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Licinius II
View on WikipediaLicinius II,[1][2] also called Licinius Junior[3][4] or Licinius Caesar[5] (Latin: Valerius Licinianus Licinius; c. July/August 315 – c. 326),[6][4] was the son of the Roman emperor Licinius I. He held the imperial rank of caesar between March 317 and September 324,[6] while his father was augustus, and he was twice Roman consul.[4][7] After losing a civil war, his father lost power and both he and Licinius Junior were eventually put to death.
Key Information
Family and background
[edit]Licinius I married Flavia Julia Constantia, daughter of the augustus Constantius Chlorus and augusta Flavia Maximiana Theodora, and thus a half-sister of the augustus Constantine I. They wed at Mediolanum (Milan) in February 313.[8] Three years later, Constantine attacked Licinius in the Cibalensean War.[9] Constantine defeated Licinius at the Battle of Cibalae at Cibalae (Vinkovci) in Pannonia Secunda on the 8 October 316 and again at the Battle of Mardia near Hadrianopolis in Haemimontus (Edirne).[9]
Life
[edit]
Licinius II, son of Licinius, grandson of Constantius I, and half-nephew of Constantine, was born to Flavia Julia Constantia in July or August 315.[4]
While the augustus Licinius marched against Constantine in 316, Licinius II was left with his mother and the augustus's treasury at Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica).[10][1] After Licinius was defeated by Constantine at the Battle of Cibalae, and lost two thirds of his army, he fled to Sirmium and thence to Singidunum (Belgrade), where he crossed the river Sava and destroyed the bridge to delay Constantine's pursuit of him.[1] With this delay, Licinius and his family reached Hadrianopolis.[1] After Constantine reached Philippopolis (Plovdiv), and after he and Licinius failed to come to terms over Licinius's appointment of Valerius Valens as co-augustus, the Battle of the Mardia (or "of Campus Ardiensis", probably Harmanli) ensued, in which Licinius was again defeated.[1]
Licinius failed to flee towards Byzantium (Istanbul) as expected, and outmanoeuvred Constantine by marching to Beroea (Veria) while Constantine continued to Byzantium, this placed him across Constantine's lines of communication and supply. Additionally, Licinius captured Constantine's baggage train.[1] As a result, Licinius and Constantine made peace: excepting the dioecesis of Thrace, all the territory formerly administered by Licinius in the Balkans was ceded to Constantine's control.[1] Constantine was to be recognized as senior augustus, and all Licinius and Constantine's sons were to be mutually recognized as caesares.[1]

Caesar
[edit]On the 1 March 317 Licinius II was raised to the imperial rank of caesar by agreement between his father and Constantine. Constantine's sons Crispus and the infant Constantine II were elevated to caesar on the same day,[8] at Serdica (Sofia).[3] The date was chosen especially; it was the dies imperii (date of accession) of Constantine's father and Licinius's father-in-law Constantius I, the grandfather of all the new caesares.[1] Crispus was no older than 17, while Constantine II was, at seven months, even younger than Licinius II, who was then only 20 months old.[1] Sharing the same day of investiture, none of the caesares could claim seniority. Licinius II retained his title until 324, throughout the time his father remained in power. [11]
Licinius is said by Themistius to have been educated by the grammaticus, and later consul, Flavius Optatus.[6][5] Licinius was mentioned in the inscription of a Roman milestone from Viennensis as Constantini Aug. sororis filius, 'the son of the sister of Constantine Augustus'.[6]
Licinius II was made consul in 319.[4] His colleague was his uncle Constantine. In 321, the relationship between the two augusti had worsened and each made different nominations for the consulship:[9] Licinius II was made consul for the second time[4] with his father in the east, but Constantine and Crispus held the office in the west (see: list of Roman consuls).[7] Licinius's quinquennalia was celebrated on the 1 March 321.[4] The Munich Treasure was made for the occasion of the quinqennalia;[5] besides a silver bust of Licinius I, three large silver bowls were made for largitio, each weighing a Roman pound – 300 grams (11 oz).[12] The largitio bowls were decorated with portraits of the two emperors, with inscriptions celebrating the quinquennalia of Licinius II as well as a vota (vow of good rulership) for a decennalia.[12]
After his defeats by Constantine and Crispus at the Battle of the Hellespont and the Battle of Chrysopolis (18 September 324), Licinius I surrendered himself and his remaining forces to Constantine at Nicomedia. At the intercession of Flavia Julia Constantia, Constantine spared his brother-in-law and nephew.[3] Licinius the Elder retired to Thessalonica as a private citizen.[13] Immediately after his father's defeat and capitulation the Licinius II was stripped of the title of caesar. Constantine seems to have regretted his leniency and the former augustus was hanged in the spring of 325.[14][15] The former augustus had been accused of plotting to renew hostilities and was executed on this pretext, real or imagined.[3][2] Licinius's co-emperor and augustus Martinian was also executed, either at this time[2] or in 324.[3] Licinius II survived until the following year.[2][13][3]

