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Basilina

Basilina (Greek: Βασιλίνα; died 332/333) was the wife of Julius Constantius and the mother of the Roman emperor Julian (r. 361–363) who in her honour gave the name Basilinopolis to a city in Bithynia (modern Pazarköy near Gemlik, in Turkey).

Born~Died date unknown ~ 3320 views in 30 daysLast edited Oct 15, 2026, 5:52 PM

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Details

Born ~ Died: date unknown ~ 332
Born: Asia Minor
Died: 332/333
Spouse: Julius Constantius
Issue: Julian
Dynasty: Constantinian
Father: Julius Julianus

Contents

1.Biography
2.References
2.1.Sources
3.Notes

Basilina (Greek: Βασιλίνα; died 332/333¹²) was the wife of Julius Constantius and the mother of the Roman emperor Julian (r. 361–363) who in her honour gave the name Basilinopolis to a city in Bithynia (modern Pazarköy near Gemlik, in Turkey).²

Biography

Basilina was of Greek descent born in Asia Minor.³⁴ She was either the daughter of Caeionius Iulianus Camenius,⁵ or more likely of Julius Julianus,¹² and received a classical education (i.e., Homer and Hesiod) from Mardonius, a eunuch who grew up in the house of her father.¹ She had a sister who became the mother of Procopius.⁶ She was a relative of Bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia, her son's tutor.

She became the second wife of Julius Constantius, whom she gave Julian;² Basilina died a few months after childbirth.¹² A Christian, Basilina initially favoured the Arians, but gave her lands as an inheritance to the church of Ephesus.²

References

Sources

Baynes, Norman H. (1911). "CHAPTER III Constantine's Successors to Jovian: And the Struggle with Persia". The Cambridge Medieval History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 55–86.
Bradbury, Jim (2004). The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-22126-9.
DiMaio, Michael (22 February 1997). "The Siblings of Constantine I". De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin; Martindale, John Robert; Morris, John (1971). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Volume I: A.D. 260–395. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-07233-6.
Norwich, John Julius (1989). Byzantium: The Early Centuries. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0-394-53778-5.

Notes

Baynes 1911, p. 63. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Jones, Martindale & Morris 1971, "Basilina", p. 148. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶
Norwich 1989, p. 83: "Julius Constantius [...] Constantine had invited him, with his second wife and his young family, to take up residence in his new capital; and it was in Constantinople that his third son Julian was born, in May or June of the year 332. The baby's mother, Basilina, a Greek from Asia Minor, died a few weeks later [...]" ↩
Bradbury 2004, p. 58: "JULIAN THE APOSTATE, FLAVIUS CLAUDIUS JULIANUS, ROMAN EMPEROR (332–63) Emperor from 361, son of Julius Constantius and a Greek mother Basilina, grandson of Constantius Chlorus, the only pagan Byzantine Emperor." ↩
DiMaio 1997. ↩
Ammianus Marcellinus. Res Gestae, 26.6. ↩

Biography

This page is based on “Basilina” from English Wikipedia, (r1367051535) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.

Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 5:52 PM · r141822 · Text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Baynes 1911, p. 63. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Jones, Martindale & Morris 1971, "Basilina", p. 148. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶
Norwich 1989, p. 83: "Julius Constantius [...] Constantine had invited him, with his second wife and his young family, to take up residence in his new capital; and it was in Constantinople that his third son Julian was born, in May or June of the year 332. The baby's mother, Basilina, a Greek from Asia Minor, died a few weeks later [...]" ↩
Bradbury 2004, p. 58: "JULIAN THE APOSTATE, FLAVIUS CLAUDIUS JULIANUS, ROMAN EMPEROR (332–63) Emperor from 361, son of Julius Constantius and a Greek mother Basilina, grandson of Constantius Chlorus, the only pagan Byzantine Emperor." ↩
DiMaio 1997. ↩
Ammianus Marcellinus. Res Gestae, 26.6. ↩

Baynes 1911, p. 63. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Jones, Martindale & Morris 1971, "Basilina", p. 148. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶
Norwich 1989, p. 83: "Julius Constantius [...] Constantine had invited him, with his second wife and his young family, to take up residence in his new capital; and it was in Constantinople that his third son Julian was born, in May or June of the year 332. The baby's mother, Basilina, a Greek from Asia Minor, died a few weeks later [...]" ↩
Bradbury 2004, p. 58: "JULIAN THE APOSTATE, FLAVIUS CLAUDIUS JULIANUS, ROMAN EMPEROR (332–63) Emperor from 361, son of Julius Constantius and a Greek mother Basilina, grandson of Constantius Chlorus, the only pagan Byzantine Emperor." ↩
DiMaio 1997. ↩
Ammianus Marcellinus. Res Gestae, 26.6. ↩

Basilina

Biography

References

Sources

Notes

Biography

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References

Sources

Notes

Biography

References

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Notes

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Basilina

Biography

References

Sources

Notes

Footnotes

Biography

Opinions 0

References

Sources

Notes

Footnotes

Biography

References

Sources

Notes

Footnotes

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Opinions 0