An unnamed daughter of Julius Constantius was the first known wife of Constantius II.Thomas M. Banchich , "Gallus Caesar (15 March 351 - 354 A.D.)"
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Family

She is mentioned in the "Letter To The Senate And People of Athens" by Emperor Julian to have been a sister of Constantius Gallus. When mentioning the execution of Gallus by orders of Constantius II, Julian lists the several ways the two men were related. "Constantius gave over to his most inveterate enemies, his own cousin, the

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...

, his sister's husband, the father of his niece, the man whose own sister he had himself married in earlier days". Gallus was a son of Julius Constantius and his first wife Galla. She is assumed to be a full sister of Gallus. Julius Constantius was a son of Constantius Chlorus and Flavia Maximiana Theodora. He was a paternal half-brother of

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterranea ...

. In 337, Constantine I died. Several of his relatives were killed shortly after his death. Julius Constantius was among them.Michael DiMaio, Jr., "The Siblings of Constantine I"
/ref> The "History of the Arians" (358) by

Athanasius of Alexandria Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...

reports on Constantius II having killed his father-in-law. Though Constantius had two later marriages, this is considered a reference to Julius Constantius. "The common feelings of humanity could not induce him to spare even his own kindred. His uncles he slew; his cousins he put out of the way; he commiserated not the sufferings of his father-in-law, though he had married his daughter, or of his kinsmen". A brother is considered to have been assassinated with their father in 337. Julian the Apostate was a younger, paternal half-brother to this Empress.

Marriage

Her marriage to Constantius seems to be recorded in the Life of Constantine by

Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christia ...

. "On the completion of the thirtieth year of his onstantine'sreign he solemnized the marriage of his second son onstantius II having concluded that of his first-born long before. This was an occasion of great joy and festivity, the emperor himself attending on his son at the ceremony, and entertaining the guests of both sexes, the men and women in distinct and separate companies, with sumptuous hospitality. Rich presents likewise were liberally distributed among the cities and people." The marriage can be estimated to 335 or 336. Constantine I had been declared emperor in 306. Neither her name nor the time of her death appear in surviving sources. Thomas M. Banchich, a modern historian, points that "her passing may have facilitated Gallus' fall in 353/4". The "Panegyric In Honour Of Eusebia" by Julian the Apostate places the marriage of Eusebia, second wife of Constantius, prior to the defeat of rival emperor Magnentius. Magnentius was dead by August, 353. The marriage of Constantius and Eusebia may have occurred earlier in the year. Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, vol. 1

References

{{Reflist 4th-century births 350s deaths 4th-century Roman empresses Constantinian dynasty Unidentified people Constantius II