Death
[edit]The younger Licinius was executed by his uncle Constantine in 326.[6] He fell victim to the Emperor's suspicions and died at Pola, possibly in the context of the execution of Crispus.[16] Like his father, Licinius II was the subject of a posthumous damnatio memoriae and their names were expunged from official inscriptions.[4]
Liciniani filius in the Codex Theodosianus
[edit]A Liciniani filius, 'son of Licinianus', is noted in two laws in the Codex Theodosianus dated 336.[6] According to the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, this was not Licinius II, but rather an illegitimate son legitimated by rescript.[6] This son of the augustus was, by legislation, forced into slavery in the imperial textile factories (gynaeceum) in Carthage, Africa.[6] The text contains a directive that he be reduced to the slave status of his birth.[17] No son of Constantine's sister would have been referred to in this manner, therefore, this "son of Licinianus" must have been the illegitimate son of the emperor by a woman of servile status.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lenski, Noel (2005), Lenski, Noel (ed.), "The Reign of Constantine", The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine, Cambridge University Press, p. 74, doi:10.1017/ccol0521818389.004, ISBN 978-0-521-81838-4, retrieved 2020-09-01
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link) - ^ a b c d Davis, Raymond Peter (2014) [1998], Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Antony; Eidinow, Esther (eds.), "Constantine I", The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 203, doi:10.1093/acref/9780198706779.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-870677-9, retrieved 2020-09-02
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link) - ^ a b c d e f Corcoran, Simon (2012), Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Antony; Eidinow, Esther (eds.), "Licinius (RE 31a), Valerius Licinianus", The Oxford Classical Dictionary (4th ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-954556-8, retrieved 2020-09-02
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h Kienast, Dietmar (2017) [1990]. "Licinius iunior". Römische Kaisertabelle: Grundzüge einer römischen Kaiserchronologie (in German). WBG. p. 284. ISBN 978-3-534-26724-8.
- ^ a b c Nicholson, Oliver (2018), Nicholson, Oliver (ed.), "Licinius Caesar", The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity (Online ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8, retrieved 2020-09-02
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h Martindale, John R.; Jones, A. H. M.; Morris, John, eds. (1971). "Val. Licinianus Licinius 4". The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume I, AD 260–395. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 509–510. ISBN 0-521-07233-6.
- ^ a b Clinton, Henry Fynes (1850). Fasti Romani the Civil and Literary Chronology of Rome and Constantinopole from the Death of Augustus to the Death of Heraclius. Vol. II. Oxford University Press. p. 195.
- ^ a b Nicholson, Oliver (2018), Nicholson, Oliver (ed.), "Licinius", The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity (Online ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8, retrieved 2020-09-01
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link) - ^ a b c Nicholson, Oliver (2018), Nicholson, Oliver (ed.), "Cibalensean War", The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity (Online ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8, retrieved 2020-09-01
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link) - ^ Barnes, Timothy D. (1982). The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. p. 45. doi:10.4159/harvard.9780674280670.c10. ISBN 978-0-674-28067-0.
- ^ [1] Last Statues of Antiquity, LSA-334 (J. Lenaghan), 10/3/2022
- ^ a b Hunter-Crawley, Heather (2018), Nicholson, Oliver (ed.), "Munich Treasure", The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity (Online ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8, retrieved 2020-09-02
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link) - ^ a b Martindale, John R.; Jones, A. H. M.; Morris, John, eds. (1971). "Val. Licinianus Licinius 3". The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume I, AD 260–395. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 509. ISBN 0-521-07233-6.
- ^ Grant, M. (1985) The Roman Emperors: a Biographical Guide to the Rulers of Imperial Rome, 31BC-AD476, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London
- ^ Stephenson, P. (2009) Constantine: Unconquered Emperor, Christian Victor, Quercus, London, p. 182.
- ^ Grant, Michael (1993). The Emperor Constantine. London. pp. 47–48. ISBN 0-7538-0528-6.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b Pohlsander, Hans A. P. (1996). The Emperor Constantine. New York/London: Routledge. pp. 43–44. ISBN 0-415-13178-2.
