Italy: Icon of Constantius (250-306), joint 53rd Roman emperor, from the book Icones imperatorvm romanorvm (Icons of Roman Emperors), Antwerp, c. 1645

Constantius Chlorus (250-306) was born into a noble framily from Dardania descended from emperors Claudius II and Quintillus, though this may have been a genealogical fabrication by Constantius' son Constantine I, with his real family instead being of humble origins.

Constantius joined the Roman army and served under various emperors, eventually being elevated to junior co-emperor alongside Galerius in 293, forming the Tetrarchy. His marriage to Emperor Maximian's daughter made him his son-in-law, and together they defeated the rebel emperor Allectus in Britain and campaigned heavily along the Rhine frontier against various Germanic tribes.

In 305, Diocletian and Maximian abdicated, elevating Constantius and Galerius to joint emperors. Constantius was fighting the Picts in Britain beyond the Antonine Wall when the declaration came, but he died suddenly a year later in Eboracum (York). His death led to the collapse of the Tetrarchy. His son would become Constantine the Great, and therefore Constantius was considered the founder of the Constantinian Dynasty.

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