Crispus Roman Caesar with shield & spear 317AD Ancient Roman Coin i47649

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Item: i47649

 

 Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Crispus – Roman Caesar: 317-326 A.D. –

 Bronze AE3 20mm (3.14 grams) Aquileia mint: 317 A.D.
Reference: RIC 9 (Aquileia) R4
CRISPVSNOBCAES – Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
PRINCIPIAIVVENTVTIS Exe: AQP – Crispus standing left, resting hand on shield and
holding spear.


You are bidding on the exact item pictured,

provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of

Authenticity.

Flavius Julius Crispus, also known as Flavius

Claudius Crispus and Flavius Valerius Crispus was a

Caesar

of the

Roman

Empire
. He was the first-born son of

Constantine I

and

Minervina
.

Birth

Crispus’ year and place of birth are uncertain. He is

considered likely to have been born between 299 and 305, somewhere in the

Eastern Roman Empire

. His mother

Minervina

was either a

concubine

or a first wife to Constantine. Nothing else is known about

Minervina. His father served as a hostage in the court of

Eastern Roman Emperor

Diocletian

in Nicomedia
.

Thus securing the loyalty of Caesar of the

Western Roman Empire

Constantius Chlorus

, father of Constantine and grandfather of Crispus.

In 307, Constantine allied to the Italian

Augusti

, and this alliance was sealed with the marriage of Constantine to

Fausta
,

daughter of Maximian and sister of Maxentius.

The marriage of Constantine to Fausta has caused modern

historians to question the status of his relation to

Minervina

and Crispus. If Minervina was his legitimate wife, Constantine would have needed

to secure a divorce

before marrying Fausta. This would have required an official written

order signed by Constantine himself, but no such order is mentioned by

contemporary sources.

This silence in the sources has led many historians to

conclude that the relationship between Constantine and Minervina was informal

and to assume her to have been an unofficial lover. However, Minervina may have

already been dead by 307. A widowed Constantine would need no divorce order.

Neither the true nature of the relationship between

Constantine and Minervina nor the reason Crispus came under the protection of

his father will ever probably be known. The offspring of an illegitimate affair

could have caused dynastical problems and would likely be dismissed, but Crispus

was raised by his father in

Gaul. This can be

seen as evidence of a loving and public relationship between Constantine and

Minervina which gave him a reason to protect her son.

The story of Minervina is quite similar to that of

Constantine’s mother

Helena

. Constantine’s father later had to divorce her for political reasons,

specifically, to marry

Flavia Maximiana Theodora

, the daughter of

Maximian
,

in order to secure his alliance with his new father-in-law. Constantine in turn

may have had to put aside Minervina in order to secure an alliance with the same

man. Constantius

did not however dismiss

Constantine

as his son, and perhaps Constantine chose to follow the example

of his father.

Education

Whatever the reason, Constantine kept Crispus at his side.

Surviving sources are unanimous in declaring him a loving, trusting and

protective father to his first son. Constantine even entrusted his education to

Lactantius
,

among the most important

Christian

teachers
of

that time, who probably started teaching Crispus before 317.

Career

By 317, there were two remaining Augusti in control of the

Roman Empire. Constantine reigned as an

Western Roman Emperor

and his brother-in-law

Licinius
as

an

Eastern Roman Emperor

.

On

1 March

317, the two co-reigning Augusti jointly proclaimed three new Caesars. Crispus

alongside his younger half-brother

Constantine II

and his first cousin

Licinius

iunior
. Constantine II was the older son of Fausta but was probably about a

month old at the time of his proclamation. Thus only Crispus assumed actual

duties.

Constantine apparently believed in the abilities of his son

and appointed Crispus as Commander of Gaul. The new Caesar soon held residence

in Augusta Treverorum (modern

Trier
), regional

capital of Germania

.

In January 322, Crispus was married to a young woman called

Helena. Helena bore him a son in October, 322. There is no surviving account of

the name or later fate of the son.

Eusebius of Caesarea

reported that Constantine was proud of his son and very

pleased to become a grandfather.

