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A Father’s Legacy: Foreign Affairs Under the Sons of Constantine

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The Sons of Constantine, AD 337-361

Part of the book series: New Approaches to Byzantine History and Culture ((NABHC))

Abstract

This chapter analyses the Constantinian emperors’ military and diplomatic engagements in the area of foreign affairs. It begins by considering the near perennial dominance of Sasanian hegemony in the territories of west Asia and the long-term impact of this on the foreign policy decisions of Constantius II in the eastern half of the empire. The chapter then discusses and evaluates the response of the Constantinian rulers to the military threats deriving from the frontiers of the empire’s central and western territories, including the Balkans and Gaul. The chapter assesses the transformation of these threats and Roman responses to them from the time of Constantine I to the reigns of Constantine’s sons, in addition to considering the impact of the civil wars of the period on Roman foreign affairs.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Amm. Marc. 21.16.17, on the hamstringing of the cursus publicus by the hordes of bishops using it to attend councils. In defence of Constantius, see now Diefenbach 2012, 2015.

  2. 2.

    Christensen 1944 remains seminal, though now very dated. Standard account, also in need of updating, in Frye 1984: 271–357. Very useful essays in Potts 2013, but with no comprehensive narrative.

  3. 3.

    Burgess 2008 for a full account.

  4. 4.

    This is visible in Euseb., Vit. Const. 4.7, 4.51.

  5. 5.

    See the chapter by Lewis in this volume reappraising the conflict between Constantine II and Constans. On the revolt of Magnentius see the chapter by Humphries in this volume.

  6. 6.

    Euseb., Vit. Const. 4.50.

  7. 7.

    Axum: Rufinus, Hist. eccl. 10.9–10; Socrates, Hist. eccl. 1.19; Sozom., Hist. eccl. 2.24. For Hannibalianus see above.

  8. 8.

    Theodoret, Hist. eccl. 1.24; Euseb., Vit. Const. 4.8–13; Amm. Marc. 25.4.23; Cedrenus 1: 516–517 (Bonn).

  9. 9.

    Chronology is fraught: see Barnes 1981: 258; Lightfoot 2005: 487.

  10. 10.

    For Iberia, see Braund 1994: 238–260. Conversion: Rufinus, Hist. eccl. 10.11; Theodoret, Hist. eccl. 1.23.

  11. 11.

    Amm. Marc. 16.10.16; Zos. 2.27.1–4; John of Antioch, fr. 178 (Müller) = 266 (Roberto); Zonar. 13.5.25–33. Full references at PLRE 1: 443 (Hormisdas 2). For his influence with Constantius, Cameron 1989.

  12. 12.

    Victory: see Eutr. 9.24–25; Oros. 7.25.9–11. For a relatively balanced account of Galerius, Leadbetter 2009.

  13. 13.

    Cedrenus 1: 516–517; Amm. Marc. 25.4.23 is a back-reference to his treatment of the episode in a now-lost book.

  14. 14.

    Howard-Johnston 2013.

  15. 15.

    Jer., Chron. s.a. 338; Philostorgius, Hist. eccl. 3.23; Chron. Pasch. s.a. 337 (Bonn); Theophanes, AM 5829. The date cannot be regarded as certain, Burgess 1999: 233–238, argues persuasively for 337.

  16. 16.

    Julian., Or. 1.20a–21a.

  17. 17.

    See now the important contributions in Fisher 2015, esp. 67–89, 214–275.

  18. 18.

    The evidence is well collected in Dodgeon and Lieu 1991: 143–230, which is sensible in not pushing it too hard or far.

  19. 19.

    Compressed but accurate and comprehensively annotated overview of Persian-Roman relations from 299–364 in Lenski 2002: 154–165.

  20. 20.

    Lib., Or. 59.99–120; Julian., Or. 1.22d–25b, accounts not consistent in details. See Burgess 1999: 270, for the date, which supports the arguments first made by Bury 1896.

  21. 21.

    Festus, Brev. 27, at an otherwise unknown location called Narasara; Theophanes AM 5815. The date is in fact quite speculative, and Burgess 1999: 243 argues for dating it to 343.

  22. 22.

    Eutrop. 10.10.1; Jer., Chron. s.a. 348; Descriptio consulum s.a. 348; Amm. Marc 18.5.7, all on a night-time battle at Singara. Nisibis: Jer., Chron. s.a. 346; Theophanes AM 5837; Julian., Or. 1.27a–29d, 262b–267a; Theophanes AM 5843; Zonar. 13.7.1–15.

  23. 23.

