- Bruttia Crispina
Bruttia Crispina (164-182 or 187) was the Empress of Rome and wife of
Roman Emperor Commodus .Crispina’s mother is unknown and her father was twice consul
Gaius Bruttius Praesens . Crispina’s paternal grandparents were consul and senatorCaius Bruttius Praesens and rich heiress Laberia Hostilia Crispina, who was the daughter of another twice consul,Manius Laberius Maximus . Crispina's brother was future consulLucius Bruttius Quintius Crispinus . Her father’s family originally came from Volceii,Lucania ,Italy and were closely associated with the Roman EmperorsTrajan ,Hadrian ,Antoninus Pius andMarcus Aurelius . Crispina was born and raised inRome or Volceii.Crispina married Commodus, in the summer of 178 (probably July). The actual ceremony was modest but it was commemorated on coinage and largesse was distributed to the people. An "
epithalamium " for the occasion was composed by the sophistJulius Pollux . Like many marriages of young members of the upper orders, it was an arranged marriage: Crispina's father and Marcus Aurelius (Commodus’ father) had arranged for it to occur. Commodus disliked Crispina, presumably due to her character - she was a beautiful woman, but said to be vain and haughty. She received the title of "Augusta".In 182, Crispina may have been pregnant. She was accused of adultery or treason by her husband and exiled to the island of
Capri where she was executed. Her fall is sometimes associated with the conspiracy of Lucilla in 181 or 182. This is consistent with the coinage atAlexandria , where her coinage runs from 178/9 only to 182/3 or 181/2. Alternatively, her fall may have taken place after 187. [http://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/imperial/crispina/]ources
* http://www.livius.org/bn-bz/bruttius/crispina.html
* http://members.tripod.com/~Wakefield/collection/crispina.html
* http://www.forumancientcoins.com/Roman-Coins.asp?e=Crispina&par=422&pos=1&target=55
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