Constantine's son Constantius II, who had become Emperor of the eastern part of the Empire, actually encouraged the Arians and set out to reverse the Nicene creed.

After Constantius ' death in 361, his successor Julian the Apostate, a devotee of Rome's pagan gods, declared that he would no longer attempt to favor one church faction over another, and allowed all exiled bishops to return ; this had the objective of further increasing dissension among Christians.

He returned to Italy with Ursicinus, when he was recalled by Constantius, and accompanied him on the expedition against Claudius Silvanus, who had been forced by the allegedly unjust accusations of his enemies into proclaiming himself emperor in Gaul.

Like many ancient historians, Ammianus had a strong political and religious agenda to pursue, however, and he contrasted Constantius II with Julian to the former's constant disadvantage ; like all ancient writers he was skilled in rhetoric, and this shows in his work.

In May 357 the Roman laity, which had remained faithful to Liberius, demanded that Constantius, who was on a visit to Rome, should recall Liberius.

In 361, after the death of Emperor Constantius, shortly followed by the murder of the very unpopular Bishop George, the popular St Athanasius now had the opportunity to return to his patriarchate.

The Batavi were still mentioned in 355 during the reign of Constantius II ( 317-361 ), when their island was already dominated by the Salii, a Frankish tribe that had sought Roman protection there in 297 after having been expelled from their own country by the Saxons.

In 351, as a consequence of the difficulty of managing the entire empire alone, Constantius elevated his cousin Constantius Gallus, the eldest surviving son of Constantius ' half-uncle, Julius Constantius, to the subordinate rank of Caesar, but had him executed three years later after receiving scathing reports of his cousin's violent and corrupt nature.

Before facing Magnentius, Constantius first came to terms with Vetranio, a loyal general in Illyricum who had recently been acclaimed emperor by his soldiers.

In the meantime, Constantius had been receiving some disturbing reports regarding the actions of his cousin Gallus.

Silvanus had surrendered to Constantius after the Battle of Mursa Major.

In 360, when news reached Constantius that Shapur II had destroyed Singara, and taken Kiphas ( Hasankeyf ),

Constantius had already spent part of early 361 unsuccessfully attempting to re-take the fortress of Ad Tigris.

Apparently, realising his death was near, Constantius had himself baptised by Euzoius, the Semi-Arian bishop of Antioch, and then declared that Julian was his rightful successor.

Constantius seems to have had a particular interest in the religious state of the Roman Empire.

Constantius and his successor had expanded the power of Bishops placing them on the same level as civic elites.

It is possible that Flavius Constantius, the governor of Dalmatia and Diocletian's associate in the household guard, had already defected to Diocletian in the early spring.

Gaul was again a source of troubles for Honorius: just after Constantius ' troops had returned to Italy, Jovinus revolted in northern Gaul, with the support of Alans, Burgundians, and the Gallic nobility.

The province's defences had been rebuilt in the preceding years, and although his health was poor Constantius wished to penetrate into enemy territory.

Those of a different belief had to recognize that the process of consolidation, which imperial legislation had effected from the time of Constantius II, would now vigorously continue.

Constantius was made Caesar by his father on 13 November 324.

Though he made initial preparations for the war, Constantine fell ill and sent Constantius east to take command of the eastern frontier.

In 350, he was made Caesar ( title ) | Caesar by Constantius and was married to the Emperor's sister, Constantina.

After Silvanus revolted, he received a letter by Constantius that recalled him to Milan, but which made no reference to the revolt.

As a Christian Roman Emperor, Constantius made a concerted effort to promote Christianity at the expense of Roman polytheism (‘ paganism ’).

In spite of the some of the edicts issued by Constantius, it should be recognised that he was not fanatically anti-pagan – he never made any attempt to disband the various Roman priestly colleges or the Vestal Virgins, he never acted against the various pagan schools, and, at times, he actually made some effort to protect paganism.

