who was in Dacia at the time, immediately dispatched a small unit of his Illyrian troops who managed to ambush and kill Constantine II near Aquileia, Italy. Constantine II left no legitimate heirs and his share of the empire was seized and ruled by Constans.