An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors
DIR
Atlas
Gallus Caesar (15 March 351 - 354 A.D.)
Thomas M. Banchich
Canisius College
Almost all we know of Gallus (PLRE I, pp. 224-225, s.v.
Fl. Claudius Constantius Gallus 4) derives from literary sources, each
of which brings with it its own problems. For example, the testimony of
Julian, Gallus' half-brother, comes mostly
from the Letter to the Athenians, an apology of sorts for Julian's
proclamation as Augustus and for his subsequent march against Constantius,
while much of the detail of the church historians Socrates and Sozomenus
stems from Libanius' Or. 18, a work hardly immune from rhetorical
embellishment. Libanius' letters and autobiographical Or. 1 are
perhaps more trustworthy, when allowance is made for the relentless solipsism
of their author. The fragments of the homoiousian ecclesiastical historian
Philostorgius and the derivative Passio Artemii (both edited in
J. Bidez and F. Winckelman, Philostorgius Kirchengeschichte2
[Berlin 1972]), also provide extremely valuable information, though they
often reflect Philostorgius' theological interests. However, Ammianus Marcellinus'
account is by far the most detailed. Yet, at the same time, it is the most
problematic due to the transparent identification of Ammianus with the
interest of the senatorial class of Antioch; to his literary and rhetorical
techniques and their employment in the presentation of the story of Gallus
as an example of the workings of hybris, ate, and nemesis/adrasteia;
and to Ammianus' wish to excuse the role of his superior officer Ursicinus
in the treason trials that are the focal point of his narrative.
Gallus' Youth
Gallus, the youngest of three children of Julius
Constantius 7 (PLRE I, p. 226) and Galla 1 (PLRE
I, p. 382), was born in 325/6 at Massa in Etruria (Ammianus Marcellinus
14.11.27). Ammianus describes him as handsome, with blonde hair, but "differing
from the temperate character of his brother Julian"
(14.11.28. Cf. Eutropius 10.13 and John of Antioch fr. 174, Müller
FHG IV, p. 604). His mother died prior to 331, by which time Julius
Constantius' second wife, the young Basilina (PLRE I,
p. 148), had died after giving birth to Julian.
His sister (PLRE I, p. 1037,
s.v. Anonyma 1) had become the
first wife of Constantius
II around 335 (Julian 272 D, Athanasius Hist. Ar. 69, Eusebius
Vit.
Const.4.49), and her passing may have facilitated Gallus' fall in 353/4.Unlike
his elder brother (Julian Ep. ad. Ath. 270 D), Gallus escaped the
slaughter that followed the death of Constantine in 337, purportedly because
he was suffering at the time from what was thought to be a fatal illness
(Libanius Or. 18.10. Cf. Socrates Hist. eccl. 3.1;
Sozomenus Hist. eccl. 5.2.9; Theophanes AM 5831, A.D. 338/9,
ed. de Boor) or, perhaps more likely, because he was Constantius'
brother-in-law (Athanasius, Hist. Ar. 69.1). Julian
(Ep. ad Ath. 271 B) mentioned years later that he and Gallus were
told repeatedly that Constantius' actions were the result of a combination
of misinformation and pressure from the soldiery, and that the emperor
had come to regret his actions, which, in his mind, he linked to his childlessness
and to military misfortunes on the Persian front.[[1]]
It is often assumed on the basis of Ammianus 22.9.4, which refers only
to Julian, that both Gallus and his half-brother
were entrusted to the care of Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia (who was in
some way related to Julian) in that same
city. If so, they may have moved to Constantinople in 340, in which year
Eusebius became her bishop. After Eusebius' death in 341,
Constantius,
perhaps on the occasion of his journey to Constantinople in 342, sent the
youths to Macellum in Cappadocia.[[2]] However,
such an extended period of contact between Gallus, Julian,
and Eusebius is by no means certain, for, according to Socrates (Hist.
eccl. 3.1), before the transfer to Macellum Gallus had studied in Ephesus,
in the neighborhood of which he had inherited considerable property, while
Julian (Ep. ad Ath. 271 B) writes of Gallus' summons to Macellum
"from exile in Tralles.".[[3]] From the date of
the move to Macellum until March 15, 351, when he became Caesar, Gallus
was with Julian.
Sozomenus (Hist. eccl. 5.2) paints the situation at Macellum
as a pleasant one:
... this imperial post was near Mount Argeus, and not far from Caesarea;
it contained a magnificent palace and was adorned with baths, gardens,
and perennial fountains. Here they [Gallus and Julian]
were cultured and educated in a manner corresponding to the dignity of
their birth; they were taught the sciences and bodily exercises befitting
their ages, by masters of languages and interpreters of the Holy Scriptures,
so that they were enrolled among the clergy, and read the ecclesiastical
books to the people. Their habits and actions indicated no dereliction
from piety. They respected the clergy and other good people and persons
zealous for doctrine; they repaired regularly to church and rendered due
homage to the tombs of the martyrs.
Some of Sozomenus' picture most likely derives from Gregory Nazianzus'
Or.
4., in which (23, pp. 116-118, ed. Bernardi) Gregory asserts that Gallus
and Julian:
...had masters in all branches of learning, their uncle and sovereign
causing them to be instructed in the complete and regular course of education;
they studied also, and still more extensively, our own kind of philosophy,
that which deals not with words alone, but which conveys piety by means
of moral training: living in intercourse with the most excellent of men,
and in the exercise of the most pleasant of occupations, and which offers
a great field for the display of virtue: for both brothers offered and
enrolled themselves amongst the clergy; reading aloud the sacred books
to the people, thinking that this tended not a little to their glory, and
that piety was a greater decoration than all things else.
