Título: Constantius II
Seção: Judaism
Background: Constantius II (Latin: Flavius Julius Constantius Augustus; Greek: Konstantios; 7 August 317 - 3 November 361) was Roman Emperor from 337 to 361. The second son of Constantine I and Fausta, he ascended to the throne with his brothers Constantine II and Constans upon their father's death. In 340, Constantius' brothers clashed over the western provinces of the empire. The resulting conflict left Constantine II dead and Constans as ruler of the west until he was overthrown and assassinated in 350 by the usurper Magnentius.

Conteúdo: Judaism faced some severe restrictions under Constantius, who seems to have followed an anti-Jewish policy in line with that of his father. Early in his reign, Constantius issued a double edict in concert with his brothers limiting the ownership of slaves by Jewish people and banning marriages between Jews and Christian women. A later edict issued by Constantius after becoming sole emperor decreed that a person who was proven to have converted from Christianity to Judaism would have all of his property confiscated by the state. However, Constantius' actions in this regard may not have been so much to do with Jewish religion as with Jewish business--apparently, privately owned Jewish businesses were often in competition with state-owned businesses. As a result, Constantius may have sought to provide an advantage to state-owned businesses by limiting the skilled workers and slaves available to Jewish businesses.  Jew-related edicts issued by Constantius (by himself or with others) included:  Weaving women who moved from working for the government to working for Jews must be restored to the government; Jews may not marry Christian women; Jews may not attempt to convert Christian women;  Any non-Jewish slave bought by a Jew will be confiscated by the state; if a Jew attempts to circumcise a non-Jewish slave, the slave will be freed and the Jew shall face capital punishment; any Christian slaves owned by a Jew will be taken away and freed;  A person who is proven to have converted

user: Did Constantius follow Judaism?

assistant: Judaism faced some severe restrictions under Constantius, who seems to have followed an anti-Jewish policy in line with that of his father.

user: What did he do to restrict it ?

assistant: Constantius issued a double edict in concert with his brothers limiting the ownership of slaves by Jewish people and banning marriages between Jews and Christian women.

user: Did he do anything else against Judaism?

assistant: decreed that a person who was proven to have converted from Christianity to Judaism would have all of his property confiscated by the state.

user: What is another restriction he put on Judaism?

assistant: Constantius may have sought to provide an advantage to state-owned businesses by limiting the skilled workers and slaves available to Jewish businesses.

user: Did he do anything good for Judaism?

assistant: A person who is proven to have converted from Christianity to Judaism shall have their property confiscated by the state.

user: Did he do anything else to them?

assistant: Weaving women who moved from working for the government to working for Jews must be restored to the government;