Constantine (consul 457)
Encyclopedia
Flavius Constantinus was a politician of the Eastern Roman Empire, consul
and three times praetorian prefect of the East.
, Constantinus was named praetorian prefect of the East for the first time around 447, when he restored the Walls of Constantinople
, which had been damaged by an earthquake that January. As the Huns
of Attila were moving towards Constantinople
, Constantius mobilised the factions of the Hippodrome of Constantinople
to gather 16,000 workers: the Blues worked the stretch of walls from the Gate of Blachernae to the Gate of Myriandrion, the Greens from there to the Sea of Marmara
; in sixty days, by the end of March, the walls were restored and the moat cleaned. A bilingual inscription was erected to celebrate the works. While in office, he received a letter by Theodoret
of Cyrrhus, asking for a reduction of the taxation on his city, while another was received after he left office.
After leaving his office in 451, he participated in some sessions of the Council of Chalcedon
. In 456 he was appointed prefect for the second time.
Constantinus was appointed consul
in 457, with Rufus
as his colleague (they were both chosen by the Eastern court), then prefect of the East for the third time in 459. He received the title of patricius after 457.
In 464/465 he was sent as an envoy to the Sassanid Persian king Peroz I
. He waited at Edessa
, then was received at Peroz's court. The Persians had several complaints, and asked for Roman financial contributions for the defence of Caspian Gates, but the Romans refused and Constantinus was dismissed without achieving anything.
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
and three times praetorian prefect of the East.
Life
A native of Laodicea of PhrygiaLaodicea on the Lycus
Laodicea on the Lycus was the ancient metropolis of Phrygia Pacatiana , built on the river Lycus , in Anatolia near the modern village of Eskihisar , Denizli Province,...
, Constantinus was named praetorian prefect of the East for the first time around 447, when he restored the Walls of Constantinople
Walls of Constantinople
The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople since its founding as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire by Constantine the Great...
, which had been damaged by an earthquake that January. As the Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
of Attila were moving towards Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, Constantius mobilised the factions of the Hippodrome of Constantinople
Hippodrome of Constantinople
The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square named Sultanahmet Meydanı in the Turkish city of Istanbul, with only a few fragments of the original structure surviving...
to gather 16,000 workers: the Blues worked the stretch of walls from the Gate of Blachernae to the Gate of Myriandrion, the Greens from there to the Sea of Marmara
Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black...
; in sixty days, by the end of March, the walls were restored and the moat cleaned. A bilingual inscription was erected to celebrate the works. While in office, he received a letter by Theodoret
Theodoret
Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus was an influential author, theologian, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus, Syria . He played a pivotal role in many early Byzantine church controversies that led to various ecumenical acts and schisms...
of Cyrrhus, asking for a reduction of the taxation on his city, while another was received after he left office.
After leaving his office in 451, he participated in some sessions of the Council of Chalcedon
Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD, at Chalcedon , on the Asian side of the Bosporus. The council marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates that led to the separation of the church of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th...
. In 456 he was appointed prefect for the second time.
Constantinus was appointed consul
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
in 457, with Rufus
Rufus (consul 457)
Flavius Rufus was a politician of the Eastern Roman Empire. In 457 he was appointed Consul with Constantinus as colleague; both of them were recognised only in the East.Nothing else is known about him.- Sources :...
as his colleague (they were both chosen by the Eastern court), then prefect of the East for the third time in 459. He received the title of patricius after 457.
In 464/465 he was sent as an envoy to the Sassanid Persian king Peroz I
Peroz I
Peroz I Peroz I Peroz I (also Pirooz; Peirozes (Priscus, fr. 33); Perozes (Procopius, De Bello Pers. I. 3 and Agathias iv. 27; the modern form of the name is Perooz, Piruz, or the Arabized Ferooz, Firuz; Persian: پیروز "the Victor"), was the seventeenth Sassanid King of Persia, who ruled from 457...
. He waited at Edessa
Edessa, Mesopotamia
Edessa is the Greek name of an Aramaic town in northern Mesopotamia, as refounded by Seleucus I Nicator. For the modern history of the city, see Şanlıurfa.-Names:...
, then was received at Peroz's court. The Persians had several complaints, and asked for Roman financial contributions for the defence of Caspian Gates, but the Romans refused and Constantinus was dismissed without achieving anything.
Sources
- Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale, John Morris, "Fl. Constantinus 22", Prosopography of the Later Roman EmpireProsopography of the Later Roman EmpireProsopography of the Later Roman Empire is a set of three volumes collectively describing every person attested or claimed to have lived in the Roman world from AD 260, the date of the beginning of Gallienus' sole rule, to 641, the date of the death of Heraclius, which is commonly held to mark the...
, Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1992, ISBN ISBN 0521201594, pp. 317-318.