Gregory also records (4.25-26, pp. 118-120) the brothers' contest with
respect to a shrine of the martyrs, noting that an earth tremor caused
the collapse of the portion built by Julian.
Sozomenus (5.2) again echoes Gregory, though adding a precise identification
of the structure as a martyrium of St. Mamas..[[4]]
Julian's version of his six years at Macellum
contradicts much of the above. At Ep. ad Athen. 271 C-D he maintains
(unconvincingly) that Gallus possessed a violent streak attributable to
the forced stay a Macellum. Neither he nor his brother, Julian
alleges, was allowed the companionship of freeborn youths his own age.
Perhaps George, Athanasius' successor as bishop of Alexandria, supervised
some aspects of the upbringing and education of the pair, for Julian
(Ep. 107, ed. J. Bidez, pp. 185-186 ) comments on his access to
George's library. Probably in 347, Constantius,
while journeying from Ancyra to Hieropolis, visited Macellum (Julian Ep.
ad Athen. 274 A).[[5]]
The acclamation in Gaul of Flavius
Magnus Magnentius (PLRE I, p. 532) as Augustus on 18 January
350, forced Constantius
to launch a campaign in the west. In order to maintain the imperial presence
in the east during this expedition, he, being childless, decided to elevate
Gallus to the rank of Caesar. They would share the consulship three times,
in 352, 353, and 354. For the ceremony of accession, which occurred on
March 15, 351 (Consularia constantinopolitana, sub annum
351, p. 237, ed. Burgess), Gallus, perhaps accompanied by Julian,
traveled to Sirmium. As Caesar, he was renamed Constantius (Theophanes
AM 5842, A.D. 349/50) and wedded Constantina,
Constantius'
eldest sister (Zonaras 13.8.4, ed. Buttner-Wobst), to whom Constantine
the Great had given the title "Augusta" (Philostorgius 3.22 and
28) and who had some sixteen years earlier -- from 335 to 337 -- been the
wife of Hannibalianus
2 (PLRE. I, p. 407), whom Constantine
had created "King of Kings and Ruler of the Pontic Tribes" (Anonymus
Valesianus 36). Gallus was twenty-five or twenty-six at the time. The
Passio
Artemii 12 alleges that the marriage was meant to ensure Gallus' loyalty
but it may have had at least as much to do with Constantina
who, besides having known power as Constantine's
daughter and Hannibalianus'
wife, had prompted the opposition of Vetranio
1 (PLRE I, p. 954) to Magnentius,
and whose hand had been sought from Constantius
by ambassadors of Magnentius
himself (Peter the Patrician fr. 16, Müller FHG IV, p. 190).
The marriage, besides benefiting Constantius,
extricated her from a dangerous situation in the west and placed her in
a position from which she might control the younger and inexperienced Caesar.
On the other hand, it is possible that Constantius
saw the marriage as a way to remove his intrusive -- perhaps treasonous
-- sister from the volatile west.[[6]] If the mention
in the Passio Artemii (11) of letters from Constantina
to her brother preserves a genuine tradition, it is possible Constantina
even initiated the proposal that she marry Gallus, whose union with her
would produce a daughter, whose name and fate are unknown (Julian Ep.
ad Ath. 272 D).
Julian alleges that Constantius'
jealousy of Gallus began from the moment he proclaimed him Caesar. If Philostorgius
(4.1) is to be trusted, relations between Constantius
and Gallus were uneasy from the beginning, for a certain Theophilus (perhaps
Theophilus 1, PLRE I, p. 907, consularis Syriae in 354) acted
as mediator of a mutual non-aggression pact between them and, again following
Philostorgius, managed through his initiative to keep peace between them.
The Passio Artemii 12 states specifically that Gallus was not allowed
to select his own ministers, noting specifically Constantius'
appointments of Thallasius 1 (PLRE I, p. 886) as Praetorian Prefect
and Montius Magnus (PLRE I, pp. 535-536) as quaestor sacri palatii.
A fragment of an oration delivered (perhaps slightly later) by Himerius
to Constantius (Photius
Bibl.
Cod. 243, ed. Henry, IV, pp. 102-103) likely reflects Constantius'
official position regarding the new Caesar.
Gallus as Caesar
After becoming Caesar, Gallus, while traveling from Sirmium to Antioch,
visited Julian at Nicomedia (Libanius Or.
18.17, Ammianus Marcellinus 15.2.7). There Gallus may have summoned Julian
to appear with him in the theater, an action which may explain the suspicions
the rendezvous of the half-brothers aroused in Constantius.[[7]]
Gallus arrived in Antioch on May 7, 351. Socrates (Hist. eccl. 2.28.2)
says his adventus was marked by the appearance of a cross in the sky.[[8]]
Probably early in his residence at Antioch Gallus moved the relics of the
martyr Babylas into the precinct of Apollo at Daphne (Cf. John Chrysostom
Homily
on St. Babylas 101 and Sozomenus 5.19.12-13). Zonaras 13.12 says that
Julian later attributed Gallus' death to
the desecration of Apollo's shrine by means of Babylas' remains. Ammianus,
whose account commences with events of the winter of 353/4, does not mention
the transfer, an omission which suggests that the act occurred during the
first year or so of Gallus' stay. During the same period may fall a series
of incidents related by Philostorgius (3.27), who alleges that accusations
against the anomian theologian Aetius by his rivals Basil and Eustathius
prompted Gallus to order Aetius' execution. However, Philostorgius continues,
Leontius, Bishop of Antioch, interceded on Aetius' behalf and the latter
quickly became a favorite of the Caesar, while Gallus ultimately appointed
Aetius to be director of the religious education of Julian,
with the express aim of recalling him from impiety (paganism or Christian
heresy?). Aetius' role with respect to Julian
may have something to do with events in 350, when Flavius Philippus 7 (PLRE
I, pp. 696-697) escorted George -- perhaps Julian's
instructor in religious matters and who had ordained Aetius as a deacon
-- toward Alexandria to replace Athanasius (Hist. Ar. 51). If so,
when Athanasius maintained his see in Alexandria, George may have returned
to Macellum. This, in turn, might have meant Aetius' return to Antioch,
where he is later linked to the ruin of Domitianus and Montius in 353/4.[[9]]
In 351 or 352, the magister peditum Ursicinus 2 (PLRE
I, pp. 985-986, which fails to mention Ursicinus' role in the Palestinian
campaign), crushed a Jewish insurrection in Palestine centered, according
to Socrates (Hist. eccl. 2.33) and Sozomenus (Hist. eccl.
