Obverse: FLAV MAX FAVSTA AVG; Draped Bust
of the Empress Facing Right
Reverse: SPES REIPVBLICAE; Fausta Standing
to the Left, Holding Two Children in her Arms
Fausta, full name Flavia Maxima Fausta, was
born in 290 A.D., daughter of Emperor
Maximianus. She married Constantine the
Great in 307 A.D. and bore three children by
him, all of whom would go onto rule different
parts of the empire after their father’s death:
Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans.
Upon the fall of the Licini in 324 A.D., she was
given the title of Augusta. However, Fausta is
best remembered for committing an act of
treachery that brought much tragedy to the
house of Constantine and resulted in her own
demise. Fausta was a young woman, much
younger than Constantine, and not much
older than his first son Crispus, whose mother
was one of Constantine’s concubines.
Apparently, Fausta fell in love with Crispus and
attempted to initiate an affair with him.
However, her advances were spurned.
Enraged and spiteful, the young empress told
her husband that his son had made improper
advances towards her. Constantine acted
quickly and plotted to have his son murdered
without first checking the facts. Once the
damage was done, the truth began to emerge
and this whole tragic saga came to an end
when Fausta was ordered to be executed in
326 A.D.
