Aurelia Eusebia
| Flavia Aurelia Eusebia | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Empress-Consort | |||||
| Tenure | 353-360 CE | ||||
| Born | Thessaloniki | ||||
| Died | 360 CE | ||||
| Constantius II | |||||
|
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| Father | Flavius Eusebius | ||||
| Religion | Arianism | ||||
| Era name and dates | |
|---|---|
| Constantinian dynasty: 307-361 CE |
Eusebia (†360, full name Flavia Aurelia Eusebia, sometimes known as Aurelia Eusebia) was the second wife of Emperor Constantius II. Main sources for the knowledge about her life are Julian's panegyric "Speech of Thanks to the Empress Eusebia" in which he thanks her for her assistance, as well as several remarks by the historian Ammianus Marcellinus.
The primary source on her ancestry is the "Panegyric In Honour Of Eusebia" by Julian the Apostate. According to it, "she [Eusebia] is of a family line that is pure Greek, from the purest of Greeks, and her city is the metropolis of Macedonia". Eusebia was born in Thessaloniki and was a Macedonian by origin. Her father was reportedly the first member of the family to serve as a consul. While not identified by name in the speech, modern historians identify him with Flavius Eusebius, consul in 347. This Eusebius is identified elsewhere as a former Magister Equitum and Magister Peditum, which means he had served as a military commander of both the cavalry and infantry of the Roman army. The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire considers it probable that his consulship came at the end of his military career. He is later styled "Comes". The Panegyric mentions that Eusebia's father was dead by the time she married Constantius.
The Panegyric says, "Now though I have much to say about her native land". Julian goes on to mention the history of Macedon, identifying her native city, then proceeds to speak of her family. "She is the daughter of a man who was considered worthy to hold the office that gives its name to the year [the consulship], an office that in the past was powerful and actually called royal, but lost that title because of those who abused their power". ... "And if there be anyone who thinks that, because he I spoke of was the first of his line to win that title and to lay the foundations of distinction for his family, he is therefore inferior to the others, he fails to understand that he is deceived exceedingly. For it is,in my opinion, altogether nobler and more honourable to lay the foundations of such great distinction for one's descendants than to receive it from one's ancestors." ...Eusebia, the subject of my speech, was the daughter of a consul".
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