4.7) in Diocaesarea.[[10]] Jerome records -- for
the year 352 but immediately following his notice of Gallus' proclamation
as Caesar -- : " Through the murders of many thousands of men -- even those
too young to pose a threat -- Gallus suppressed the Jews, who, having murdered
soldiers at night, had seized arms for the purpose of rebellion ["arma
ad rebellandum invaserant," which allows that the insurrection may
have begun in the preceding year], and he put to the torch their cities
Diocaesarea, Tiberias, and Diospolis and many towns" (Chronica,
ed. Helm, p. 238.15-21), to which may be compared Theophanes AM
5843, A.D. 350/1: "In this year, the Jews in Palestine revolted. They killed
many other nationalities, both Hellenes and Samaritans. They and their
whole race were slaughtered by the Roman army, and their city Diocaesarea
was razed to the ground."[[11]] Perhaps the brief
power vacuum between Constantius' move west and before Gallus' arrival
in Antioch convinced the discontents in Palestine that the time was right
for rebellion. Socrates alone (Hist. ecc. 2.34) alleges that successes
in Palestine prompted Gallus to consider a coup against Constantius.
John Zonaras (13.8.25-31) offers immediately following his description
of the battle of Mursa (September 28, 351), a detailed account of a plot
by Magnentius
to assassinate Gallus:
He sent out one of his servants to Antioch to kill Gallus so as to surround
the emperor with cares and to divert his attention to other matters. In
order to remove suspicion from himself, the envoy lodged in the hut of
a certain old lady. This hut was built by the Orontes River. The Orontes
was once called the Ophites, as some write; afterwards, however, it was
called the Orontes because the son of Cambyses, King of the Persians, fell
in. His name was Orontes. Magnentius'
assassin prepared the plot against Gallus. He attached to himself many
heavily armed men of the place. In the evening, with some of the conspirators,
he had dinner at the house of the old lady and conversed with them fearlessly
about his plan. He despised the old lady because he thought she was too
old to understand what was being discussed. Since she was a lady of a steady
nature, as it turned out, she seemed not even to hear what was said and
kept everything to herself. When her guest, heavy with wine, fell asleep,
she secretly left her hut and went to the town; she revealed everything
to the Caesar. He sent some men to arrest the plotter, who, when he was
under pressure, revealed the whole affair. Having escaped it, Gallus punished
him and those who knew about the conspiracy (trans. DiMaio).
Ammianus 14.7.4 may provide a parallel: "... his [Gallus'] propensity
for doing harm was inflamed and incited by a worthless woman, who, on being
admitted to the palace (as she had demanded) had betrayed a plot that was
secretly being made against him by some soldiers of the lowest condition.
Whereupon Constantina, exulting as if the safety of her husband were now
assured, gave her a reward, and seating her in a carriage, sent her out
through the palace gates into the public streets, in order that by such
inducements she might tempt others to reveal similar or greater conspiracies."
Zonaras' account may reflect rhetorical elaboration rather than access
to informed sources, while that of Ammianus seems to mirror public knowledge
of the incident as the result of the presentation of the informant to the
populace of Antioch. There seems no need to posit any common literary source.
At any rate, the incident seems to fall soon after Gallus' arrival in Antioch,
when the assassination could divert Constantius
and, if Ursicinus was then active in Palestine, the Caesar would perhaps
have been more vulnerable to attack.
Gallus and the Persians
Philostorgius (Hist. eccl. 3.28) maintains that Gallus scored victories
on the Persian front. However, it is dangerous to base too much on the
Arians' testimony, for it survives only in the epitome of Photius, who
may not represent accurately Philostorgius' point. Furthermore, Passio
Artemii 12, deriving much of its historical detail from Philostorgius,
does not attribute any actual victories to Gallus but says only that his
reputation cowed the Persians. Zosimus (3.1) makes the same point, perhaps
reflecting an inference of Eunapius, whose History he closely followed,
to explain Persian quietude during Gallus' reign. Since Philostorgius,
too, seems to have known Eunapius' History, it seems likely that Zosimus
3.1 and Passio Artemii 12 reflect Eunapius, which, if so, gives
added weight to the hypothesis that Photius' epitome inaccurately represents
his exemplar.