Further reading
[edit]- Dietmar Kienast: Römische Kaisertabelle. Grundzüge einer römischen Kaiserchronologie. Wiss. Buchgesellschaft, 3. Auflage, Darmstadt 2004 (unveränderter Nachdruck der 2., durchgesehenen und erw. Auflage 1996), S. 296, ISBN 3-534-18240-5. (in German)
- Lenski, Noel (2005), Lenski, Noel (ed.), "The Reign of Constantine", The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine, Cambridge University Press, pp. 59–90, doi:10.1017/ccol0521818389.004, ISBN 978-0-521-81838-4, retrieved 2020-09-01
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
External links
[edit]Licinius II
View on GrokipediaFamily and Early Life
Parentage and Birth
Licinius II, whose full name was Valerius Licinianus Licinius, was the son of the Roman emperor Licinius (r. 308–324) and Flavia Julia Constantia.[1] His father, of humble Dacian origins in Moesia Superior, had risen through military service to become a key figure in the Tetrarchy under Diocletian and Galerius.[3] His mother was the daughter of Constantius Chlorus (Caesar and later Augustus) and Flavia Maximiana Theodora, making her the half-sister of Constantine I through their shared father.[7] The marriage of Licinius and Constantia took place in early 313, likely February, during the Conference of Milan, as a diplomatic measure to cement the alliance between Licinius and Constantine following Licinius's defeat of Maximinus Daia.[7] This union produced Licinius II as their only recorded child, strategically positioning him within imperial succession dynamics.[1] Licinius II was born around August 315, based on accounts in Zosimus and the Epitome de Caesaribus indicating he was 19 months old when elevated to Caesar on 1 March 317.[8] His birth occurred amid fragile peace between his father and uncle Constantine, shortly after the Edict of Milan had formalized toleration for Christians across the empire.[7]Ties to the Constantinian Dynasty
Licinius II's primary connection to the Constantinian dynasty stemmed from the strategic marriage of his father, Licinius I, to Flavia Julia Constantia, the half-sister of Constantine I, which occurred in February 313 at Milan to cement an alliance between the two Augusti following the death of Galerius and amid ongoing power struggles in the Tetrarchy.[7] [9] Constantia, born around 293 as the daughter of Constantius Chlorus (Constantine's father) and his second wife Flavia Maxima Theodora, thus became Licinius I's empress, linking the rival imperial houses through blood rather than mere political pact.[7] As the only child of this union, Licinius II—born in July or August 315—entered the world as Constantine's half-nephew and a grandson of Constantius Chlorus, positioning him within the extended Constantinian lineage despite his father's non-dynastic origins.[9] This maternal heritage from the Constantinian side elevated his status beyond that of a typical heir to a self-made emperor like Licinius I, who rose from Illyrian peasant stock without prior imperial blood ties.[9] The familial bond was leveraged politically; in 317, at the Conference of Sirmium, Constantine recognized Licinius II as Caesar alongside his own sons Crispus and Constantine II, formalizing a shared dynastic framework under the Tetrarchy's evolving structure.[10] These ties, however, proved fragile amid escalating rivalries. Constantia's influence as intermediary occasionally mitigated conflicts—such as her pleas to Constantine during persecutions of Christians under Licinius I—but ultimately failed to prevent the dynasty's fracture, as Licinius II's elevation did not avert his father's defeat at Chrysopolis in 324. The connection underscored the interplay of kinship and ambition in late Roman imperial politics, where marriage alliances temporarily bridged divides but yielded to military dominance.[7]Rise to Power
Appointment as Caesar
On 1 March 317, at Serdica (modern Sofia, Bulgaria), Licinius I and Constantine I agreed to appoint their respective sons as Caesars to restore stability following military conflicts between the two Augusti in 316–317.[11][12] Licinius II, the infant son of Licinius I (born c. July or August 315), was elevated to the rank of Caesar alongside Constantine's sons Crispus (aged about 12) and the newborn Constantine II.[10][13] This arrangement aimed to balance dynastic interests within the Tetrarchy, with Licinius II nominally associated with eastern governance under his father's authority as Augustus.[6] The treaty at Serdica, which formalized the Caesar appointments, acknowledged Constantine's territorial gains from the recent war while resuming the alliance between the co-Augusti.[14] Licinius I's decision to promote his young heir reflected a strategy to secure Licinian succession amid ongoing rivalries, though Licinius II's tender age (roughly 18–20 months) meant he held the title ceremonially, without active administrative or military roles.[15] Coins struck in his name as Caesar soon after, often depicting him with youthful features or standard imperial iconography, commemorated the elevation and propagated the Licinian dynasty's legitimacy in the East.[13] This joint proclamation marked a temporary reconciliation, but underlying tensions persisted, as the unequal distribution of power—favoring Constantine's lineage—foreshadowed future conflicts.[11] The appointments effectively extended the Tetrarchic principle of shared rule to the next generation, though Licinius II's tenure as Caesar would prove short-lived amid escalating hostilities.[12]Initial Administrative Roles
