Crispus Flavius Julius
300 – 326 · Generation XVII · Caesar and admiral
Crispus (AD 300 – AD 326). Caesar and admiral. Constantine’s brilliant eldest son, executed on his father’s order for reasons no source dares state plainly. His mother, Minervina, may never have been Constantine’s lawful wife, and he was taught rhetoric by the Christian writer Lactantius. Proclaimed caesar at Serdica in March 317 alongside his half-brother Constantine II and his cousin Licinius the Younger, he governed Gaul from Trier, beat the Franks and Alamanni in repeated campaigns, and was three times consul. In 324 he led his father’s fleet to a decisive victory at the Hellespont over a far larger navy of Licinius, then won again at Chrysopolis — the campaign that left Constantine sole ruler of the empire. By 322 he had a wife, Helena, and a son. In 326 he was put to death at Pola, apparently without trial; his stepmother Fausta was killed soon after, and later writers alleged an affair between them, a story some scholars doubt. His name was afterwards erased from inscriptions.
Place in the family
- Crispus Flavius Julius was a son of Constantine the Great.
Line of descent: Constantius Chlorus → Constantine the Great → Crispus Flavius Julius.
Parents
- Constantine the Great (272 – 337)
- Minervina of the East (275 – 307)
Siblings
- Constantine II Flavius Claudius (316 – 340) (half)
- Constantius II Flavius Julius (317 – 361) (half)
- Constantina Flavia Julia (318 – 354) (half)
- Constans Flavius Julius (320 – 350) (half)
- Helena the Younger (325 – 360) (half)