Constantia
362 – 383 · Generation V · Empress
Constantia (AD 362 – 383). Empress. Married Gratian around AD 374. Posthumous daughter of Constantius II; first wife of Gratian. Her mother was Faustina, and her grandparents were Constantine the Great and Fausta. With Julian’s death in 363 she became the last confirmed descendant of the Constantinian line — a pedigree that made her politically useful. The usurper Procopius kept the little girl and her mother at his side, carried in a litter even on campaign, to stir his soldiers’ loyalty; she survived his fall in 366. At about twelve she was sent west to marry Gratian, then about fourteen, narrowly escaping capture when Quadi and Sarmatian raiders attacked her escort near Sirmium. Soon afterwards the young couple were left in charge of Trier while Valentinian I campaigned on the Danube. She died in 383, aged about twenty-one, of causes unknown; her remains reached Constantinople at the end of August, days after Gratian was assassinated.
Place in the family
- Constantia was a granddaughter of Constantine I.
Line of descent: Constantius I → Constantine I → Constantius II → Constantia.
Parents
- Constantius II (317 – 361)
- Faustina (326 – ?)
Partners
- Married Gratian (359 – 383) in 374
Life
- 362 — Born
- 374 — Married Gratian
- 383 — Died