Constantius Chlorus

A soldier of humble origin, Constantius climbed to the top ranks of the army and around 289 divorced Helena, Constantine's mother, to marry into the imperial family. In 293 Diocletian made him caesar and gave him Gaul, where he crushed the usurper Carausius and reclaimed Britain from Allectus, then spent years beating back the Alamanni and Franks along the Rhine. When the persecution came in 303, he demolished churches but didn't hunt believers. Elevated to senior augustus in May 305, he marched north against the Picts beyond the Antonine Wall, then died suddenly at Eboracum in July 306. The a…