Justina (empress)

Family

Justina was the daughter of Justus, governor of Picenum under Constantius II. According to one account, Justus dreamed he brought forth the imperial purple from his right side; Constantius, interpreting this as a prophecy that a descendant would become emperor, had him killed. Justina had two known brothers, Constantius and Cerealis, and a daughter named Galla. The names Justus, Justina, Constantius, Cerealis, and Galla have been linked to the Neratii, an aristocratic family connected to the Constantinian dynasty through marriage, and possibly also to the Vettius family.

One theory holds that Justus was a son of Vettius Justus, consul in 328, and a woman of the Neratius family, whose members included Galla (wife of Julius Constantius and mother of Constantius Gallus), Neratius Cerealis (consul in 358), and Vulcacius Rufinus (praetorian prefect of Italy). Another suggestion is that Justina was a granddaughter or great-granddaughter of Crispus through her mother, or that her mother was the daughter of Julius Constantius and his first wife Galla.

A further proposal is that Justina belonged to the Constantinian dynasty but was of illegitimate descent, possibly a maternal granddaughter of Crispus or born out of wedlock to Constans I and Justus's wife, with Justus forced to recognize her.

Empress and marriage to Valentinian I

Justina married Emperor Valentinian I around 370, becoming his second wife after he divorced his first spouse. Accounts differ on the divorce: one version says his first wife was exiled for fraud, while another claims Justina met him through her.

Justina raised Gratian, Valentinian’s son from his earlier marriage, as her stepson. She and Valentinian had four children: a son, Valentinian II, and three daughters, Galla, Grata, and Justa. The daughters Grata and Justa never married and were recorded as still living in 392.

Widowhood and the reign of Valentinian II

Her brother Cerealis brought the younger Valentinian to Aquincum, where troops proclaimed him emperor without consulting Gratian. Justina then accompanied Valentinian II to Mediolanum and assisted with his rule. In 383, the usurper Magnus Maximus killed Gratian and took control of Britain, Gaul, Hispania, and the Diocese of Africa, ruling from Augusta Treverorum. From 384, Maximus was recognized by Valentinian II and Theodosius I, leaving Valentinian II's domain limited to Italia.

Justina, an Arian, began promoting her christology after her husband's death, leading to a long struggle with Ambrose, the Nicene bishop of Mediolanum. In 385, Ambrose refused the imperial court's demand for an Arian basilica for Easter, a cause Justina championed. In 387, Maximus broke his truce and threatened Mediolanum. Justina, Valentinian, and Galla fled to Thessaloniki, where Theodosius, a widower, married Galla and agreed to reinstall Valentinian.

In July–August 388, combined troops of Theodosius and Valentinian invaded Maximus's territory; Maximus was executed on 28 August 388. Justina intended to go west with her son but died within the same year.