The Fate of Crispus

Anytime I read about a Roman imperial execution and the rationale given is a sexual tryst I become suspicious because sexual indiscretions have historically been used to justify Roman assassinations since the beginning of Roman history.  So, after writing that post about Constantine's wife, Fausta, yesterday, I did a little more research on Constantine's son, Crispus.

Crispus was leader in victorious military operations against the Franks and the Alamanni in 318, 320 and 323. Thus he secured the continued Roman presence in the areas of Gaul and Germania. The soldiers adored him thanks to his strategic abilities and the victories to which he had led the Roman legions.

Crispus spent the following years assisting Constantine in the war against by then hostile Licinius. In 324, Constantine appointed Crispus as the commander of his fleet which left the port of Piraeus to confront Licinius' fleet. The subsequent Battle of the Hellespont was fought at the straits of Bosporus. The 200 ships under the command of Crispus managed to decisively defeat the enemy forces, which were at least double in number. Thus Crispus achieved his most important and difficult victory which further established his reputation as a brilliant general.

Following his navy activities, Crispus was assigned part of the legions loyal to his father. The other part was commanded by Constantine himself. Crispus led the legions assigned to him in another victorious battle outside Chrysopolis against the armies of Licinius.

The two victories were his contribution to the final triumph of his father over Licinius. Constantine was the only Augustus left in the Empire. He honored his son for his support and success by depicting his face in imperial coins, statues, mosaics, cameos, etc. Eusebius of Caesaria wrote for Crispus that he is "an Imperator most dear to God and in all regards comparable to his father."

"...Comparable to his father." There are the damning words (in my opinion).  After reading this summary of Crispus' career, I can't help but suspect that the son's military genius actually outshone Constantine and like other successful generals before him, including  Germanicus, Corbulo, and Agricola, and those who followed him, including Aetius and Belisarius, was perceived as a threat to Constantine's power.

I also suspect both Constantine's mother, Helena, and his wife, Fausta, fiercely defended young Crispus, infuriating Constantine, so the fiction of adultery was concocted to provide a socially acceptable pretext that unfortunately required the murder of Fausta as well. Some scholars think Fausta's execution was subsequently delayed because of a final pregnancy since the dates of birth of the last two daughters of Constantine are not known. 

Image: Tapestry showing Constantine's triumphal entry into Rome by Peter Paul Rubens Flemish 1623-1625 CE wool and silk that I photographed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

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Flavia Maxima Fausta: Victim of Constantine's Wrath

Flavia Maxima Fausta was Constantine's second wife, the daughter of the Emperor Maximian. She became empress in 307 CE when Constantine set aside his wife Minervina and married Fausta to seal the alliance set forth in Diocletian's tetrarchy.  In 310 CE when her father became involved in an assassination plot against Constantine, Fausta revealed the plot to Constantine, resulting in the death of her own father.  For her loyalty, Constantine eventually proclaimed her augusta in 324 CE, a promotion from her previous title of nobilissima femina. Fausta bore Constantine three sons, Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans, who all eventually became emperors, and three daughters, including Helena who married the Emperor Julian.  But none of this saved her from Constantine's wrath when he suspected Fausta of having improper relations with his son (by his first wife), Crispus. Zosimus reports Constantine killed Crispus then, to assuage the anger of his mother (the young man's grandmother), boiled Fausta alive in the baths.

This head likely represents the Empress Fausta, wife of the Emperor Constantine. There has been some debate as to whether Helena, Constantine’s mother, is depicted. However, the square jaw, full cheeks, and small mouth conform to numismatic portraits of Fausta. Typical of members of Constantine’s family, this head has heavy-lidded eyes and incised eyebrows. The incised pupils and upward gaze are characteristic features of late antique portraits. The face is smooth and blemish-free with full cheeks and softly modeled flesh. Her hair is in a style known as the Scheitelzopf, in which the hair is drawn back and folded over the top of the head to form a broad roll. At the point where the hair folds upwards at the back of the neck, her hair is interwoven with false locks in a net rendered through cross-hatching. The semicircular locks of hair framing her face are punctuated by drill points. - Museum of Fine Arts Boston

Portrait head of Fausta at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 300-325 CE

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