CONSTANTIUS II 351AD Chi-Rho Christogram BY THIS SIGN CONQUER Roman Coin i55809

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Seller: highrating_lowprice ✉️ (26,786) 100%, Location: Rego Park, New York, US, Ships to: WORLDWIDE, Item: 231953121498 CONSTANTIUS II 351AD Chi-Rho Christogram BY THIS SIGN CONQUER Roman Coin i55809. This is the only coin type to specifically refer to Constantine the Great’s vision of 310 and dream of 312 that led him to accept Christianity. The reverse legend ('by this sign you shall conquer') refers to the divinely inspired vision of Constantine the Great before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, and thus alludes to Vetranio's loyalty to the house of Constantine.
Item: i55809   Authentic Ancient  Coin of:

Constantius II - Roman Emperor : 337-361 A.D. -  Bronze AE2 Centenionallis 21mm (4.10 grams)  Sirmium Mint: 351 A.D. Reference: C.142 (3f.) - RIC.23 - LRBC.1586 D N CONSTAN-TIVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed & cuirassed bust right, A behind, star  to right. HOC SIGNO VICTOR ERIS ('by this sign you shall conquer'), emperor standing left,  holding labarum with Chi-Rho & spear; to the right stands Victory, crowning him  with wreath & holding palm branch; III in left field, ☼SIRM☼ in exergue.

This is the only coin type to specifically refer to Constantine the Great’s  vision of 310 and dream of 312 that led him to accept Christianity. This coin  was struck under Vetranio in the name of Constantius II during the turbulent  period of Magnentius' revolt in 350 AD. The reverse legend ('by this sign you  shall conquer') refers to the divinely inspired vision of Constantine the Great  before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, and thus alludes to Vetranio's loyalty  to the house of Constantine. Vetranio eventually handed over his legions to  Constantius II at Naissus, afterward withdrawing into an honorable retirement at  Prusa in Bithynia. HOC. SIGNO. VICTOR ERIS - Victory crowning the emperor, who stands in military  dress, holding in his right hand a labarum , on which appears the monogram  of Christ, and in his left a spear. The monogram of Christ was introduced by  order of Constantine the Great on a standard, when setting out on his campaign  against Maxentius. This standard being carried into the middle of the ranks,  where the danger appeared the greatest, and invariably bringing victory with it,  according to Eusebius, it at length became the belief, that success was to be  attributed to the standard alone; and hence is gathered the sense of the legend,  HOC SIGNO VICTORY ERIS, which, in all probability, was inscribed upon the actual  standard.

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Labarum of Constantine I, displaying the "Chi-Rho" symbol above.

The labarum   was a vexillum (military standard) that displayed  the "Chi-Rho"  symbol , formed from the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ"   — Chi and Rho . It was first used by the Roman emperor Constantine I . Since the vexillum consisted of  a flag suspended from the crossbar of a cross, it was ideally suited to  symbolize the crucifixion of Christ .

Later usage has sometimes regarded the terms "labarum" and "Chi-Rho" as  synonyms. Ancient sources, however, draw an unambiguous distinction between the  two.

Etymology

Beyond its derivation from Latin labarum , the etymology of the word is  unclear. Some derive it from Latin /labāre/ 'to totter, to waver' (in the sense  of the "waving" of a flag in the breeze) or laureum [vexillum] ("laurel  standard"). According to the Real Academia Española , the related lábaro is also derived from Latin labărum   but offers no further derivation from within Latin, as does the Oxford English  Dictionary.[5]  An origin as a loan into Latin from a Celtic language or Basque has also been postulated. There is a  traditional Basque symbol called the lauburu ; though the name is only attested from  the 19th century onwards the motif occurs in engravings dating as early as the  2nd century AD.

Vision of Constantine A coin of Constantine (c.337) showing a depiction of his labarum  spearing a serpent.

On the evening of October 27, 312, with his army preparing for the Battle of the Milvian Bridge , the emperor Constantine I claimed to have had a vision  which led him to believe he was fighting under the protection of the Christian God .