In addition, there are other obstacles to positive modern assertions
about Gallus' military successes in the east. In 350, upon his departure
for the west, Constantius
had
placed Lucillianus 3 (PLRE I, pp. 517-518) in charge of anti-Persian
operations (Zosimus 2.45.2 and 3.8.2). Revolution may already have been
smoldering in Palestine, and perhaps the need for Ursicinus, Lucillianus'
superior in rank, to turn his attention to the rebels explains Lucillianus'
appointment. Indeed, Sapor, upon the conclusion of a truce with the Romans,
had withdrawn from Nisibis in 350 after suffering heavy losses in order
to check nomadic incursions (Ammianus 14.3.1 and 14.9.3, Zonaras 13.713-14)
This seems to have changed the tactical situation vis-à-vis
Persia from high intensity to low intensity threats (cf. Ammianus
16.9.1, Julian Or. 1.28 D and Or. 2.66 D). There seems, then,
to have been neither the need nor the opportunity for the Caesar himself
at the head of a field army to engage the enemy.
Perhaps there were substantial clashes in 352 or 353, but, if the opening
of the surviving portion of Ammianus' Res Gestae is an accurate
guide, Gallus does not seem to have played any important role in the soldier-historian's
account of affairs prior to the campaigning season of 353/4. That leaves
only 353/4 as a time when Gallus himself might have personally engaged
the Persians. Probably in early spring 354 Gallus was going to lead troops
from Antioch to Hieropolis, a regular jumping-off point for invasion of
Mesopotamia. It is unknown whether he ever reached Hieropolis or, if he
did, whether the march was meant as a show of force or involved an actual
engagement with Persian forces. Ammianus (14.7.5) refers to the matter
with contempt. Gallus' expedition is connected by some modern scholars
to an aborted attempt at a surprise attack on Batne in Osdroene by the
Persian commander Nohodares. However, Ammianus synchronizes this with an
early-September fair at Batne, which would seem to rule out any connection
to Gallus' march to Hieropolis. Late in 354 Gallus sent from Antioch the
comes Orientis Nebridius 1 (PLRE I, 619), who must have only recently
replaced Honoratus 2 (PLRE I, pp. 438-439) to relieve the city of
Seleucia, then under Isaurian attack. Ursicinus seems then to have been
on the eastern frontier, perhaps in Nisibis, whence he had returned from
presiding over the treason trials in Antioch. Shortly before Gallus' fall
in 354, Constantius
summoned Ursicinus to Milan, where he had taken winter quarters, on the
pretext of discussing how best to check Persian threats (Ammianus 14.11.4).
In sum, regardless of Ammianus' undeniable manipulation of events in
his account of Gallus' reign, there is little reason to credit the Caesar
with martial successes.[[12]]
The Death of Theophilus
As would be the case later with his half-brother Julian,
Gallus ran afoul of the senatorial class of Antioch as a result of his
attempt to reduce the price of grain, which, due to drought or perhaps
as a result of diversions to the military, was in short supply. Ammianus
(14.7.2) credits Honoratus with the salvation of the senators of Antioch,
all of whom Gallus had sentenced to death in recompense for their opposition
to this policy (did this episode figure in the replacement of Honoratus
by Nebridius?). The resentment of the lower classes at their perception
of the role of the wealthy in the grain crises was clearly very high, and,
either through his wish to provide a scapegoat or in consequence of his
sincere judgment, Gallus -- as he prepared to depart Antioch for Hieropolis
and the Persian frontier -- turned the anger of the people against the
consularis Syriae Theophilus (PLRE I, p. 907). Ammianus vividly
describes Theophilus' death, the mishandling of his body, and the burning
of the home of the decurion Eubulus (14.7.5-7), while Julian
(Misopogon 370 C) recalls the burning of the houses of the powerful
and calls this, along with Theophilus' murder, the result of the justified
but excessive anger of the populace[[13]] Libanius
(Or. 19.47) adds details: "After the death of Theophilus which that
fine governor suffered at the hands of five copper-smiths at the chariot
races quite contrary to his deserts, ... ." At Or. 1.103, Libanius
describes how a mob outraged Theophilus' corpse, sought the sophist and
decurion Eubulus 2 (PLRE I, p. 287) and his son, and, unsuccessful,
burned their home.
Libanius (Or. 1.96) speaks of Gallus' murderous anger and records
the arrest, followed by the release, of Zenobius, one of Libanius' mentors.
On the next day, Libanius performed before Gallus, who then requested and
received a panegyric. Libanius says that he delivered this panegyric in
fear and that in it he mentioned that Zenobius, who, according to Libanius,
was actually present, had often extolled Gallus' eloquence. Libanius describes
(Or. 1.97) how Gallus "was delighted and stretched out his hand
in token of reconciliation, and he did obeisance and kissed it, while we
applauded, as you would expect in such a case when the emperor had freed
an old teacher from fear" (cf. Or. 1.91 and 96-97). But subsequently
a rival sophist encouraged a student to bring before Gallus charges of
magic against Libanius, in anticipation that Gallus would execute him.
Gallus directed the accuser to take the case before the courts, which he
chose not to do. However, Libanius adduces this as the explanation for
the cool treatment he thereafter often received in public from Gallus,
at Or. 1.99-100 saying that Gallus actually recommened that he leave
Antioch and take an appointment in Thrace.[[14]]
Ammianus' relentlessly hostile portrayal of Gallus and Constantina
recounts how, with the help of informants, the royal couple destroyed a
series of innocent victims on charges of conspiracy or the practice of
magic. Besides executions, there was a series of confiscations of property.
Ammianus even alleges that Gallus roamed the streets of Antioch at night
incognito soliciting the views of passersby on their Caesar (14.1.1-9).
Gallus also appears to have spent much time at the hippodrome, where he
would have had a chance to woo the populace(Julian Misopogon 340
A).
