Crispus is executed in 326 on an uncertain charge; the file is not a tape
In 326 Constantine ordered the death of his son Crispus, then of Fausta in a cluster later writers filled with sexual and political guesses. The charge is not established in a surviving court brief. In the causal graph this event weakens Judicial independence erosion (court capture), a driver that strengthens Rule of Law Gap from the Highest Governance Score — an improving welfare path.
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In 326 Constantine ordered the death of his son Crispus, then of Fausta in a cluster later writers filled with sexual and political guesses. The charge is not established in a surviving court brief.
Context
Allegation is not finding. Hostile or moralizing later Latin is not a palace daybook. The deaths remain extra-judicial family violence at the top of the state.
Constantine the Great’s documented role is bounded by other offices and collaborators named in the sources below.
Crispus, eldest son, was executed in 326; Fausta died soon after. Late sources offer adultery/plot stories. Uncertainty is the honest state.
Who was responsible
Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.
Constantine the Great
PersonDirect responsibility
responsibility level 0.7 · verified
What changed
Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.
- FactCrispus is executed in 326 on an uncertain charge; the file is not a tape
- weakensDriverJudicial independence erosion (court capture)
- strengthensIndicators (4)Rule of Law Gap from the Highest Governance Score
impact weight 0.5 · Effect from 1 January 326 · verified
- Better
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.36 (weight 0.5 × strength 0.72)
Observed
43.9 Score · 43.9 above the normal line (2024)
Worse than normal26 readings, 1996–2024: rose from 43 Score to 43.9 Score.
Normal is zero · any amount = worse
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.35 (weight 0.5 × strength 0.7)
Observed
0.55 index score (0-1) · 0.26 below the normal line (2024)
Worse than normalAbove normal = better
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.34 (weight 0.5 × strength 0.69)
Observed
0.62 score from 0 to 1 · 0.25 below the normal line (2024)
Worse than normal125 readings, 1900–2024: rose from 0.37 score from 0 to 1 to 0.62 score from 0 to 1.
Above normal = better
All indicators on this path (4)
- Better
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.15 (weight 0.5 × strength 0.3)
Observed
42.5 index score (0-100) · 7.53 below the normal line (2025)
Worse than normalAbove normal = better
Evidence
The sources behind this fact and its verification state.
- 1.Britannica — Constantine IEncyclopaedia Britannica · High credibility · verified
- 2.Livius — Constantine ILivius.org · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish
Britannica and Livius independently record the 326 deaths and the source fog; they do not agree on a single crime.
Established: received 326 deaths of Crispus and, in the same cluster, Fausta. Not established: adultery as proven, or a poison-bath as forensic fact.
Causal path
How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.
- ActorConstantine the Great
- contributed toFactCrispus is executed in 326 on an uncertain charge; the file is not a tape
- weakensDriverJudicial independence erosion (court capture)
- strengthensIndicatorRule of Law Gap from the Highest Governance Score
Cite this page
Factrail. (2026). Crispus is executed in 326 on an uncertain charge; the file is not a tape. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/co-crispus-execution-uncertainty
https://factrail.ai/facts/co-crispus-execution-uncertainty
Accessed 16 October 2026.
By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed
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