Encyclopaedia Britannica, or, a Dictionary of arts, sciences, and miscellaneous literature : enlarged and improved. Illustrated with nearly six hundred engravings > Volume 6, CHI-Crystallization

CON [,570 J CON
C^a?" Constantine, Dracojes, the Ton of Emmanuel Ta- divided the empire among his children and nephews Coto |
Conttan- |e0^0gus» v,’as pliaCf:C; on the throne by Sultan Amurath in the following manner. Conftantine his eldelt fon', tinopolit 1
tinople. ^1448. But Mahomet II. his fucceflor, refolving had Gaul, Spam, and Britain: Coailantius, the fe- hiltor} 1
“—v' 'to dethrone him, laid hege Lo Ccnftantinople by fea cond, had Alia, Syria, and Egypt; and Conllans, the*—v'* '
and land, and took it by affault in 1453, after it had youngeft, Illyricum, Italy, and Africa. To his ne-Hisdltl I
held^out 58 days. Ihe unfortunate emperor feeing pherv Dalmatius, he gave Thrace, Macedon, and^dkii I
the^ Turks^enter, the breaches, threw himfelf into the Achaia ; and to King Annibalianus, his other nephew, oftllee“ '
midft of. the. enemy, and w»as cut to pieces ; the chil- Armenia Minor, Pontus, Cappadocia, and the city of ^
drca of the imperial houfe were maffacred by the fol- Csefarea, which he defrred might be the capital of his
diers; and the women referved to gratify the lull of kingdom.
the conqueror; and thus terminated the dynafty of After the death of Conftantine, the army and ferrateAI4U 1
the Conftantines, 1123 years after its eftablilhment at proclaimed his three fons emperors, without taking anyhtiomnn (
Conuantiupple. notice of Ins two nephews, w ho were loon after murder-^
Constantine, Robert, a learned phyftcian. born at ed, with Julius Conftantius the late emperor’s brother,^1® i
Caen, taught polite literature in that city; and acquired and all their friends and adherents. Thus the familyandtwf J
great reputation by his {kill in the Greek language, in of Conftantine was at once reduced to his three lbns,r>eplitv,
Liftory, and in medicine. He died in 1603 aged 103. and two nephews Gallus and Julian, the fons of Julius
He wrote a dictionary in Greek and Latin, and other Conftantius; and of thefe the former owred his life to a
3 works, which are elteemed.
Bemovinjr ' CONSTANTINOPLE, the modern name of the
•lie imperi- city of Byzantium in Thrace. It was enlarged and
anea^t0 beautified by the Roman emperor Conftantine the Great,
the caufe oft^ie year 33°‘ ^ ^le k1*16 ^rae transferred
the decline-thither the feat of the empire ; and this removal is gene-
«f the welt- rally thought to have been one of the principal caufes
em empire. 0f the focklen decline of the weftern empire after this
2 period.
Conftantine Li the year 332, the Sarmatians implored Conftan-
defeatf. the tine’s afllftance againll the Goths, who had made an
Goths, irruption into their territories, and deftrcyed every
thing with fire and fword. The emperor readily
granted their requeft, and gained a complete victory.
Near 100,000 of the enemy perilhed, either in the
battle, or after it with hunger and cold. In confe-
quence of this overthrow’, the Goths were obliged to
xue for peace ; but the ungrateful Sarmatians no fooner
found themfelves delivered from their enemies, than they
turned their arms again!! their benefaCtor, and ravaged
3 the provinces of Madia and Thrace. The emperor,
and the receiving intelligence of this treachery, returned with
Sannatians. expedition, cut great numbers of them in
pieces, and obliged the reft to fubmit to what terms he
4 was pleafed to impofe.
Is highly Conftantine feems to have been a prince very highly
reipedted, reipeCled, even by far diftant nations. In 333, ac¬
cording to Eufebius, ambafladors arrived at Conftanti¬
nople frm the Blemyes, Indians, Ethiopians, and Per¬
sians, courting his friendlhip. They were received in
a moft obliging manner; and learning from the ambaf-
fadors of Sapor king of sPerfia, that there -were great
numbers of Chriftians in their mafter’s dominions,
Conftantine wrote a letter in their behalf to the Perfian
monarch.
Next year, the Sarmatians being again attacked by
the Goths, found themlelves obliged to fet at liberty
and arm their Haves again!! them. By this means
they indeed overcame the Goths: but the victorious
Haves turning their arms again!! their mafters, drove
He takes a them out ot the country. This misfortune obliged
number of them, to the number of 300,000, to apply for relief to
the Roman emperor, who incorporated with his le-
amy gions fuch as were capable of fervice ; and gave fettle-
rnents to the reft in Thrace, Scythia, Macedon, and
Italy. This was the laft remarkable adlion of Ccn-
H an tine the Great. He died on May 15. 337, having
malady, from which no one thought he could recover;
and the latter to his infancy, being then at moft about i
feven years of age. The three brothers divided among . q
themfelves the dominions of the deceafcd princes; but ■ • :i||
did not long agree together. In 340, Conftantine % 1
having in vain folicited Conftans to yield part of Italy Conftan. i
to him, railed a confiderable army; and under pretence1™1
of marching to the nflitlance of his brother Conftantius,^ ^ )
who was then at war with the Perfians, made hinsfclf™^^ 1
mailer of feveral places in Italy. Hereupon Conftans
detached part of his army again!! him ; and Conftantine,
being drawn into an ambuicade near Aquilcia, was cut 9
oft with his whole forces. His body was thrown intoIsi
the river Anfa ; but being afterwards difcoveied, -was ;■
fent to Conftafitinople, and interred there near the totob
of his father.
10 n
By the defeat and death-of his brother, Conftamconftans
remained foie mafter of all tire weftern part of the foie mail
empire, in the quiet po He Hi on of which he continued ott“?’
till the year 350. This year Magnentius, the fon of.|i|n:
one Magnus, a native of Germany, finding Conftans
defpifed by the anny on account of his indolence andagaiaCr
inad!ivity, refolved to murder him, and fet up for him-him- !
felf. Having found means to gain over the chief
cfticers of the army to his defigns, he felzed on the
imperial palace at Autun, and diftributed among the
populace‘what firms he found there ; which induced not
only the city, but the neighbouring country, to efpoufe
his cau!e. But Conftans being informed of what had
palTed, and finding himfelf unable to refift the ufurper,
fled towards Spain. He was overtaken, how-ever, by
Gaifb, whom Magnentius had fent after him with a ebb- 1
fen body of troops, and defpatched with many wounds,
at Helena, a fmall village fituated near the foot of the
Pyrenees. n I
Thus Conftantius acquired a right to the whole C0nfta.1l
Roman empire; though one-half of it was feized byinur“er,J
Magnentius after the murder of Conftans. The former
had been engaged in a war with the Perfians, in
which little advantage was gained on either fide ; but
the Perfians now giving no more difturbance, the em¬
peror marched again!! the ufurpers in the weft. Be*
Aides Magnentius, there were at that time two other 13*
pretenders to the wefttrn empire. Veteranio, general Three pB
of the foot in Pannonia, had, on the fir!! news o! the t*n‘iers H
death of Conftans, cruled himfelf to be proclaimed r
emperor by the legions undei his command. He was 9
a