Lactantius states that, in the night before the  battle, Constantine was commanded in a dream to "delineate the heavenly sign on  the shields of his soldiers". He obeyed and marked the shields with a sign  "denoting Christ". Lactantius describes that sign as a "staurogram", or a Latin cross with its upper end rounded in a  P-like fashion, rather than the better known Chi-Rho sign described by Eusebius of Caesarea . Thus, it had both the  form of a cross and the monogram of Christ's name from the formed letters "X"  and "P", the first letters of Christ's name in Greek.

From Eusebius, two accounts of a battle survive. The first, shorter one in  the Ecclesiastical History leaves no doubt that  God helped Constantine but doesn't mention any vision. In his later Life of  Constantine , Eusebius gives a detailed account of a vision and stresses that  he had heard the story from the emperor himself. According to this version,  Constantine with his army was marching somewhere (Eusebius doesn't specify the  actual location of the event, but it clearly isn't in the camp at Rome) when he  looked up to the sun and saw a cross of light above it, and with it the Greek  words Ἐν Τούτῳ Νίκα . The traditionally employed  Latin translation of the Greek is in hoc signo vinces — literally "In this  sign, you will conquer." However, a direct translation from the original Greek  text of Eusebius into English gives the phrase "By this, conquer!"

At first he was unsure of the meaning of the apparition, but the following  night he had a dream in which Christ explained to him that he should use the  sign against his enemies. Eusebius then continues to describe the labarum, the  military standard used by Constantine in his later wars against Licinius , showing the Chi-Rho sign.

Those two accounts can hardly be reconciled with each other, though they have  been merged in popular notion into Constantine seeing the Chi-Rho sign on the  evening before the battle. Both authors agree that the sign was not readily  understandable as denoting Christ, which corresponds with the fact that there is  no certain evidence of the use of the letters chi and rho as a Christian sign  before Constantine. Its first appearance is on a Constantinian silver coin from  c. 317, which proves that Constantine did use the sign at that time, though not  very prominently. He made extensive use of the Chi-Rho and the labarum only  later in the conflict with Licinius.

The vision has been interpreted in a solar context (e.g. as a solar halo phenomenon), which would have been  reshaped to fit with the Christian beliefs of the later Constantine.

An alternate explanation of the intersecting celestial symbol has been  advanced by George Latura, which claims that Plato's visible god in Timaeus   is in fact the intersection of the Milky Way and the Zodiacal Light, a rare  apparition important to pagan beliefs that Christian bishops reinvented as a  Christian symbol.

Eusebius' description of the labarum

"A Description of the Standard of the Cross, which the Romans now call the  Labarum." "Now it was made in the following manner. A long spear, overlaid with  gold, formed the figure of the cross by means of a transverse bar laid over it.  On the top of the whole was fixed a wreath of gold and precious stones; and  within this, the symbol of the Saviour’s name, two letters indicating the name  of Christ by means of its initial characters, the letter P being intersected by  X in its centre: and these letters the emperor was in the habit of wearing on  his helmet at a later period. From the cross-bar of the spear was suspended a  cloth, a royal piece, covered with a profuse embroidery of most brilliant  precious stones; and which, being also richly interlaced with gold, presented an  indescribable degree of beauty to the beholder. This banner was of a square  form, and the upright staff, whose lower section was of great length, of the  pious emperor and his children on its upper part, beneath the trophy of the  cross, and immediately above the embroidered banner."

"The emperor constantly made use of this sign of salvation as a safeguard  against every adverse and hostile power, and commanded that others similar to it  should be carried at the head of all his armies."

Iconographic career under Constantine Coin of Vetranio , a soldier is holding two  labara. Interestingly they differ from the labarum of Constantine in  having the Chi-Rho depicted on the cloth rather than above it, and  in having their staves decorated with phalerae as were earlier Roman  military unit standards. The emperor Honorius holding a variant of the  labarum - the Latin phrase on the cloth means "In the name of Christ  [rendered by the Greek letters XPI] be ever victorious."

