Emperor Constantine by Pohlsander Hans A.; Pohlsander Hans A.;

Author:Pohlsander, Hans A.; Pohlsander, Hans A.; [Hans A. Pohlsander]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2011-07-31T16:00:00+00:00

8

THE CRISIS IN THE IMPERIAL FAMILY

The years 324 and 325 saw Constantine at the pinnacle of success. His victories over Licinius had made him the sole ruler of the Roman world. He had brought unity to the Christian church, or so he thought, by convening the Council of Nicaea and taking an active part in it. He was observing his twentieth year in power .But tragedy struck in 326.

At some time in that year – attempts to arrive at a more specific date have not led to any conclusive result – Constantine ordered the execution of his son Crispus. The order was carried out at Pola in Istria. Was Crispus travelling by himself or was he accompanying his father? Was he on his way to Rome, perhaps, there to celebrate his father’s vicennalia, or was he on the return journey? We do not know. More importantly, what had he done to deserve a sentence of death from his own father? There are no hints of a gradual estrangement between father and son. Crispus had held the consulship in 318, 321 and 324; he had performed well in the recent war against Licinius. Constantine had celebrated the birth of Crispus’ child, Constantine’s first grandchild, in 322. Nothing lends support to the suggestion that Crispus was plotting against his father. Nor is it likely that Constantine, the product of a casual union himself, acted out of concern for the rights of his younger, legitimate sons and for the principle of dynastic legitimacy. Crispus’ illegitimate birth had not stood in the way of his advancement thus far; why should it now? And by removing him, while his other sons were all under ten years old, Constantine weakened rather than strengthened his own position.

In the same year, soon after the death of Crispus, Constantine also brought about the death of his wife Fausta, after a marriage of nineteen years. He did this, reportedly, by having her placed in an overheated bath, and some have imagined, without any good reason, that this transpired in the Imperial Baths of Trier. The two deaths follow so closely one upon the other that a connection between them appears most likely. And, indeed, the Epitome de Cuesaribus (anonymous, fourth century) does report such a connection:

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