Galla (wife of Julius Constantius) explained

Galla was the first known wife of Julius Constantius, a member of the Constantinian dynasty.

Galla
Death Date:before 332
Spouse:Julius Constantius
Issue:Unnamed son
Unnamed daughter
Gallus
Dynasty:Constantinian

Biography

Galla was the sister of the consul Neratius Cerealis and of the praetorian prefect Vulcacius Rufinus.[1]

She married Julius Constantius, son of Constantius Chlorus and half-brother of Emperor Constantine I. They had three children: a son, who died with his father in the purges of 337,[2] a daughter, who married her cousin Constantius II, and finally Constantius Gallus, later Caesar of the East, born around 325.[3] It has been proposed that Galla and Julius had another daughter, who may have been the mother of the empress Justina.[4]

Galla died before her husband, as Gallus was then entrusted to the care of Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia.[5]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Probably Neratius was her brother and Vulcacius her half-brother, as "Gallus" is a cognomen of the Neratii (Jones, p. 198).
  2. Julian, Letter to the Athenians, 270D.
  3. [Libanius]
  4. Lenski, p. 97.
  5. http://www.roman-emperors.org/gallus.htm Banchich, Thomas M., "Gallus Caesar (15 March 351 – 354 A.D.)", DIR (1997)