Among a number of standards depicted on the Arch of Constantine , which was erected, largely  with fragments from older monuments, just three years after the battle, the  labarum does not appear. A grand opportunity for just the kind of political  propaganda that the Arch otherwise was expressly built to present was missed.  That is if Eusebius' oath-confirmed account of Constantine's sudden,  vision-induced, conversion can be trusted. Many historians have argued that in  the early years after the battle the emperor had not yet decided to give clear  public support to Christianity, whether from a lack of personal faith or because  of fear of religious friction. The arch's inscription does say that the Emperor  had saved the res publica INSTINCTV DIVINITATIS  MENTIS MAGNITVDINE ("by greatness of mind and by instinct [or impulse]  of divinity"). As with his predecessors, sun symbolism – interpreted as  representing Sol Invictus (the Unconquered Sun) or Helios , Apollo or Mithras – is inscribed on his coinage, but in  325 and thereafter the coinage ceases to be explicitly pagan, and Sol Invictus  disappears. In his Historia Ecclesiae Eusebius further reports  that, after his victorious entry into Rome, Constantine had a statue of himself  erected, "holding the sign of the Savior [the cross] in his right hand." There  are no other reports to confirm such a monument.

Whether Constantine was the first Christian emperor supporting a peaceful  transition to Christianity during his rule, or an undecided pagan believer until  middle age, strongly influenced in his political-religious decisions by his  Christian mother St. Helena , is still in dispute among  historians.

As for the labarum itself, there is little evidence for its use before 317.In  the course of Constantine's second war against Licinius in 324, the latter  developed a superstitious dread of Constantine's standard. During the attack of  Constantine's troops at the Battle of Adrianople the guard of the labarum  standard were directed to move it to any part of the field where his soldiers  seemed to be faltering. The appearance of this talismanic object appeared to  embolden Constantine's troops and dismay those of Licinius.At the final battle  of the war, the Battle of Chrysopolis , Licinius, though  prominently displaying the images of Rome's pagan pantheon on his own battle  line, forbade his troops from actively attacking the labarum, or even looking at  it directly.[16]

Constantine felt that both Licinius and Arius were agents of Satan, and associated them  with the serpent described in the Book of Revelation (12:9).  Constantine represented Licinius as a snake on his coins.

Eusebius stated that in addition to the singular labarum of Constantine,  other similar standards (labara) were issued to the Roman army. This is  confirmed by the two labara depicted being held by a soldier on a coin of Vetranio (illustrated) dating from 350.

Later usage Modern ecclesiastical labara (Southern Germany). The emperor Constantine Monomachos (centre  panel of a Byzantine enamelled crown) holding a miniature labarum

Flavius Iulius Constantius , known in English as Constantius II (7 August 317 – November 3 361) was a Roman Emperor (337-361) of the Constantinian dynasty .

Constantius  joins the lengthy list of emperors whose career was marked by a seemingly  endless series of wars both domestic and foreign. He served as Caesar from 324  until his father's death in 337 at which time he shared the title of Augustus  with two other brothers, Constantine II and Constans. To make sure no more  Johnny-come-latelies in his family would try their hand at being emperor too it  is thought that he engineered a bloodbath that left nary a relative. Constantine  II died in battle and Constans was murdered by the men of Magnentius, the first  of several usurpers. This left Constantius finally as sole legitimate emperor  and he moved quickly to suppress Magnentius, an endeavor he eventually  accomplished. The strife didn't end there, however, as he still had to deal with  other revolts and wars on every corner of the empire. Caught in these  never-ending battles he died while on his way to battle Julian II. 

Flavius Iulius Constantius was born at Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia ) in province of Pannonia , the third son of Constantine the Great , and second by his second  wife Fausta , the daughter of Maximian . Constantius was made Caesar by his father on 13 November 324. 

When the elder Constantine died at Constantinople on 22 May 337, Constantius was  nearest of his sons to that city, and despite being on campaign in the eastern  provinces, immediately returned to the city to oversee his father's funeral.

 The  Massacre of 337

The role of Constantius in the massacre of his relatives  (those descended from the second marriage of his paternal grandfather Constantius Chlorus and Theodora ) is unclear. Zosimus , writing 498-518 claims that  Constantius “caused ” the soldiers to murder his relatives, as opposed to  actually ordering the action. Eutropius , writing between 350 and 370, writes  that Constantius merely sanctioned “the act, rather than commanding it ”.  However, it must be noted that both of these sources are hostile to Constantius  - Zosimus being a pagan, Eutropius a friend of Julian , Constantius’ cousin and, ultimately,  his enemy.

