Constantia was one of six children born from the marriage of
Constantius I and
Theodora. Although her birth date has not been recorded, she must have been born after 293, as that was the year of her parents’ marriage. She had two sisters,
Anastasia and
Eutropia, and three brothers,
Julius Constantius,
Flavius Dalmatius and Hannibalianus. Constantius already had a son,
Constantine I, from his previous relationship with
Helena, making him Constantia’s half-brother. In 313, the emperor Constantine gave her in marriage to his co-emperor
Licinius, on occasion of their meeting in
Mediolanum. She bore a son,
Valerius Licinianus Licinius, in 315, and when the struggle between Constantine and Licinius began in 316, she stayed on her husband's side. A second war started between the two emperors in 324, ending in Licinius' defeat. Constantine initially spared his rival on Constantia's intercession, but in 325 he ordered that Licinius be killed. A second blow for Constantia was the death, also by order of Constantine, of her son Valerius. In the following years, Constantia lived at her brother's court, receiving honours (her title was
nobilissima femina). Constantia was her brother's favourite sister and proof of such favour is that he minted coins with her image and with the title "Constantia Soror Constantini AVG," or, "Constantia, Sister of Constantine Augustus" ("AVG" is an abbreviation of "Augustus," the center consonant being a "manuscript U," not a "V"). She converted to
Christianity, supporting the
Arian party at the
First Council of Nicaea (325). == Legacy ==