A forged scroll was produced
by the bishop of Nicome'dia, purporting to be Constantine's last will,
in which he accused his brothers of having given him poison, and
besought his sons to avenge his death. 5. Constan'tius eagerly
embraced such an opportunity of destroying the objects of his
jealousy; his two uncles, seven of his cousins, the patrician
Opta'lus, who married the late emperor's sister, and the prefect
Abla'vius, whose chief crime was enormous wealth, were subjected to a
mock trial, and delivered to the executioner. Of so numerous a
family Gal'lus and Julian alone were spared; they owed their
safety to their concealment, until the rage of the assassins had
abated. 6. After this massacre, the three brothers, similar in name,
and more alike in crime, proceeded to divide their father's dominions:
Constantine took for his share the new capital and the central
provinces; Thrace and the East were assigned to Constan'tius;
Con'stans received Italy, Africa, and the western Illy'ricum.
7. The weakness produced by this division encouraged the enemies of
the Romans, whom the dread of Constantine's power had hitherto kept
quiet, to take up arms.
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