Ammianus (14.1.10) condemns the praetorian prefect Thalassius for his
failure to check Gallus' alleged violent streak but allows that he did
keep Constantius
secretly informed of the Caesar's behavior. Upon Thalassius' death in 353
by natural causes, Constantius
appointed Domitianus to replace him and sent him to Gallus' court at Antioch,
according to Ammianus with instructions to convince Gallus to come to Italy,
something that Ammianus remarks Constantius
had often urged upon Gallus (14.7.9: ... Gallum quem crebro acciverat
... . Cf. Passio Artemii 13). Constantius
also, according to Ammianus (14.7.9), began to reduce the number of troops
actually with Gallus (as opposed to troops stationed in the east under
military commanders). This reduction fits nicely with Zonaras' assertion
(13.9) that Constantius
sent Domitianus east to check Gallus, whose excesses he feared would precipitate
a rebellion in Antioch at a time when Constantius
still faced a difficult situation in the west. Domitianus snubbed Gallus,
plotted his downfall, and, when finally he came before Gallus, imperiously
commanded him to depart for Italy or face an embargo of supplies for the
palace at Domitianus' order. Gallus ordered his guardsmen to arrest of
Domitianus, to whose defense came the quaestor Montius. In response, perhaps
(as Ammianus records) urged on by Gallus and, once events were underway,
by the curator urbis Luscus (not in PLRE), the soldiers brutalized
and killed both men.
In Philostorgius' version,
Constantius, jealous of Gallus' great success against Sapor, sent
Domitianus to prevent the Caesar's triumphal entry into Antioch. The haughty
Domitianus enraged Gallus, who ordered Montius to see to Domitianus' death.
When Montius objected that Domitianus' execution would exceed the bounds
of Gallus' authority, Constantina
"dragged down Montius from his judgement-seat with her own hands" (3.28)
and, with Gallus' consent, both Montius and Domitianus were slaughtered.
In what may be nothing more than an anti-Eunomian smear, Gregory of Nyssa,
also mentioning Theophilus, complains that Aetius' participation in the
ruin of Domitianus and Montius went unpunished.[[15]]
Theophanes AM 5846, A.D. 353/4, perhaps reflects popular perception
or propaganda in accusing Gallus of plotting a coup and then murdering
Domitianus and Montius, both of whom had revealed Gallus' plan.
The Treason Trials
Montius, as he died, had called the names Epigonus and Eusebius, which
led to the arrests of Epigonus 2 of Cilicia, a philosopher (PLRE
I, p. 280), and Eusebius 10, an orator from Emesa (PLRE I, p. 302).
In a cryptic comment (14.7.18), Ammianus observes that the Epigonus and
Eusebius to whom Montius had referred were actually tribuni fabricarum,
that is, officers in the arms workshops, "who had promised weapons if a
revolution should be gotten underway" (promittentes armorum, si novae
res agitari coepissent). Was Gallus possibly the target of a faction
of emperor-makers in the east? Perhaps so, for Domitianus had recently
sent his son-in-law Apollinaris 2 (PLRE I, pp. 83-84), who had been
in charge of the management of the palace at Antioch, to Mesopotamia, where
there were large concentrations of Roman troops, then in winter quarters.
In addition, after the discovery in Tyre of a royal robe secretly produced,
the rector of the province of Phoenice, none other than Apollinaris 1 (PLRE
I, p. 83), father of Apollinaris 2, was brought to trial together with
his son, who had been arrested in Constantinople, to which he had fled
via Lesser Armenia after learning the fate of Domitianus and Montius. Both
father and son were condemned to exile, but were, in fact, murdered, presumably
on Gallus' orders, once they had reached their family villa at Craterae,
located very specifically by Ammianus twenty-four miles from Antioch (14.9.8).
The trials of the Apollonares provide the context for the recall from
Nisibis to Antioch by Gallus of the magister equitum Ursicinus 2
(PLRE I, pp. 985-986), with whom came Ammianus (14.9.1). Ammianus
represents Ursicinus as fearful of Gallus' temperament and in close contact
with Constantius.
It was Ursicinus himself who presided over the trials of Epigonus and Eusebius.
Both were mercilessly tortured (Ammianus alleges on the orders of Gallus
and Constantina ),
Epigonus, though innocent, confessing under duress, Eusebius maintaining
his innocence to the end. Attention turned next to the royal vestment from
Tyre. Among those tortured were employees of the dye works and a Christian
deacon Maras, none of whom confessed to wrongdoing. A letter from Maras,
mentioned by Ammianus (14.9.7), may be the correspondence referred to by
Libanius (Or. 18.24). Many died, says Ammianus, before attention
turned toward the Apollinares.
Gallus' Fall
In the spring of 354, while at Valentia, Constantius
was informed of the trials at Antioch by a protector domesticus
Herculanus 1 (PLRE I, p. 420), a son of Hermogenes I (PLRE
I, pp. 422-423), a former magister equitum in the east and possibly
a native of Tyre, where he owned a home (Libanius Ep. 828).[[16]]
This, in turn, Ammianus says led Constantius
to attempt to undermine the position of his praetorian prefect Vulcacius
Rufinus 25 (PLRE I, pp. 782-783, with stemma 26, p. 1145), the half-brother
of Gallus' mother Galla
Indeed, Volusianus Lampadius 5 (PLRE I, 978-980) about this time
replaced Rufinus and is named by Zosimus (2.55.3) as one of the prime instigators
of Gallus' arrest and execution
.