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. Crispus joined his father in visiting Rome during 322, and

received the warmest and most enthusiastic welcome by the crowds. 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 the rival fleet of Licinius. The subsequent

Battle of Hellespont

was fought in at the straits of

Bosporus

. The 200 ships under the command of Crispus managed to utterly beat

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 soldier and 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 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 “an

Imperator

most dear to God
and

in all regards comparable to his father.”

Crispus was the most likely choice for an heir to the throne

at the time. His siblings

Constantine II

,

Constantius II

and

Constans

were far too young and inexperienced.

Execution

In 326, Crispus life came to a sudden end: on his father’s

orders, he was tried by a local court at

Pola,

Istria
,

condemned to death and executed. Soon afterwards, Constantine had his own wife,

Fausta
, killed;

she was suffocated in an over-heated bath.[1]

The reason for this act remains unclear and historians have

long debated Constantine’s motivation:

  • Zosimus

    in the 5th century and

    Joannes Zonaras

    in the 12th century both reported that Fausta,

    stepmother of Crispus, was extremely jealous of him. She was reportedly

    afraid that Constantine would put aside the sons she bore him. So, in order

    to get rid of Crispus, Fausta set him up. She reportedly told the young

    Caesar that she was in love with him and suggested an illegitimate love

    affair. Crispus denied the immoral wishes of Fausta and left the palace in a

    state of a shock. Then Fausta said to Constantine that Crispus had no

    respect for his father, since the Caesar was in love with his father’s own

    wife. She reported to Constantine that she dismissed him after his attempt

    to rape her. Constantine believed her and, true to his strong personality

    and short temper, executed his beloved son. A few months later, Constantine

    reportedly found out the whole truth and then killed Fausta.

This version of events has become the most widely accepted,

since all other reports are even less satisfactory.

  • That Fausta and Crispus could have plotted treason

    against Constantine is rejected by most historians. as they would have

    nothing to gain considering their positions as favourites of Constantine. In

    any case, such a case would not have been tried by a local court as Crispus’

    case clearly was.

  • Another view suggests that Constantine killed Crispus

    because as an supposedly illegitimate son, he would cause a crisis in the

    order of succession to the throne. However, Constantine had kept him at his

    side for twenty years without any such decision. Constantine also had the

    authority to appoint his younger, legitimate sons as his heirs.

  • Some reports claimed that Constantine was envious of the

    success of his son and afraid of him. This seems improbable, given that

    Constantine had twenty years of experience as emperor while Crispus was

    still a young Caesar. Similarly, there seems to be no evidence that Crispus

    had any ambitions to harm or displace his father.

So while the story of Zosimus and Zonaras seems the most

believable one, there are also problems relating to their version of events:

  • Constantine’s reaction suggests that he suspected Crispus

    of a crime so terrible that death was not enough. Crispus also suffered

    damnatio memoriae

    , meaning his name was never mentioned again and was

    deleted from all official documents and monuments. Crispus, his wife Helena

    and their son were never to be mentioned again in historical records. The

    eventual fate of Helena and her son is a mystery.

  • Constantine did not restore his son’s innocence and name,

    as he probably would have on learning of his son’s innocence. Perhaps

    Constantine’s pride, or shame at having executed his son, prevented him from

    publicly admitting having made a mistake.

It is beyond doubt that there was a connection between the

deaths of Crispus and Fausta. Such agreement among different sources connecting

two deaths is extremely rare in itself. A number of modern historians have

suggested that Crispus and Fausta really did have an illegitimate affair. When

Constantine found out, his reaction was to have both of them killed. What

delayed the death of Fausta may have been a

pregnancy
.

Since the years of birth for the two known daughters of Constantine and Fausta

remain unknown, one of their births may have delayed their mother’s execution.

The story of Zosimus and Zonaras listed above is suspiciously

similar to both the legend of

Hippolytus

of Athens

(casting Crispus in the role of the youth, Constantine in the role of

Theseus
and

Fausta in the role of

Phaedra

) as well as the Biblical account of

Joseph and Potiphar’s wife

.


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