Valerius Licinianus Licinius, commonly known as Licinius II, was appointed Caesar on 1 March 317 AD by his father, Licinius I, in a joint recognition with Constantine I's sons Crispus and Constantine II to preserve the tetrarchic balance of power following the death of Severus Alexander. Born around mid-315 AD, Licinius II was only about two years old at the time, rendering any direct involvement in governance nominal and ceremonial, primarily serving to legitimize Licinian rule in the eastern Roman provinces under his father's oversight.[16] His earliest substantive administrative honor came in 319 AD, when he held the consulship alongside Constantine I, a prestigious office traditionally bestowed on imperial heirs to affirm dynastic continuity, even for minors. This appointment, effective from 1 January to 31 December 319 AD, highlighted the Liciniani's alignment with tetrarchic norms, though actual consular duties would have been managed by regents or senior officials in the eastern administration centered at Nicomedia or Sirmium. No evidence indicates independent governorships or military commands for Licinius II in these initial years, consistent with his infancy and the paternal control of eastern affairs amid ongoing tensions with Constantine's western domains.[17]Rule During the Tetrarchy
Co-Rulership with Licinius I
On 1 March 317, Licinius II, born Valerius Licinianus Licinius around 315, was elevated to the rank of Caesar by his father, the Augustus Licinius I, as part of a diplomatic agreement with Constantine I following their conflict of 316–317.[3] [16] This paralleled the simultaneous proclamation of Constantine's sons, Crispus and Constantine II, as Caesars, aiming to stabilize the divided empire under the Tetrarchic system by balancing dynastic claims in the East and West.[3] At approximately two years old, Licinius II's appointment was largely symbolic, intended to legitimize Licinius I's rule over the eastern provinces—including Thrace, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt—by establishing a hereditary succession amid ongoing rivalry with Constantine.[3] As Caesar, Licinius II nominally co-ruled the eastern territories with his father, who retained supreme authority as Augustus, but his influence remained subordinate and ceremonial during his minority.[18] Coinage struck in his name from eastern mints, such as Antioch and Cyzicus between 317 and 324, depicted him with imperial attributes like laureate busts and legends proclaiming "NOBILISSIMUS CAESAR," affirming his status and the Licinian regime's continuity.[19] These issues, often reverse-typed with martial motifs like Victoria or Jupiter, paralleled his father's emissions, signaling unified eastern governance while projecting strength against western threats.[19] By 319, Licinius II advanced in the hierarchy, serving as consul alongside Constantine I, a pairing that underscored the fragile alliance between the two Augusti despite underlying tensions over territorial control and religious policy.[3] Administrative records and inscriptions from the period indicate his involvement in eastern fiscal and military structures, though primary decision-making rested with Licinius I, who focused on defending against Sarmatian incursions and maintaining the Danube frontier.[18] The co-rulership persisted amid deteriorating relations, with Licinius II's role evolving toward operational commands as he reached adolescence, yet it ultimately served Licinius I's strategy to counter Constantine's expanding influence without ceding real power.[3]Involvement in Eastern Governance
Licinius II was elevated to the rank of Caesar on 1 March 317 at Serdica, in a joint proclamation with the Caesars Crispus and Constantine II under their respective fathers, aimed at securing dynastic continuity within the Tetrarchic framework.[20] Born circa August 315, he was approximately 20 months old at the time of his appointment, rendering any direct participation in governance impossible.[20] As Caesar, Licinius II held nominal authority over portions of the eastern provinces held by his father Licinius I, which after the settlement following the 316 conflict included Thrace alongside Asia Minor, the dioceses of Oriens and Asiana, and Egypt.[3] However, he resided and traveled exclusively with his parents, maintaining no separate court or administrative apparatus, and no independent decisions or commands are recorded during his tenure until September 324.[20] Effective control of eastern administration, including tax collection, provincial oversight via vicarii, and military deployments against external threats like the Sasanids, remained firmly under Licinius I and his praetorian prefects.[3] Licinius II's symbolic role was reinforced through coinage struck in eastern mints such as Nicomedia and Antioch from 317 onward, bearing his image and titles, and by his holding of the consulship in 319 (with Constantine II) and 321 (with Licinius I), honors typical of imperial heirs but devoid of substantive policy influence given his minority.[20] Primary accounts, such as the Origo Constantini and Zosimus, attribute no specific acts of governance to him, underscoring the ceremonial nature of his position amid the ongoing rivalry between Licinius I and Constantine I.[20]