    See the essays in Bemmann and Schmauder 2015. That the same indigenous ethnonym lies behind Chinese, Sogdian, Persian, Greek, Roman and Sanskrit for these people claiming “Hunnic” descent is proved by De La Vaissière 2005, but the consequences he draws for actual ethnic continuity need not be accepted.

  24. 24.

    The classic study remains Göbl 1967, but see the new discoveries published in Pfisterer 2012; Vondroveec 2014; Jongeward and Cribb 2015.

  25. 25.

    The six volumes of the ongoing Sylloge Nummarum Sasanidarum published by the Austrian Academy of Sciences are essential here.

  26. 26.

    This was Grumbates: Amm. Marc. 18.6.22.

  27. 27.

    Ursicinus is Ammianus’ hero (Thompson 1947: 42–55, remains standard), and known only from his pages.

  28. 28.

    Amm. Marc. 18.18–19.8.

  29. 29.

    Amm. Marc. 18.6.22, 19.1.

  30. 30.

    Paschoud 1989 doubts Ammianus’ account of Shapur’s motive for the siege and instead suggests that, on learning that the route over the Euphrates into Syria was blocked at both Capersana and Zeugma, he contented himself with the more immediate target of Amida on the Tigris.

  31. 31.

    Amm. Marc. 20.4.3.

  32. 32.

    Amm. Marc. 19.2.8, 20.6.5, 20.7. Dates are as always imprecise.

  33. 33.

    Amm. Marc. 20.11.

  34. 34.

    Death of Constantius: Amm. Marc. 21.15.3 (with erroneous date); Descriptio consulum s.a. 361; Socrates, Hist. eccl. 2.47.4, 3.1.1. Julian’s campaign is fully treated in Matthews 1989: 130–179.

  35. 35.

    In general for what follows see Kulikowski 2007: 71–112. For an alternative account, see Wolfram 2009: 67–124, which fruitfully revises earlier editions (including the second, which is the basis of the English translation) and corrects many of the excesses which I and others have criticized. The English translation, Wolfram 1988, ought no longer to be used in place of this most recent fifth German edition.

  36. 36.

    The Sarmatians are insufficiently studied, but see Lebedynsky 2002 for a richly illustrated if theoretically archaic introduction; and Dittrich 1984 on their interactions with Rome. For the Carpi, Bichir 1976 remains standard.

  37. 37.

    Kulikowski 2007: 113–153.

  38. 38.

    Origo Constantini 6.31; Euseb., Vit. Const. 4.6; Jer., Chron. s.a. 334.

  39. 39.

    His movements are traced in Barnes 1993: 224–225.

  40. 40.

    Full references on this well-documented event at PLRE 1: 954 (Vetranio 1).

  41. 41.

    Amm. Marc. 17.12–13. In general for Ammianus’ account of Sarmatian and Quadic affairs, see Dittrich 1984.

  42. 42.

    Amm. Marc. 19.11.

  43. 43.

    Elton 1996, summarized and updated in Elton 2007, remains the definitive account of warfare in this period, though see also Elton 2013 and the other essays in Sarantis and Christie 2013 for recent developments.

  44. 44.

    Amm. Marc. 17.13.19–20.

  45. 45.

    Barnes 1993: 224–225.

  46. 46.

    Not just the rebellion against, and execution of Constans, but the later coup by the Balkan high command after the death of Valentinian I: Kelly 2013.

  47. 47.

    Zonar. 13.8.17.

  48. 48.

    Halsall 2007: 131–162.

  49. 49.

    Not. Dign., [occ.] 7.63–117, 37–39, 41. Kulikowski 2000, but taking into account Zuckermann 1998.

  50. 50.

    Amm. Marc. 15.5. There are no coins, so there was no usurpation: Drinkwater 1994.

  51. 51.

    Amm. Marc. 15.8.

  52. 52.

    Amm. Marc. 16.4.

  53. 53.

    For these campaigns, Drinkwater 2007: 217–265.

  54. 54.

    Amm. Marc. 16.12.

  55. 55.

    Amm. Marc. 20.4.3 and above.

  56. 56.

    The sources for the next century are collected and usefully annotated in Greatrex and Lieu 2002.

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  1. Department of History, Penn State, University Park, PA, USA

    Michael Kulikowski

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  1. Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    Nicholas Baker-Brian

  2. Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    Shaun Tougher

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Kulikowski, M. (2020). A Father’s Legacy: Foreign Affairs Under the Sons of Constantine. In: Baker-Brian, N., Tougher, S. (eds) The Sons of Constantine, AD 337-361. New Approaches to Byzantine History and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39898-9_11

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