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| Crispus | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caesar (1 March 317 - 326) | |||||
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| Born | c. 300 Pola,Istria | ||||
| Died | 326 AD (aged c. 26) Pola,Istria | ||||
| Spouse | Helena[1] | ||||
| Issue | Flavius | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Constantinian | ||||
| Father | Constantine I | ||||
| Mother | Minervina | ||||
| Religion | Greco-Roman religion | ||||
Flavius Julius Crispus (/ˈkrɪspəs/;c. 300 – 326) was the eldest son of theRoman emperorConstantine I, as well as his junior colleague (caesar) from March 317 until his execution by his father in 326. The grandson of theaugustusConstantius I, Crispus was the elder half-brother of the futureaugustusConstantine II and became co-caesar with him and with his cousinLicinius II atSerdica, part of the settlement ending theCibalensean War between Constantine and his father's rivalLicinius I. Crispus ruled fromAugusta Treverorum (Trier) inRoman Gaul between 318 and 323 and defeated the navy of Licinius I at theBattle of the Hellespont in 324, which with the landBattle of Chrysopolis won by Constantine forced the resignation ofLicinius and his son, leaving Constantine the soleaugustus and theConstantinian dynasty in control of the entire empire. It is unclear what the legal status of the relationship Crispus's motherMinervina had with Constantine was; Crispus may have been anillegitimate son.
Crispus'stutor inrhetoric was theLate Latin historian ofEarly ChristianityLactantius. After his elevation to imperial rank, at which point he was also entitledprinceps iuventutis ("Prince of Youth"), the Latin rhetoricianNazarius composed apanegyric preserved in thePanegyrici Latini, which honoured Crispus's military victories over theFranks inc. 319. Crispus was three timesRoman consul, for the years 318, 321, and 324.
According to the Latin histories ofAmmianus Marcellinus andAurelius Victor, after a trial whose real circumstances are mysterious, Constantine executed Crispus at Pola (Pula) in 326. His stepmotherFausta was also put to death, and theLate Greek historianZosimus and theByzantine Greek writerJoannes Zonaras wrote that Constantine had accused Crispus ofincest with her. After his death, Crispus was subjected todamnatio memoriae.
While Crispus’ year of birth is nowhere outright stated, he must have been born before 307.[3] By that time, his motherMinervina was either dead or set aside, as his father Constantine was married toMaximian’s daughterFausta.
Constantine entrusted his eldest son’s education toLactantius, one of the most important Christian teachers of that time.[3]
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By 313, there were two remainingaugusti in control of the Roman Empire—Constantine in the west and his brother-in-lawLicinius in the east. On 1 March 317, the two co-reigningaugusti jointly proclaimed three newcaesares: Crispus, alongside his younger half-brotherConstantine II, and his first cousinLicinius Junior.[4] Constantine appointed Crispus as Commander of Gaul.[5] The newcaesar soon held residence in Augusta Treverorum (modernTrier), regional capital ofGermania.
By October 322, Crispus was already married to a woman named Helena, as she bore him a child, a son Flavius, in that month. TheCodex Theodosianus recorded Constantine’s celebration of the event.[3]
Crispus was leader in victorious military operations against theFranks and theAlamanni in 318, 320 and 323.[5] 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 theRoman 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 ofPiraeus to confront Licinius' fleet. The subsequentBattle of the Hellespont was fought at the straits ofBosporus. 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.[6]
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 victoriousbattle 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 onlyaugustus left in the Empire. He honoured 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 "anImperator most dear toGod and in all regards comparable to his father,” going as far as to compare their relationship to God the Father and God the Son.[7]
In 326, Crispus' life came to a sudden end. On his father's orders he was executed, apparently without trial, atPola,Istria, in the Augustanregio ofVenetia et Histria.[8] According toSidonius Apollinaris andGregory of Tours, Crispus died through poison.[9][10] Soon afterwards, Constantine had his wifeFausta killed also, according to several sources in a hot bath or bathroom.[11] Both Crispus and Fausta suffereddamnatio memoriae, their names being erased from inscriptions.[12]
The reason for these deaths remain unclear. The accounts ofZosimus andZonaras say that Crispus was executed due to suspicions that he was involved in an illicit relationship with Fausta,[13] but some scholars have been skeptical of this explanation. For instance, T. D. Barnes argues that as Crispus was based at Trier, and Fausta at Constantinople, they would not have had the opportunity to have an affair.[14] While Hans Pohlsander considers Barnes’ argument to be invalid on the basis that Crispus was in the East for long enough,[15] he suggests that the similarity of Zosimus' story to the myth ofPhaedra andHippolytus makes its veracity doubtful.[14] He does, however, note that Constantine passed multiple laws on adultery in the same year, which may have been related to the deaths of Crispus and Fausta.[16] On the other hand, David Woods accepts the belief that the two were thought to have had a relationship, while suggesting that they were not actually executed. According to his theory, Crispus was exiled to Pola as a punishment for his adultery and committed suicide by poison there, and Fausta's death was caused by an attempt to induce abortion to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy that resulted from her affair.[17]
Pohlsander observed that Crispus “must have committed, or at least must have been suspected of having committed, some especially shocking offense to earn him a sentence of death from his own father.”[3] J. W. Drijvers concludes that the true explanation will never be known.[18]
Crispus became a popular tragic hero after the success of Bernardino Stefonio's neo-LatintragedyCrispus, which was performed at theJesuit Collegio Romano in 1597. Closely modelled onSeneca'sPhaedra, this became a model ofJesuit tragedy and one of the main bases for Alessandro Donati's 1631Ars poetica Alexandri Donati Senensis e Societate Iesu[19] and Tarquinio Galluzzi's 1633Defense of Crispus. The play was adapted for the French stage byFrançois de Grenaille asL'Innocent malhereux (1639) and byTristan l'Hermite asLa Morte de Chrispe ou les maleurs du grand Constantine (1645). It was performed as an opera in Rome (1720) and London (1721), where it was entitled,Crispo: drama,[20] not to mentionDonizetti's 1832 operaFausta. The story is also retold and embellished in chapter 31 ofSir Walter Scott's novelCount Robert of Paris. WhenEvelyn Waugh reworks the story in his novelHelena (1950), Crispus is innocent.
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| Preceded by | Roman consul 318 withLicinius Augustus V | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Roman consul 321 withConstantine Caesar II | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Roman consul 324 withConstantine Caesar III | Succeeded by |
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