Constantius Gallus, Caesar, 351-354. Siliqua (Silver, 21 mm, 3.14 g, 12 h), Thessalonica, March 351-winter 354. D N CONSTANTI-VS NOB CAES Bare head of Constantius Gallus to right.
Rev. VOTIS / V / MVLTIS / X / in four lines within laurel wreath; in exergue, TES. RIC 164. Very rare and nicely toned. Faint cleaning marks and with a scrape on the reverse
, otherwise, very fine.
From a Swiss collection of late Roman Siliquae.
When Constantius II marched west in 351 to confront the usurper Magnentius, the need arose to appoint a Caesar to represent the dynasty in the East during his absence. The choice fell on Constantius Gallus, a son of Constantine's half-brother Julius Constantius and thus a cousin of the emperor. Gallus was appointed Caesar in Sirmium on 10 March 351, married to Constantius' older sister, Constantina, and then sent to Antiochia to represent imperial authority in the eastern part of the empire. However, Gallus and his wife were unwilling to accept their subordinate role and grew increasingly independent from Constantius II in the following years, engaging in conflicts with both local magistrates and the
praefectus praetorio per Orientem, Thalassius. In 354, Gallus was invited to meet Constantius II in Mediolanum, but he was arrested in Poetovio (Ptuj) by the emperor's command and taken to Flamona near Pietas Julia (Pula), where he was executed.
Gallus' character is painted in dark colors by the contemporary historian Ammianus Marcellinus, who describes him as cruel, ungrateful, and arrogant. However, it must be noted that Marcellinus was a friend of the
magister militum Ursicinus, the supreme commander of the Syrian army, who had been a close associate of Gallus and was also charged with high treason in late 354. Ursicinus was pardoned by Constantius II in 355 and sent to Colonia Agrippina (Cologne) to address the usurpation of Silvanus. Given these events, Marcellinus had clear reasons to defend his friend’s reputation. Characterizing Gallus as a ruthless bully not only conformed to the classical topos of a cruel and hubristic tyrant, but also served to deflect blame from the historian's patron and hero.