It was only after
Constantius had concluded a peace with the Alamanni and withdrawn
to his winter quarters at Milan that affairs came to a head. However, he
had already summoned Julian to the west
in 353 and kept him there for spring of 354 during the campaigns against
the Alamanni. Zosimus (2.55) connects Gallus' fate to the desire of court
sycophants for position and personal gain, indicting by name Dynamius 2
(PLRE I, p. 275), Picentius (PLRE I, p. 701), and Lampadius
(properly C. Ceionius Rufius Volusianus 5, PLRE I, pp. 978-980).
Ammianus (14.11.1-5) describes secret meetings at with the emperor discussed
with his confidants how to destroy Gallus. Flavius Arbitio 2 (PLRE
I, pp. 94-95), Constantius'
magister equitum, and the praepositus cubiculi, the eunuch
Eusebius 11 (PLRE I, 302-303) argued against summoning Gallus until
Ursicinus, whom they charged had designs on the throne, had been brought
to the west. They argued that agents of Ursicinus had incited Gallus in
the hope that his resultant unpopularity would open the way to the throne
for the sons of the magister equitum himself. Whether this is an
accurate picture or not, Constantius called Ursicinus to Milan on the pretext
of planning for a campaign against the Persians and sent to the east as
an interim commander with the title dux his vicar Prosper (PLRE
I, p. 751). Ammianus comments that he himself accompanied Ursicinus to
Milan (14.11.5: Mediolanum itineribus properavimus magnis).
Constantius
next prevailed upon Gallus and Constantina
to journey to his court. Libanius (Or. 12.35) cryptically alludes
to letters of warning sent by Julian to Gallus.
When Constantina
died of a fever at Caeni Gallicani in Bithynia and Gallus hesitated in
Antioch, the tribunus scutariorum Scudilo (PLRE I, pp. 810-811)
enticed him with news that Constantius
planned to raise him to the rank of Augustus and to engage with him in
some cooperative operation in the "northern provinces" (Arctoae provinciae).
En
route, Gallus, apparently in a formal adventus, entered Constantinople,
staged horse races, and crowned a champion charioteer. This demonstration
so worried Constantius
that he stripped of troops the towns on Gallus' itinerary and sent a string
of officials to Gallus, ostensibly on matters of business, but in reality
to observe the Caesar's actions.[[17]] Ammianus
(14.11.15) provides interesting evidence of the support of the army for
Gallus in an anecdote which described how some Theban legions, wintering
in the area, encouraged Gallus to remain in Thrace under their protection.
Letters from Constantius eventually caused him to continue west to Petobio
in Noricum, where picked troops led by Barbatio (PLRE I, pp. 146-147),
accompanied by the agens in rebis Apodemius 1 (PLRE I, p.
82), surrounded his palace. Barbatio, whom Ammianus (14.11.24) accuses
of contriving charges against Gallus before Constantius,
stripped Gallus of his imperial robes, assured him that no harm would come
to him, and transferred him under guard to Pola. There Eusebius 11 (PLRE
I, pp. 302-303), Pentadius 2 (PLRE I, p. 687), and Mallubaudes (PLRE
I, p. 539) interrogated him about the treason trials at Antioch. Ammianus
alleges that in response Gallus attempted to place on Constantina
the responsibility for the deaths of those executed. This, Ammianus relates,
so enraged Constantius
that he dispatched Serenianus 2 (PLRE I, p. 825), who, together
with Pentadius and Apodemius, informed Gallus that he had been sentenced
to death. Zonaras (13.9.20) records that Constantius
changed his mind but Eusebius prevented news of this from reaching the
executioners. Libanius (Or. 18.152), in describing the trials at
Chalcedon under Julian, states that Eusebius was
primarily responsible for Gallus' death The Caesar's hands were bound,
and he was summarily beheaded. Libanius (Or. 12.35 and 18.24), though
on what actual grounds it is hard to tell, alleges that Gallus was allowed
no defense, and that his face and head were mutilated. Gallus had been
Caesar for four years and at the time of his death was twenty-nine..[[18]]
Libanius (Or. 18.26) says that Julian
concealed his grief in order not to provide Constantius
with an excuse to execute him. Julian (Ep. ad Ath. 271 A) suggests
that Gallus suffered damnatio memoriae. Though his name has indeed
been obliterated from an inscription from Cyprus (Dessau ILS 738),
it does appear on other inscriptions..[[19]]
Notes
[[1]]Though the date and circumstances of the death
of Anonyma 1 are unknown, Constantius' second marriage, to Eusebia (PLRE
I, p. 300-301) in Germany in 353/4, suggests that she may have died shortly
before that date. Note Constantius' marriage to Faustina (PLRE I,
p. 326) shortly after Eusebia's death.
For a discussion of the purges of 337, the sources that treat them,
and the various scholarly theories surrounding them, see Michael DiMaio,
Jr, and Duane W.-H. Arnold, "Per Vim, Per Caedem, Per Bellum: A
Study of Murder and Ecclesiatical Politics in the Year 337 A.D.," Byzantion,
62 (1992), 158ff.
[[2]] John Vanderspoel, Themistius and the Imperial
Court (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1995), p. 116, suggests
the transfer coincided with Constantius' journey to Constantinople in 342.
[[3]]Perhaps the lands bequeathed to the church of Ephesus
by Gallus' stepmother Basilina. Cf. Palladius Dial. p. 83, line
27 - p. 84, line 2, ed. Coleman-Norton and Photius Bibl. Cod. 96,
ed. Henry, II, p. 55, lines 17-19) reflect these holdings.
[[4]]Cf. Sozomenus Hist. eccl. 5.2; Rufinus
Hist.
eccl. 10.35; Theodoret Hist. eccl. 3.1; and Theophanes
AM
5831. On the location of the martyrium, see A. Hadjinicolaou, "Macellum,
lieu d'exil de l'empereur Julien," Byzantion 21 (1951), pp. 15-22).
