13. A Scheming Stepmother
In 307 AD, Constantine the Great married Flavia Maxima Fausta (289 – 326 AD), daughter of Roman Emperor Maximianus, to seal an alliance with her father. She bore Constantine three sons, but her stepson Crispus, Constantine’s eldest from a previous marriage, stood between her children and the throne.
In 326, Crispus was at the height of his power and heir apparent, having played a key role in defeating a recent challenger to his father. By contrast, Fausta’s sons were in no position to don the purple, the eldest of them being only ten years old at the time. In order for any of Fausta’s sons to succeed Constantine, something would have to happen to Crispus. So Fausta saw to it that something did.