As such, during his reign, Constantius made a concerted attempt to mold the Christian church to follow this compromise position, and to this end, he convened several Christian councils during his reign, the most notable of which were one at Rimini and its twin at Seleuca, which met in 359 and 360 respectively.

Cyril was exiled from Jerusalem until 359 when imperial authority placed him back as Bishop after Cyril was able to plead his case to Emperor Constantius, referencing the multitude of people who were starving and he was able to feed with the money he made from the sale.

A member of the Constantinian dynasty, he was made Caesar over the western provinces, by Constantius II in 355, where he campaigned successfully against the Alamanni and Franks.

In need of support, in 351 he made Julian's half-brother, Gallus, Caesar of the East, while Constantius II himself turned his attention westward to Magnentius, whom he defeated decisively that year.

In 355, Julian was summoned to appear before the emperor in Mediolanum and on 6 November was made Caesar of the West, marrying Constantius ' sister, Helena.

By 288, his period as governor now over, Constantius had been made Praetorian Prefect in the west under Maximian.

Of the four Tetrarchs, Constantius made the least effort to implement the decrees of the edicts in the western provinces that were under his direct authority, limiting himself to knocking down a handful of churches.

The identification of Helena as British had previously been made by Henry of Huntingdon, but has no historical validity: Constantius had divorced Helena before he went to Britain.

Constantius ' success in rising from head of the Roman army to Imperial rank obviously influenced the actions of later holders of the patrician office, a list that includes Flavius Aëtius and Ricimer ; however, only Petronius Maximus ever made the same leap, and his reign was even shorter than that of Constantius.

Germanus may have made a second visit to Britain in the mid 430s or mid 440s, though this is contested by some scholars who suggest it may be a ' doublet ' or variant version of the visit that has been mistaken as describing a different visit and erroneously included as such by Constantius, according to whom Germanus was joined by Severus, Bishop of Trier and met Elafius, described by Bede as ' a chief of that region '.

Following the suppression of Magnentius ' rebellion, Constantius commanded an investigation be made to find his followers.

Constantius was made Caesar by his father on 13 November 324.

In 355 he was made a senator ; and the letter is still extant, in which Constantius recommends him to the senate, and speaks in the highest terms both of Themistius himself and of his father.

In late 361 he took part in the Chalcedon tribunal to condemn the ministers of Constantius II, and in 362, he was made consul as a reward by the new Emperor Julian ; on January 1 of that year he delivered a panegyric in Constantinople by way of thanks to the Emperor.

The persecution against the orthodox party broke out with renewed vigor, and Constantius II was induced to prepare drastic measures against Athanasius and the priests who were devoted to him.

Unfortunately, the emperor Constantius II seems to have been committed to having Athanasius deposed, and went so far as to send soldiers to arrest him.

Unwilling to accept Magnentius as co-ruler, Constantius marched against him.

Constantius II is a particularly difficult figure to judge properly, mainly as a result of the hostility of most sources that mentions him.

In 421, Honorius recognized him as co-emperor Constantius III ; however, when the announcement of his elevation was sent to Constantinople, Theodosius refused to recognise him.

Constantius, after his experience with Gallus, intended his representative to be more a figurehead than an active participant in events, so he packed Julian off to Gaul with a small retinue and Constantius ' prefects in Gaul would keep him in check.

Julian would later blame him for the arrival of the order from Constantius.

( Julian claimed that Vadomarius had been in league with Constantius encouraging him to raid the borders of Raetia.

However, in June, forces loyal to Constantius captured the city of Aquileia on the north Adriatic coast, an event which threatened to cut Julian off from the rest of his forces, while Constantius's troops marched towards him from the east.

* 351 – Constantius II elevates his cousin Gallus to Caesar, and puts him in charge of the Eastern part of the Roman Empire.

* 355 – Roman Emperor Constantius II promotes his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with the government of the Prefecture of the Gauls.

* Emperor Constantius II recalls his legate ( and cousin ) Constantius Gallus to Constantinople after hearing unfavorable reports about him.

Constantius strips him of his powers and later has him executed in Pola ( Croatia ).