[[5]]J. Bidez, La Vie de l'Empereur Julien (Paris:
Société d'édition "Les Belles Lettres," 1930), p.
24, with n. 6.
[[6]]So Vanderspoel, p. 85, n. 58. T. D. Barnes, "Himerius
and the Fourth Century," Classical Philology 82 (1987), p. 209,
cautiously suggests Julian's presence at both Gallus' proclamation and
wedding. However, Julian (Ep. ad Ath. 274 A ) says that prior to
355 he had seen Constantius only twice, once in Cappadocia ,i.e., at Macellum,
and again in Italy.
[[7]]Misopogon 351 B, where the archon may be
Gallus. PLRE I, pp. 1023-1024, s.v. Anonymus 120, suggests
Procopius 1 or 2 (PLRE I, p. 742)
[[8]]See T. D. Barnes, Athanasius and Constantius
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1993), p. 316, n. 54. Passio
Artemii 11 describes a celestial cross visible over Jerusalem during
Pentecost of 351 and vaguely synchronizes its appearance with the onset
of Constantius' campaign against Magnentius. Note, too, Consularia constantinopolitana
sub annum 351, ed. Burgess, p. 237, and the star on Antiochene coinage
struck perhaps in commemoration of Gallus' adventus, Roman Imperial
Coinage 8, p. 505, together with Otto Seeck, Regesten der Kaiser
und Päpste (Stuttgart: J. B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung,
1919), p. 198, sub annum 351, January 1 and March 15.
[[9]]For these complicated events, see Barnes, Athanasius
and Constantius, pp. 102-105.
[[10]]The Book of the Title of the tenth-century
Melkite bishop Agapius of Hieropolis (or Mahbub ibn Qustantin), Kitab al-Unvan
, Patrologia orientalis 7, fascicle 4 (1910), ed. and trans. by
A. Vasiliev, p. 571, sets the rebellion in the eighteenth and third years
of Constantius and Gallus, respectively, which seems impossible. For a
French translation, see Bidez and Winckelman, Philostorgius Kirchengeschichte2,
p. 222, lines 24-26. Michael the Syrian's twelfth-century Chronicle
268. 16 f., ed. and trans. by J. -B. Chabot, Chronique, 4 vols.
(Paris: 1899-1924), which regularly follows Agapius, is of no independent
value. John Cedrenus 1.524, ed. I. Bekker, CSBH (Bonn, 1838) also
mentions the revolt.
[[11]]Theophanes' specific mention of Hellenes and
Samaritans, together with the failure of the ecclesiastical historians
to mention Christian victims, suggests that the rebels purposely avoided
killing Christians, perhaps in the hope of mitigating the anger of the
Christian rulers of the empire. Aurelius Victor (Liber de Caesaribus
42.11, p. 128, ed. Pichlmayr) gives the bare notice that the rebels raised
a certain Patricius "to a kind of kingship" (in regni speciem) and prompted
from Andre Piganiol the question of whether this was a "crise messianique?"
L'Empire
Chretien (Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1972), p. 103. Michael
Avi-Yonah, The Jews under Roman and Byzantine Rule (Corrected Reprint
of 1976 ed.; New York: Schocken Books, 1984), pp. 174-181, is by far the
best account of the rebellion, its prelude, and its aftermath. Especially
valuable is treatment (with map, p. 177, and dependent in part on Hebrew
sources almost never mentioned in modern accounts written by classically
trained ancient historians) of Ursicinus' campaign. For other modern literature
see Barnes, Athanasius and Constantius, p. 316, n. 55.
[[12]]E. A. Thompson, The Historical Work of Ammianus
Marcellinus (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1947), pp. 56-59,
and Roger Blockley, "Constantius Gallus and Julian as Caesars of Constantius
II," Latomus 31 (1972), pp. 441-443, and Ammianus Marcellinus:
A Study of His Historical and Political Thought, Coll. Latomus
141 (Brussels, 1975), argue that Gallus has been underrated as a commander.
In general, see John Matthews, The Roman Empire of Ammianus (London:
Duckworth, 1989) and Timothy D. Barnes' forthcoming study of Ammianus.
For Ammianus' chronology, see Otto Seeck, "Zur Chronologie und Quellenkritik
des Ammianus Marcellinus," 41 (1906), pp. 494-499; For
diplomatic and military context, Michael H. Dodgeon and Samuel N. C. Lieu,
The
Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (AD 226-363), (London and
New York: Routledge, 1991); for drought rather than the supply of troops
as the cause of food shortages in Antioch, Glanville Downey, A History
of Antioch in Syria from Seleucus to the Arab Conflict (Princeton,
N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1961), p. 365.
[[13]]Ammianus (14.7.7) contrasts Theophilus' fate
with that of Sevenianus 2 (PLRE I, 825). The latter, while dux
Phoenices sometime before 354 had allowed the city Celse to be pillaged
and, in addition, was supposed to have employed a combination of magic
and the consultation of an unnamed prophetic temple to attempt to discover
whether he would realize his ambition to become emperor. Unlike Theophilus,
who died undeservedly, Severianus escaped his due. However, all would come
right in the end (at least in Ammianus' view), when none other than Severianus
himself would execute Gallus.
[[14]]About 360 Libanius delivered in private an invective
against Gallus and the jeopardy in which he had put Libanius' uncle Phasganius,
on whom see Otto Seeck, Die Briefe des Libanius (Reprint of 1906
ed.; Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1966), pp. 234-235.. Cf. Libanius Ep.
64, trans. A. F. Norman, Autobiography and Selected Letters II,
p. 45-49
.
