Emperor Flavius Valerius Constantius I.^[1]

Abt 250 - 305  (55 years)    Has more than 100 ancestors and more than 100 descendants in this family tree.

• Name	Flavius Valerius Constantius I.
  Prefix	Emperor
  Birth	Abt 250
  Gender	Male
  Death	25 Jul 305
  Siblings	1 Sibling
  + 1. Flavius Valerius Constantius Dardanus,   b. Abt 255   d. Yes, date unknown + 2. Emperor Flavius Valerius Constantius I.,   b. Abt 250   d. 25 Jul 305  (Age 55 years) ▻ Flavia Iulia Helena,  m. 8 Sep 272 ;   Flavia Maxima Theodora,  m. Abt 289
  Person ID	I616225	Geneagraphie | Ahnen BvS
  Last Modified	19 Mar 2010

  
  

  Father	Flavius Eutropius,   b. Abt 230   d. Yes, date unknown
  Mother	Claudia Crispina,   b. Abt 230   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F268436	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Flavia Iulia Helena,   b. 248, Drepanon d. Ende 329, Roma, Latium, Italia (Age 81 years)
  Marriage	8 Sep 272	Canterbury
  Children	+ 1. Ks. Flavius Valerius Constantinus Augustus,   b. Abt 272, Nis, Bulgarien d. 22 May 337, Nicomédie, Griechenland (Age 65 years)
  Family ID	F268382	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	19 Mar 2010

  
  

  Family 2	Flavia Maxima Theodora,   b. Abt 273   d. Yes, date unknown
  Marriage	Abt 289
  Children	+ 1. Flavia Iulia Constantia,   b. Abt 290   d. Abt 330 (Age 40 years) + 2. Flavius Dalmatius,   b. Abt 292   d. May 337 (Age 45 years) + 3. Flavius Iulius Constantius,   b. Abt 293   d. 338 (Age 45 years) + 4. Anastasia,   b. Abt 293   d. Aft 314 (Age 22 years)   5. Flavius Hannibalianus,   b. Abt 296   d. Bef 337 (Age 41 years) + 6. Eutropia,   b. Abt 298   d. Aft 350 (Age 53 years)
  Family ID	F268383	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	19 Mar 2010

  
  

• Photos

  Photos (Log in)

  
  

• Notes

  Historians, however, suspect this maternal connection to be a genealogical fabrication created by his son Constantine I , thus connecting his family to two rather highly regarded predecessors. His father, however, might have been the brother of Eutropia, wife of Maximian. Under the emperor Carus , he was governor of Dalmatia , and Carus is said to have considered adopting him as his heir in place of his dissolute son, Carinus . In 293 the emperor Diocletian created the Tetrarchy , dividing the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern portions. Each would be ruled by an Augustus , supported by a Caesar . Diocletian became Augustus of the Eastern empire, with Galerius as his Caesar. Constantius was appointed Caesar to the Western Augustus, Maximian , and married Theodora , Maximian's stepdaughter. They had six children. Constantius divorced his first wife (or concubine), Helena , by whom he already had a son, Constantine . Helena was probably from Nicomedia in Asia Minor. He was given command of Gaul , Britain and possibly Hispania . In 293, Constantius defeated the forces of Carausius , who had declared himself emperor in Britain and northern Gaul in 286, near Bononia . Carausius was killed by his rationalis Allectus , who took command of Britain until 296, when Constantius sent Asclepiodotus , a prefect of the Praetorian Guard , to invade the island. Allectus was defeated and killed, and Roman rule in Britain restored. Also in 296, Constantius fought a battle against the Alamanni at the city of Lingonae ( Langres ) in Gaul. He was shut up in the city, but was relieved by his army after six hours, and defeated the enemy. He defeated them again at Vindonissa ( Windisch , Switzerland ), thereby strengthening the defenses of the Rhine frontier. Diocletian and Maximian stepped down as co-emperors in 305, possibly due to Diocletian's poor health, and the Caesars, Constantius and Galerius , became co-emperors. Constantius ruled the western empire, Galerius the eastern. Severus and Maximinus Daia were appointed Caesars. Constantine, who had hoped to be a Caesar, joined his father's campaigns in Gaul and Britain. Constantius died in Britain, at York , in 306, and Constantine was declared emperor by the army. As the father of Constantine, a number of Christian legends have grown up around Constantius. Eusebius 's Life of Constantine claims that Constantius was himself a Christian, although he pretended to be a pagan, and while Caesar under Diocletian, took no part in the emperor's persecutions. His first wife, Helena , is the subject of many legends, including the finding of the True Cross . Constantius's activities in Britain were remembered in medieval British legend. In Geoffrey of Monmouth 's History of the Kings of Britain (1136), he is sent to Britain by the Senate after Asclepiodotus, here a British king, is overthrown by Coel of Colchester. Coel submits to Constantius and agrees to pay tribute to Rome, but dies only eight days later. Constantius marries Coel's daughter Helena and becomes king of Britain. He and Helena have a son, Constantine, who succeeds to the throne of Britain when his father dies at York eleven years later. The identification of Helena as British had previously been made by Henry of Huntingdon , but has no historical validity: Constantius had divorced Helena before he went to Britain.

  
  

• Sources

  [S1630] Alain de Carné, Forez, Loire, France, Généalogie de Carné.