Constantine II

Born in 316, Constantine II was the second son of Constantine I and named caesar shortly after birth. He spent his early years accumulating military credentials against the Sarmatians, Alamanni, and Goths, and held the consulship four times by 329. When his father died in 337, Constantine II and his brothers rejected the plan to share power with their cousins; Constantius II orchestrated the killings of Dalmatius, Hannibalianus, and other male relatives to clear the path. Constantine II took Gaul, Hispania, and Britain, ruling alongside his two younger brothers. But he believed primogeniture g…