(15) CONSTANTINE III –

USURPER: THEODOSIAN DYNASTY

(407-411: 4 YEARS: WESTERN EMPIRE)

 

Fake Constantine as Dovahhatty calls him – but I like him to an extent, enough to rank him as least bad of the usurpers in my dishonorable mentions (and indeed, least bad of all my dishonorable mentions, usurper or not).

Yes, he was a usurper, once again from that province of usurpers, Roman Britain – and arguably at the worst possible time, with the western empire reeling from the infamous Crossing of the Rhine (of Germanic tribes into Gaul).

I say arguably, because as bad as the time was for the empire, he was usurping the western emperor Honorius and there was never a bad time for that – Honorius was one of the worst emperors and certainly the worst western emperor.

Admittedly that meant Constantine was also opposed to Stilicho, Honorius’ military commander that was holding the empire together – but Stilicho had his hands full, not to mention his main army, with Germanic incursions into Italy itself, notably the Vandals and the Visigoths, the latter led by Alaric. That is why Stilicho could only send a small subordinate force under Sarus the Goth against Constantine III. However, nothing Constantine III did was as bad for Stilicho as the latter’s betrayal and execution in 408 at the hands of his own emperor, Honorius.

Constantine also gets bonus points as a common soldier, not even an officer, which is pretty impressive for an imperial claimant that succeeded in his claim to the extent that he was actually recognized as co-emperor by Honorius, albeit for a limited period from 409 to 411 and because Honorius was in dire circumstances and had to placate him.

Constantine gets even more bonus points as, like other usurpers from Roman Britain such as Magnus Maximus, he was admired by Britons to the extent of being immortalized in British legend – indeed to higher extent than any other as the father of Uther Pendragon and hence grandfather of King Arthur.

Of course, that admiration from Briton is somewhat ironic since Constantine III marked the decisive withdrawal of Roman forces from Britain – leading Rome’s mobile forces in Britain to Gaul for his usurpation of the western empire, albeit something of a recurring plot point in British legend as King Arthur was to do much the same.

If ever I rank all the imperial Constantines, he’d probably stack up reasonably well and would at least outrank Constantine II. I anticipate he’d rank the more legitimate Constantine III, otherwise known as Heraclius Constantine in the eastern empire, who ruled only three months before dying of tuberculosis.

Anyway, although originating from revolt in Britain, Constantine abandoned Britain itself, taking all of the Roman mobile troops and their commander Gerontius to confront the Germanic tribes who had infamously crossed the Rhine in 406.

Thereafter Gaul became the stronghold of his imperial claim – “with a mixture of fighting and diplomacy Constantine stabilised the situation and established control over Gaul and Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal), establishing his capital at Arles”.

However, his hold over Hispania proved more tenuous than that over Gaul, as the relatives of Honorius rose up in revolt and expelled his administration, which was the most energetic or useful that they or Honorius would ever prove to be.

Constantine sent an army under the commander Gerontius to re-establish his authority, while also successfully repelling the forces of Honorius led by Sarus the Goth against him from Gaul. This resulted in the high point of his imperial claim in early 409, when Honorius was compelled by necessity of circumstance to recognize Constantine as emperor. Constantine then elevated his son Constans, previously a monk, as his own co-emperor and heir.

And then it all fell apart for Constantine. Later in 409, Gerontius rebelled in Hispania, proclaiming his own pet imperial candidate Maximus and inciting barbarian groups in Gaul to revolt. Constantine sent Constans to quash the revolt, but this failed with Constans retreating back to Arles – as did Constantine’s own attempt to invade northern Italy, with Constantine similarly withdrawing back to Arles.

The noose tightened around Constantine. Another attempt by Constans against Gerontius in Hispania failed, this time with Gerontius pursuing Constans into Gaul, killing Constans at Vienne in 411 and besieging Constantine in Arles itself. In the meantime, Honorius was emboldened by his new capable replacement for Stilicho as military commander (and his future co-emperor), Constantius III, to renege on his recognition of, and reclaim Gaul from, Constantine.

Constantius “arrived at Arles while Gerontius was outside the city. Much of Gerontius’s army deserted to Constantius, who took over the siege. A force attempting to relieve Constantine was ambushed. Constantine abdicated, took holy orders, and – promised his life – surrendered”. That promise was not kept – he was executed instead and his head sent to Honorius.

Shout-out to his son and co-emperor Constans as previously mentioned – once again like other similar sons elevated to co-emperors by usurpers (Marcus for Basiliscus and Victor for Magnus Maximus), it’s a shout-out because he does not feature in Wikipedia’s list of Roman emperors other than a brief mention in parenthesis with Constantine.

 

DID DOVAHHATTY DO RIGHT?

 

It’s hard to resist Dovahhatty’s consistent naming of him as Fake Constantine, reflected in the depiction of him as wojak – and one of the most smug at that.

 

RATING: 2 STARS**

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