Whatever the case, Constantius himself, his older brother Constantine II , his younger brother Constans and three cousins, Gallus , his half-brother Julian and Nepotianus , son of Eutropia , were left as the only surviving males  related to Constantine.

 Division  of the Empire

Meeting at Sirmium not long after the massacre, the three  brothers proceeded to divide the Roman Empire among them, according to their  father's will. Constantine II received Britannia , Gaul and Hispania ; Constans (initially under the  supervision of Constantine II) Italia , Africa , Illyricum, Thrace , Macedon and Achaea ; and Constantius the East.

 Sole  Ruler of the Roman Empire

Constantius spent much of the rest of 353 and early 354 on  campaign against the Alemanni on the Danubian borders. The exact  details of this campaign are uncertain, though it seems to have ended with  victory for Constantius.

 The  usurpation of Julian and Problems in the East

In the meantime, Julian had won some victories against the Alemanni tribe, who had once again invaded Roman Gaul . As such, Constantius requested  reinforcements from Julian for his own campaign against Shapur II.  However, when he requested reinforcements from Julian ’s Gaulish army, the Gaulish legions  revolted and proclaimed Julian Augustus.

However, on account of the immediate Sassanid threat,  Constantius was unable to directly respond to his cousin’s usurpation other than  by sending missives by which he tried to convince Julian to resign the title of  Augustus and be satisfied with that of Caesar.

By 361, Constantius saw no alternative but to face the  usurper with violent force; and yet the threat of the Sassanids remained. Constantius had already  spent part of early 361 unsuccessfully attempting to take the fortress of Bezabde . After a time, he had withdrawn to Antioch to regroup, and prepare for a  confrontation with Shapur II . However, as it turned out, the  campaigns of the previous year had inflicted such heavy losses on the Sassanids that they did not attempt another  round of engagements in 361. This allowed Constantius to turn his full attention  to facing the usurpation of Julian [55].

 Death

As such, Constantius immediately gathered his forces and set  off west. However, by the time he reached Mopsuestia in Cicilia, it was clear that he was  fatally ill and would not survive to face Julian . 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 II died of fever on 3 November 361.

 Marriages  and Children

Constantius II was married three times:

First to a daughter of his half-uncle Julius Constantius , whose name is unknown. She  was a full-sister of Gallus and a half-sister of Julian. She died c. 352/3.

Second, to Eusebia, a woman of Macedonian origin from the city of Thessaloniki , whom he married before  Constantius' defeat of Magnentius in 353. She died in 360.

Third and lastly, in 360, to Faustina (empress) , who gave birth to  Constantius' only child, a posthumous daughter named Flavia Maxima Constantia , who later married  Emperor Gratian .

 Religious  Issues

Constantius seems to have had a particular interest in the  religious state of the Roman Empire . As a Christian Roman Emperor , Constantius made a concerted  effort to promote Christianity at the expense of Roman polytheism (‘paganism’). As such, over  the course of his reign, he issued a number of different edicts designed  specifically to carry out this agenda (see below). Constantius also took an  active part in attempting to shape the Christian church.

 Paganism  under Constantius

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 even made some effort to  protect paganism. Also, most notably, he remained pontifex maximus until his death, and was  actually deified by the Roman Senate after his death. The relative moderation of  Constantius' actions toward paganism is reflected by the fact that it was not  until over 20 years after Constantius' death, during the reign of Gratian , that any pagan senators protested  their religion's treatment.

 Christianity  under Constantius

Although often considered an Arian , Constantius ultimately preferred a  third, compromise version that lay somewhere in between Arianism and the Nicaean Creed , retrospectively called Semi-Arianism [61][62].  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.  "Unfortunately for his memory the theologians whose advice he took were  ultimately discredited and the malcontents whom he pressed to conform emerged  victorious," writes the historian A.H.M. Jones . "The great councils of 359-60 are  therefore not reckoned ecumenical in the tradition of the church, and  Constantius II is not remembered as a restorer of unity, but as a heretic who arbitrarily imposed his will on the  church."


        

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