[[15]]Contra Eunomium I, Migne PG 54
(1858), col. 264. But note Libanius' allegation that Constantius repeatedly
urged Strategius Musonianus (PLRE I, pp. 611-612), praetorian prefect
after Domitianus, to moderation in his investigation of the incident.
[[16]]Hermogenes had been killed by a mob ca. 342 in
Thrace, where Constantius had sent him from Antioch to expel the newly
elected bishop of Constantinople, Paul.
[[17]]Ammianus 14.13.14 names Flavius Leontius 22 (PLRE
I, p. 503) Lucillianus 3 (PLRE I, pp. 517-518) and Bainobaudes 1
(PLRE I, p. 145).
[[18]]Philostorgius, who fails to mention the treason
trials, links Gallus' fall to the fates of Domitianus and Montius. Upon
learning of their deaths, Constantius, according to Philostorgius (Hist.
eccl. 4.1) summoned Gallus and his wife to the west; Constantina died
en route in Bithynia, while Gallus, together with Theophilus the Indian
(not in PLRE), eventually reach Noricum. There Barbatio, who had
been sent from Milan, attempted on Constantius' orders to strip Gallus
of his rank and to transport him under arrest to an island in Dalmatia.
When Theophilus objected, Constantius had him exiled and Barbatio proceeded
to carry out his mission. Constantius was next swayed by the machinations
of his eunuch Eusebius to order Gallus' execution. Though Constantius withdrew
this sentence of death, Eusebius, Philostorgius charges, kept the pardon
from reaching Gallus' executioners in time.
[[19]]E.g., those cited in Roger S. Bagnall,
Alan Cameron, Seth R. Swartz, and Klass A. Worp, Consuls of the Later
Roman Empire (Atlanta, Georgia: Scholars Press, 1987), pp. 239-243),
and Dessau ILS 737.
NOTE ON TRANSLATIONS
Translations of some of the literary sources important for Gallus' reign
exist only in fairly new or in old hard-to-find editions. Cyril Mango,
Roger Scott, and Geoffrey Greatrex, The Chronicle of Theophanes the
Confessor (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), now provide an authoritative
translation with sparse notes; Samuel Lieu and Dominic Montserrat, From
Constantine to Julian (London and New York: Routledge, 1996) contains
an annotated translation of much of the Passio Artemii. For Zonaras,
see Michael DiMaio, Zonaras' Account of the Neo-Flavian Emperors
(Ph.D. diss., University of Missouri, 1977; Ann Arbor: University Microfilms,
78-914112). A. F. Norman's four Loeb volumes of Libanius (Cambridge,
Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1969-1992) contain much relevant to Gallus.
J. C. Rolfe has a translation and text of the Anonymus Valesianus
in Vol. III of his Loeb Ammianus (Revised reprint of 1939 ed.; Cambridge,
Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1964). Edward Walford's translation of
Photius' Epitome of Philostorgius appears with a translation of
Sozomenus in the old Bohn series (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1855). Michael
H. Dodgeon and Samuel N. C. Lieu, The Roman Eastern Frontier and the
Persian Wars (AD 226-363), (London and New York: Routledge, 1991),
has annotated translations of an impressive range of material. A Select
Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church contains
translations of patristic sources. One important exception is Gregory's
Or.
4, translated (unevenly) into English by C. W. King, Julian the Emperor
(London: George Bell and Sons, 1888), and into French by Jean Bernardi,
Gregoire de Nazianze, Discours 4-5 (Paris: Les éditions du
Cerf, 1983). P. Henry's Bude of Photius Bibliotheca (Paris: Société
d'édition "Les Belles Lettres," 1959-1991) gives a French translation.
Richard Burgess, The Chronicle of Hydatius and the Consularia Constantinopolitana
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), supersedes for the Consularia
Mommsen's Monumenta Germaniae Historica edition, Chronica minora
I (Berlin, 1892).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Avi-Yonah, Michael. The Jews under Roman and Byzantine Rule.
(Corrected Reprint of 1976 ed.; New York: Schocken Books, 1984).
Bagnall, Roger S., Cameron, Alan, Swartz, Seth R., and Worp, Klass A.
Consuls
of the Later Roman Empire. Atlanta, Georgia: Scholars Press, 1987.
Barnes,Timothy D. Athanasius and Constantius. Cambridge, Mass.:
Harvard University Press, 1993.
Bidez, Joseph. La Vie de l'Empereur Julien (Paris: Société
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Bleckmann, Bruno. "Constantina, Vetranio, und Gallus Caesar." Chiron
24 (1994), pp. 29-68.
Blockley, Roger. "Constantius Gallus and Julian as Caesars of Constantius
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__________. Ammianus Marcellinus: A Study of His Historical and Political
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DiMaio, Michael Jr, and Duane W.-H. Arnold, "Per Vim, Per Caedem,
Per Bellum: A Study of Murder and Ecclesiatical Politics in the Year
337 A.D.." Byzantion, 62 (1992), pp.158ff.
Dodgeon, Michael H. and Lieu, Samuel N. C. The Roman Eastern Frontier
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A. G. Carson. London: Spink and Son, Ltd., 1981, pp. 137, 174, 200, 242-244,
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Matthews, John. The Roman Empire of Ammianus. London: Duckworth,
1989.
Seeck, Otto. "Zur Chronologie und Quellenkritik des Ammianus Marcellinus,"
Hermes
41 (1906), pp. 481-539.
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Vanderspoel, John. Themistius and the Imperial Court. Ann Arbor:
University of Michigan Press, 1995.
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Updated: 1 August 1997
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