Constantius,Constantius Chlorus, father of Constantine, emperor 305–306. grandson of the brother of that best of emperors Claudius,Claudius II.; his mother was Claudia, daughter of Crispus, brother of Claudius II; cf. Eutr. ix. 22; Hieron. a. Abr. 2307. was first one of the emperor’s bodyguard, then a tribune, and later, governor of Dalmatia.Under the emperor Carus, who wished to make him Caesar in place of his own brother Carinus. With Galerius he was appointed Caesar by DiocletianIn 292. ; for he put away his former wife Helena and married Theodora, daughter of Maximianus, by whom he afterwards had six children,Three sons: Dalmatius, Julius Constantius, and Hannibalianus; and three daughters: Constantia, Anastasia, and Eutropia. brothers of Constantine. But by his former wife Helena he already had a son Constantine, who was later the mightiest of emperors.

This Constantine, then, born of Helena, a mother of very common origin, and brought up in the town of Naissus,In Moesia, on the river Margus; cf. xxi. 10, 5; modern Nis, in Yugoslavia. which he afterwards splendidly adorned, had but slight training in letters.minus = minus iusto, Tillemont iv, p. 132 (Wagner). He was held as a hostage by Diocletian and Galerius,To secure his father’s loyalty. and did valiant service under those emperors in Asia. After the abdication of Diocletian and Herculius,Maximianus (Herculius), in 305. ConstantiusConstantius Chlorus. asked Galerius to return his son; but Galerius first exposed him to many dangers.

For when Constantine, then a young man, was serving in the cavalry against the Sarmatians, he seized by the hair and carried off a fierce savage, and threw him at the feet of the emperor Galerius. Then sent by Galerius through a swamp, he entered it on his horse and made a way for the rest to the Sarmatians, of whom he slew many and won the victory for Galerius.

Then at last Galerius sent him back to his father. But in order to avoid meeting SeverusHe had been appointed Caesar by Galerius; see 3, 5, below. as he passed through Italy, Constantine crossed the Alps with the greatest haste, ordering the post-horses to be killedAt each station, so that his pursuers could not use them; cf. Zos. ii. 8; Ps.-Aur. Vict., , 40, 2, cum ad frustrandos insequentes publica iumenta quaqua iter egerat interficeret; and for another meaning, Amm. xv. 1, 2. as he went on; and he came up with his father Constantius at Bononia,Boulogne, cf. Amm. xx. 1, 3. which the Gauls formerly called Gesoriacum. But his father Constantius, after winning a victory over the Picts, died at York, and Constantine was unanimously hailed as Caesar by all the troops.